This was another beautiful day on the Hudson River and we stair stepped up in five locks. It is beautiful to see the waterfalls that usually run along side the lock. We even went under a railroad trestle today with a train crossing over us. We shared the ride up in one lock with a couple of engineers who worked for the power company who maintains the various hydroelectric plants we have seen. They talked about how the locks manage the amount of water in the river and they were measuring the clearances under the bridges. When a tall boat comes through, they can literally lower the river between two locks if it is necessary for the boat to get under bridges between the locks. We dropped our hinged GPS system today to clear some bridges ourselves. Our navigation equipment did not like it very much because it is directional, and I think it thought we were going to the moon, since it was pointed straight up.

Today Tom and I did something new – we took our bikes to shore in the dinghy and made another flash back into history. Anchored out across from the Saratoga Battleground National Park, we decided to take a ride through the meadows and forests of the park. The visitor center was very interesting with a huge 3 dimensional layout of the battlefields where with audio and lights, they described the two week period in 1777 during which this important battle in the American Revolution was won. It was a long ride, about 10 miles, and we saw several deer. Tom even saw a tiny fawn, which I missed while walking my bike up the hill. We had delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that Tom brought in a knapsack at the park for lunch overlooking the fields. There were certainly many hardships suffered by the people who lived out this part of our history.