We stayed last night in Selkirk Shores, a New York State park; a bit crowed but it had a view of Lake Ontario.  It rained almost continuously (well, we wanted a car wash anyway), but the sound of the rain on the RV was very soothing (it wasn’t unrhythmic).

We got an early start in the morning, driving up to the beginning – or the end, depending on which way you look at it­ – of the St. Lawrence River.  In a light rain, we drove parallel to the shore in the Thousand Islands area; the river and the islands that are within it are beautiful (thank you Alan for the great suggestion).  We stopped at an overview park at Alexandria Bay which had a great view of some of the islands.  One of the most prominent islands was dominated by a castle built by George C. Boldt for his wife, Louise, though she did not live to see it finished.

We then drove along the river to Ogdensburg, NY and had lunch at the boat pier.  Continuing along the river shoreline, we found ourselves at the U.S. Eisenhower lock of the St. Lawrence Seaway at Massena, NY.  Completed in 1959 as a joint U.S.-Canada project, the St. Lawrence Seaway allows ships – up to 740 feet in length and 78 feet in width – to pass from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, ending at Lake Superior.

Fascinated, we watched an oil freighter pass through the lock.  To our eyes, the boat was probably as large as can go through, certainly width-wise.  The process took about 30 minutes: tie up the freighter, lower it 42 feet in about seven minutes, untie the freighter.  We noticed on the information board that there was another ship due into the locks within the hour from the opposite direction; this ship would have to be raised 42 feet.

There is no way photos can do justice to the process.

This was the third lock we have seen, as we have experienced the locks at the Chicago River and the Panama Canal.  It never fails to impress, as we watch ships being raised and lowered to become level with the next section of the body of water.

It was getting late and time to head for our reserved campsite for the weekend, but first another stop at a Walmart where we found (from an online search) kosher string cheese at the Potsdam NY store.  It’s the little things in life you learn to appreciate.  When we arrived at Higley Flow State Park, our third New York state park, we started to really appreciate what New York has to offer.  This is another beautiful area in the woods outside of the Adirondack Park.  Our goal was to get back to nature and we have done that.

Day 2:  Just a few words before we go into Shabbat.  In the morning we had possibly the heaviest rains we’ve experienced yet, so it was time to do laundry, clean the inside of the van, and prepare for Shabbat.  It stopped raining in the afternoon, so a short walk was in order and then back to the RV.  Nothing exceptional about the day, until we had an unexpected visitor.  While working inside the van, a deer came within a few feet of us and spent several minutes chomping on the plants at our campsite.  Since we were inside and there was no one else in the vicinity, the deer did not feel threatened and stayed long enough for us to snap a few photos.

We have not gotten tired of experiencing the beauty around us that nature has to offer.  Shabbat Shalom.