Gallery
- There is a 568 foot elevation change as the canal goes from Lake Erie to New York Harbor.
- The original canal was 4’ deep, 40’ wide and 363 miles long. The canal has been lengthened and widened three times.
- Doors to the locks weigh 40 tons!
TeamSPS 5th Floor Remodel
The remodel of #TeamSPS 5th floor is nearly done and we were able to move this week. It is great to be back on our “home” floor with a so many improvements!
Space Camp
We had a fun weekend at Family Space Camp! 🚀 Our program included runs in the Multi Axis Trainer, the 5D weightlessness trainer. We ran an entire simulation of a Space Shuttle mission where Tyler was EECOM, Mazie PAYCOM, Tammy CAPCOM, and I was FDO. I got to do the countdown to launch. 🤩 We got to see an incredibly impressive planetarium showing as well as a great IMAX experience on the International Space Station. We also learned a bunch about NASA’s Artemis program. And the whole time we got to see a real Saturn V and Saturn IB rocket, as well as a capsule that went into space and a moon rock. And we got great astronaut suits.
Snowmobiling Around Tower
We had a fabulous day on the trails with snowmobiles! We got to Lake Vermillion Houseboats right at 9a to get our snowmobiles and helmets. We were on the trail in no time. We hadn’t had breakfast so we stopped in Tower after a short ride across Pike Bay at Good Ol’ Days Cafe for a “greasy spoon” breakfast. It also served as a quick gear test and we realized the folks were going to need some help with warm hands. We picked up a bunch of hand warmers at the gas station and then we hit the trail for pretty good loop.
I’m not sure on the total distance but we were out on the trail for a bit over 3 hours after breakfast. The hand warmers were a big help and we had a great time. I thought the distance was just right but mostly everyone else thought we could have ended an hour earlier. 🙂 I also wasn’t that cold when we got done and everyone else felt pretty cold. 🥶
Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
We went to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory today. Learned that it takes 47 seconds for a computer to lathe a professional bat. And the many batters have custom specifications that their bats are made to. Very cool place.
Churchill Downs Tour
We visited Churchill Downs today and took the Superstars & Spires Tour. The history of the race, the venue, and the horses. It made me want to go to the Kentucky Derby someday! 🏇
Gooseberry Falls
We visited Gooseberry Falls today. We have had extreme draught conditions and the falls have been greatly impacted. The Lower Falls are completely dry. It was rather shocking to see. I renamed it Mini Gooseberry Falls this year.
Sam Patch on the Erie Canal
We took a 90-minute river Erie Canal cruise today on the Sam Patch. We got to go to Lock 32 and experience that and then went back the other way to see where the canal is actaully 70’ higher than the houses in the area.
Some fun stats:
Enjoy some photos.
Sam Patch at dock before we take off.
Family selfie inside the Sam Patch.
Approaching Lock 32 in preparation to go up.
Lock doors closing behind us.
Lock doors closed and the water going up. It takes 9 minutes for the lock to fill on the way up.
Lock is at height and we are released.
Coming back the other way with the lock doors open.
Preparing for the lock to go down. Watch my time-lapse video of the lock lowering.
Cruising along the Erie Canal and this sailboat wants to pass.
One of many maintenance stations along the canal. Each section is maintaied from a station like this.
Boats docked in the canal in Pittsford.
Canal shoreline in Pittsford. I also got this same view from shore.
Canal approaching an emergency damn location where the canal is higher than the neighborhoods around it.
Family selfie on the canal.
Bridge over the Erie Canal.
Infinity Loop Hike
This morning Tammy and I hiked the Infinity Loop trail in Dreamy Draw. We were looking for a longer hike without much elevation today, so this 5 mile loop with just 500 feet of elevation worked well. Plus, we got to make an Infinity Loop ♾ with our tracks!
It was a good hike but we would have lost the trail a dozen times if we weren’t tracking it with the All Trails app. There are no markers and there are dozens of intersecting trails.
Lost Dutchman State Park
We visited Lost Dutchman State Park and hiked the Treasure Loop Trail. There is a story hear about a lost mine that brings some intrigue to the Superstition Mountains. There are even some documentaries about it. We did a good 2.5 mile hike with 480 feet of elevation. It was a warmer day, Sunny at 80 °F which seemed to hit Tyler and I the most.
