After a quick overnight at the Rivers Crossing Campground, we headed east along the Erie Canalway. Our first stop was Lock 21, in Fort Plain:

The next morning was clear and crisp (nights are really getting chilly). Scooby inspected Russ’s bike, Moe protested his leaving, and he was off for our next stop, Lock 15 in Fort Plain.

The scenery was very pretty, especially when I climbed above the canal on a road that followed a high ridge.

We reached Lock 15 just before a troop of boy scouts, who had bicycled 30 miles to set up camp at the same place. They enjoyed meeting Scooby and Moe, and Russ was properly complimentary about their long bicycle ride. We even got to meet the tame peacock who visits the campground on a regular basis (in fact, I found him roosting in the tree right above the camper the next morning). The campground late in the day:

Early morning fog:

And then it was off to Waterford, our last stop on the Erie Canal. There was some confusion about whether we would be able to stay at the Waterford Harbor Visitors Center; our online searches seemed to indicate that there was camping allowed, but I was unable to reach anyone at the phone number given to confirm this. We finally decided that I would drive to Waterford and check out the situation. If I had to, I’d find other accommodations for the night. After a fruitless search for someone who could answer my questions, I drove across the bridge to Peebles Island Park, where I luckily met a park security guard who assured me that people do park campers overnight at the Visitors Center. With time to kill, I took the dogs out for a hke around one of the many trails on Peebles Island.

This will be our last night along the canal, as we head east to Massachusetts and home (finally!) after this.