Reflections of Beauty

September 19, Canajoharie, New York
We spent a night in Rome on September 17, and in keeping with the Italian theme, the next day we came upon an authentic Venetian gondola in the canal! We didn't hear any strains of "O Sole Mio" wafting across the water, but the gondolier does plan to row more than half of the length of the canal.

Our next stop was Little Falls, set along a waterfall in the foothills of the Adirondacks. Many of the buildings sit flush on the edge of granite precipices. The two-toned majestic cliffs that tower over us along the channel are a magnet to rock climbers.

We pass through a unique lock today. It drops us forty feet, the biggest drop on the Erie Canal. And it is also the only lock that, instead of having gates that swing outward, has a gate that lifts above our heads—all 120 tons of it—as we leave. It definitely drips on us…better by far than dropping on us!

Canajoharie has been high on our list since the beginning of this trip because of its library/art gallery with a famous collection of paintings by Winslow Homer and other American artists. When we stop here for the night, we’re disappointed to learn that the gallery is closed until its grand reopening in an expanded space on Sunday. Our timing leaves a little bit to be desired.

Instead we hike to a gorge just south of town to see the waterfalls and the “Boiling Pot,” a circular pool that the spring run-off swirls through. Canajoharie is an Indian word meaning “pot that washes itself.”

Chilly fall nights are followed by summer-hot days without a breath of wind. Unbroken blue sky and the entire spectrum of green reflect on the water surface. We leave mile after mile of beautiful scenery in our wake, thankful for glimpses of God’s beauty reflected in the world He made.