We hiked the trail up and took a bit of a break for photos before heading back down the loop. The landscape was very pretty the entire way.
Broken Arrow Trail in Sedona
We had a great hike on the Broken Arrow trail in Sedona today. We were a little hesitant since some folks online had commented that there were a lot of Pink Jeep Tours on this trail. I don’t think they must have hiked very far because it doesn’t take that long to get to the point where no vehicles are allowed.
We would have hiked much more, but we had to turn back due to time. We did a total of 1.4 miles out and back with very little elevation. It was a great trail and very scenic. We will take this all the way to Chicken Point the next time we are here.
Grand Canyon
We took a weekend getaway to Flagstaff, AZ and today we visited the Grand Canyon. It was Tyler’s first time here, Mazie’s second but the first she will remember, and my 3rd time and Tammy’s 4th or 5th. We hadn’t been here in the winter before and I can report that the Grand Canyon is cold in February. There was a dusting of snow around that made the place even more scenic.
We only had the day so we spent a few hours on the South Rim and visited the Visitor Center, the Village and drove along the rim and took photos from various places. We did the Trail of Time hike, or walk, along the rim.
As always the Grand Canyon is spectacular and an amazing natural wonder. Tammy and I agreed that the next time we come it is going to be with a permit to go down to the bottom of the canyon and spend a night or two there.
Wind Cave Trail
We hiked up the Wind Cave trail this morning and had a great time. Tammy declared it perhaps her favorite hike ever. It was 1.7 miles with 800 feet of elevation on the way up. It took us just short of an hour.
The views were fantastic and the terrain was challenging and varied. Lucky went up with us and did a great job. The trail was already busy at 8:30a and when we were going down we passed large groups. So get out there early!
Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum
Today we visited the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum in Joshua Tree. We weren’t familiar with Purifoy, but his background is very impressive and the outdoor museum he created here is unique, interesting, and a little confusing. We spent a while walking around and taking pictures. We didn’t read up about Purifoy until we left which we actually liked since it allowed us to see the art “as is”.
Skull Rock Trail
After hiking Ryan Mountain Trail and checking out the famous Skull Rock, we decided to take a hike amongst the giant rocks along Skull Rock Trail.
The kids had a fabulous time running and climbing up the rocks while I anxioulsy watched worrying someone might fall. 🤷♂️
Salt River Wild Horses
Today we visited Coon Bluff Recreation Area to see the Salt River wild horses. The non-profit Salt River Wild Horse Management group helps provide for these wild horses, and they are currently putting out hay for them each day. You can visit while they do this and walk among these wild horses but you need to be slow and calm, and keep your distance. The horses themselves were skirmishing a bit. It gets your attention when twenty horses start stirring and running around you. I brought the good camera with a long lens to catch some photos of these beautiful horses.
Sabino Canyon
We visited the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area today on our day trip to Tucson. We took the shuttle to the top of the trail and then made our way down stopping at several locations. It was a very pretty walk and fun to see the spring creek with running water down the canyon. We had to cross it barefoot and the water was very cold!
Kayaking Pokegama and the Mississippi
We spent the morning kayaking down the Mississippi. We put in at Tioga Beach on Pokegama Lake, then Big Jay Goulde Lake, then Little Jay Goulde Lake into the Mississippi River. Portage around the Corps of Engineers Pokegama Dam and out at Paddle Hoppers. 2h 35m paddle time. We saw nice Lily Pads and huge swaths of Wild Rice along with gorgeous scenery.
Distribution Center Simulation
I was able to participate in one of the first run-throughs of our new Distribution Center Simulation! It was a fabulous experience that will help #TeamSPS contextualize the benefit our services have for our customers. Hats off to the team that made this vision a reality. I love how they made it all real by using real products and staging everything just like it would happen in a distribution center. They even had speakers with truck and forklift sounds! 🚚
Also, extremely impressive how they modified the process to allow us to do this in-person experience during the pandemic. 😷
Our newest floor opened up in SPS Tower today! Great setup to enable #TeamSPS to continue winning. I love the conference room names from Women Who Code. The text on the quiet room desks? EDI. The team moves in soon! 🤩🙌
