Temperature was in low teens when I took this early morning shot. The air was calm except when disturbed by an occasional passing vehicle. When I turned around and faced into the sun I realized that there where snow flurries of large ice crystals precipitating!

What was happening is the warm moist air near the water surface was rising up the face of the escarpment below. No doubt the weak sunlight on the rock face below helped heat a bit as well. As the the warmer, moisture laden air crested the bluff it “supercooled”. Ice crystals started forming in the super saturated air and drifted over the landscape sparkling and diffusing the early morning light. As the crystals grew too heavy they precipitated onto the pavement where the melted or sublimated water started a new cycle.

I have felt a mist on my face on a cool, cloudless summer day when biking along this section of the Byway. I had assumed that a gentle breeze must be picking up water droplets from water cascading over the escarpment. Now I am convinced that it was just warm moist air from below being super- cooled at the crest of the escarpment and forming a mist.

A safety note. This is a great place to photograph a beautiful panorama on the Mohawk Towpath Byway. Several tips:

• Park well away from busy Riverview Road. I parked several hundred feet north on Knott Road and walked back. Or lift your bicycle to the other side of the guide rail.
• Wear bright clothing so that motorists can see you.
• Pick a light traffic time of day on a weekend.
• Listen and look both ways before any sudden moves.
• Bike right; walk left!

Canal Fest at the Mabee Farm Historic site was a hoot!

The festivities also included live music, kayaking, food, craft beer, and wine, craft vendors, heirloom gardens, free Stewart’s ice cream, and family-friendly tours of the historic Mabee house, summer kitchen, smithy, and restored Dutch barn. The museum was also open for those that have not seen the most recent additions.

And the hoot? A wildlife rehabilitation was also exhibiting with some of the more people friendly animals and birds including two species of owls and several raptors that have been rescued from life threatening situations.

All together these made a memorable, family-friendly experience.

My copy of the New York State Canalway Water Trail Guidebook arrived!

I could not resist reading word-for-word the sections I am most familiar with. Seeing these beloved sections of the Water Trail described in such detail by someone else’s eye is inspiring. The print makes for an easy read and the three color maps are uncluttered, but of sufficient detail.

The superb black and white photographs accompanying the text are included to help tell the history of the area and entice the reader to take their own photographic memories.

The spirally bound document is not small enough to fit in a back pocket reminiscent of the Long Trail Guidebook I treasured in my youth, but it is much easier to read and use planning my next outing. Packaged with the guide is a set of four neatly folded full color maps that will fit in your pocket. These can be refolded to the section of the water trail that you are navigating. They’re water and tear resistant and have all the details you need once on your planned water adventure.

What a treasure. I can visualize the Guide proudly displayed on my coffee table in twenty years, well worn and dog eared, open to a favorite section of the water trail that I would like to explore again.

I recommend you get a copy of the complimentary Guidebook from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and let’s start planning a Paddle the Byway event this summer! How is that for a Canalway Challenge?