Lockport & Palmyra, NY

We started the day in Lockport at the final locks on the Erie Canal. We followed the canal all the way back to Albany with a little Mormon stop along the way.

 canal and museum

We were singing the Erie Canal song before we found this photo opp. "Low bridge, everybody down!"

The old canal with wooden doors and 5 locks.

The new canal - bigger and only 2 locks

The discovery center is really well done.

Stopped by where my friend MariJo grew up!

After driving a bit and we remembered that Joseph Smith and the whole Mormon thing started here in New York. I opened up trip advisor and, sure enough, the 4th thing on the list was the Smith Family Farm and the 5th was he BOM (book of Mormon) printing center. Since it was so close, we stopped.

We toured the farm where Joseph Smith grew up and we saw the "Sacred Grove" of trees where he reported God and Jesus appeared to him.

Outside the threshing barn

It's been getting dark early, but since we left the farm just after 7pm, we decided to see one more Mormon site,

We found ourselves with another family we had just met at the farm and after watching a movie of Joseph Smith's life growing up and translating the Book of Mormon, we got to chatting with the other family. Scott, who's interest in mormonism brought us here, chatted with the dad about faith and Truth. My conversations with the rest of the family were more about the Mormon organization. 

Their family was on a pilgrimage of sorts. Having come as children themselves, these parents wanted their high schoolers to see the places where Mormonism started just as I might desire to take my children to Israel to walk where Jesus did.

Because we were in a remote location and now both families were about to head to bed having had no dinner, we had our second "dinner guests" (after Scotts parents) and we treated them to  cup'o'noodle! - It was the fastest thing I could make with no electricity. But as a family with high school boys, they were no strangers to the fare and were as thankful as I was mortified to be serving it! (:

What an interesting night. We exchanged info, so we may have he opportunity to see them again when we get to Phoenix, their hometown.

Our kids find it hilarious that we just meet people on the road and "make new friends". Especially as this meeting is on the heels of me exchanging emails with a gal we met in MN from Albany (but traveling west) who offered us parking in her driveway while we visit the NY Capitol. The kids are trying to figure out these behaviors and how to reconcile them with "stranger danger"!