We're in Waterford, NY at the first mile of the Erie Canal. We cruised up to Troy, NY where the Mohawk River joins the Hudson. Then we went through the first lock into the Mohawk and the Erie Canal.

We passed more lighthouses on the way. This is the Hudson-Athens lighthouse.

We also saw this deer browsing on tree leaves at the river's edge. I guess it didn't read that yellow "no trespassing" sign on the tree.

Then we passed Albany, NY. We decided we didn't need another big city stopover, so we went on past Albany and Troy, NY to Waterford.

As the starting point of the Erie Canal, Waterford, NY has done an excellent job of welcoming cruisers. They have a free town dock over 1,000 ft. long with power and water hookups for boaters (in the first 500 ft. of dock). The top picture is the last 500 ft. of dock with Nonchalance the second boat from the right. We were the last boat to get power and water hookups, having arrived just after 3 PM. The bottom picture is the first 500 ft. of dock up by the Visitor Center. The white bricks in the wide sidewalk form a map of the Erie Canal with the various towns and locks chiseled into the bricks at appropriate places.

We'll stay here a day or two so I can put the radar arch down and ready the boat for canal cruising.