May Challenge: Memories

"I've got a mule, her name is Sal,
15 miles on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal,
15 miles on the Erie Canal"**

This is a folk song that I sung as a kid. I currently live in a town
that borders the Erie Canal and it is a source of recreation for us (biking and walking).
This photo is of the remains of Mud Creek Aqueduct in neighboring Palmyra, NY.
The towpath bridge in the background is now a part of a walking trail, and
the stone supports for the (now missing) wooden canal prism, which held the water,
on the north side. The aqueduct is 94 feet long, and uses three spans
to cross the creek, which is officially called Ganargua Creek.

Some clarification...mules pulled the barges, etc. in the canal.
They walked on the towpath. When the canal needed to cross a
creek or stream, an aqueduct was built to carry
the canal OVER the creek or stream.




** Thomas S. Allen (1905)