We had 340 miles to drive today and much to see along the way. First stop, PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden in Meadville, PA. Exactly what it sounds like. Cool and creative and covering about 1,000 linear feet. I only hope this is someone's idea of a hobby and not our tax dollars at work.
PennDOT Road Sign Sculpture Garden
Gobble gobble
Toot toot
Next worthy stop, Schaefer's Auto Art in Erie, PA. These interesting creations are just in some guy's front yard, but the public is encouraged to visit. There's even a guest register. Fun sculptures – just our cup of tea.
Spider, technically not a bug
Big bee
Also in Erie, we visited Bicentennial Tower, a 187-foot tower with an observation deck at 138 feet overlooking Lake Erie. Of course, we had to go up! What a gorgeous day.
Bicentennial Tower
Tom rides a mysterious lake dolphin
Erie, Pennsylvania
Presque Isle Bay, Lake Erie
Our last stop in Pennsylvania was also in Erie, to see the World's Largest Pizza Cutter. Meh, it's not that big. We could easily outdo them by building a bigger one in our yard, but we live on a dead-end street and don't need all the traffic.
Alleged world's largest pizza cutter
Now in New York, we stopped in Dunkirk to see “Whispering Giant 7.” This is part of artist Peter Toth's “Trail of the Whispering Giants,” with sculptures on display all across the United States honoring Native Americans. Tom and I love these things.
Whispering Giant 7, Dunkirk, NY
Running west-east between Lake Erie and the Hudson River, the Erie Canal, completed in 1825, was the first navigable waterway connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Once a major transportation artery for both freight and passengers, the canal has been redone twice to accommodate larger vessels. It's still in use today, though now primarily for recreation.
The Erie Canalway Trail is a 360-mile bicycle trail along the Erie Canal between Buffalo and Albany, NY. About 85 percent of the trail is off road, but the remaining 15 percent on-road biking makes us reluctant to ride it. So as part of this trip, we decided to see some historic Erie Canal sights we may never reach by bicycle.
Our first canal sight was an old train swing bridge in Tonawanda, NY, just outside of Buffalo. Technically, this seems to be about 1,000 feet from the Erie Canal, but we looked at it anyway. The trees growing from the bridge are a subtle sign that it is long abandoned. It seems funny that they just left it there in the middle of the waterway.
Old train swing bridge, Tonawanda, NY
The Lockport Locks Heritage District features the Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks, the largest intact section of the original Erie Canal still remaining. The current iteration of the Erie Canal runs alongside the original here, with just two locks replacing the orignal five.
Erie Canal Flight of Five Locks
Replica 40-foot Durham boat
Lock Tenders Tribute Monument
A lock on the current canal
Modern steel lock gate
The Culvert Road Tunnel in Medina, NY, is the only place where you can drive beneath the Erie Canal. We drove our car through the tunnel, then pulled over and walked to the top of the culvert to see the waterway that passes overhead. Weird!
Believe it or not!
Tunnel under the Erie Canal
Canal and bike path over the tunnel
Shortly before sunset, we came to the picturesque little town of Fairport, NY. We climbed a staircase at one end of the Fairport Lift Bridge and talked to the bridge tender. I asked him if I could lift the bridge, but he said we'd at least need to wait for a boat to come by. Dang!
Erie Canal, Fairport, NY
Bridge tender's view
Fairport Lift Bridge
Dinner: Donnelly's Public House in Fairport. Fantastic salads with accompanying beers. Very healthy compared to last night's poutine.
Substantial salads
Lodging: Budget Inn, Fairport, NY. Clean and affordable. We arrived after dark and had to dodge deer on our drive.