Tell us something we don’t know.

[MossRoad]

View attachment 789681

Ha! That looks a lot like my grandma in her garden.

 

[dodge man]

The Hennepin Canal. By most people an unknown canal that connects the Illinois River to the Mississippi River. It starts near Hennepin Illinois and ends in Rock Island Illinois and is a little over a 75 miles long. It was built in the early 1900’s but was never utilized like it should have been. It’s now a bike trail.

In my past life as a land surveyor I worked on it a little bit when bike trails were being built plus I’ve biked on it a little. It’s an engineering marvel. There are a few water bridges where the canal goes over a low area, basically a bridge with tall sides filled with water. The locks are still there but not functional. Canals need water to feed the high spot with water and that feeder canal runs north to the Rock River and is about 30 miles long. A couple of stock pics, the first a lock, the second one of the water bridges.

 

[MossRoad]

Canals were supposed to revolutionize shipping. Railroads came about around the time many of these canals in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio came or were coming into existence, dooming them almost immediately.

 

[Oaktree]

Canals were supposed to revolutionize shipping. Railroads came about around the time many of these canals in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio came or were coming into existence, dooming them almost immediately.

The Erie canal across N.Y. state was in use for many years, how many depends on who you ask. I believe that the canal that replaced it is still in use today.

In my past life as a land surveyor I worked on it a little bit when bike trails were being built plus I’ve biked on it a little. It’s an engineering marvel. There are a few water bridges where the canal goes over a low area, basically a bridge with tall sides filled with water. The locks are still there but not functional. Canals need water to feed the high spot with water and that feeder canal runs north to the Rock River and is about 30 miles long. A couple of stock pics, the first a lock, the second one of the water bridges.

Maybe 25 years ago my brother took me to the Erie canal museum in Syracuse, N.Y. Quite an impressive engineering feat! It also utilized water bridges, some as you mentioned and others where a stream/river crossed its path so as to keep the 2 separate. Most of the original canal is long gone, though there are still some sections you can see, including one near where he lived.

 

[kenmbz]

We have some of the Canal here along the Delaware intact, some of the locks are kept up as are some of the keepers houses.
Not anywhere as extensive as the Erie, but is nice to canoe on and on both sides of the river are bicycle/walking paths.
About 60 miles if you do both sides. I have done about 40 of them.

Towpath Trail Map | Friends of the Delaware Canal – Friends of the Delaware Canal

This map illustrates the 58.89-mile-long towpath trail. It shows areas of the Canal closed to public access or where bicycle use is restricted.

www.fodc.org

 

[JJT]

The Erie canal across N.Y. state was in use for many years, how many depends on who you ask. I believe that the canal that replaced it is still in use today.

Maybe 25 years ago my brother took me to the Erie canal museum in Syracuse, N.Y. Quite an impressive engineering feat! It also utilized water bridges, some as you mentioned and others where a stream/river crossed its path so as to keep the 2 separate. Most of the original canal is long gone, though there are still some sections you can see, including one near where he lived.

The Erie canal dates back to 1825, it's been enlarged several times and still active today. It's over 350 miles long.

Interesting fact - "the canal saw quick success upon opening on October 26, 1825, with toll revenue covering the state's construction debt within the first year of operation."

 

[WinterDeere]

We have some of the Canal here along the Delaware intact, some of the locks are kept up as are some of the keepers houses.
Not anywhere as extensive as the Erie, but is nice to canoe on and on both sides of the river are bicycle/walking paths.
About 60 miles if you do both sides. I have done about 40 of them.

Towpath Trail Map | Friends of the Delaware Canal – Friends of the Delaware Canal

This map illustrates the 58.89-mile-long towpath trail. It shows areas of the Canal closed to public access or where bicycle use is restricted.

www.fodc.org

I grew up biking along that canal. Ride New Hope toward Upper Black Eddy, and stop for lunch at Center Bridge or Lumberville. Remember the (ca.1993) fire at the Basket Case store, adjacent to the lock keeper's house at the south end of New Hope?

 

[JethroB]

I first heard of boating or trawling the Great Loop several years ago. So I followed a couple on YouTube who went part way, from the Great Lakes then on rivers and canals to the Gulf of Mexico and ended near Jacksonville FL. That would be an interesting and leisurely way to see our country.

 

[LouNY]

I live fairly close to the,
Champlain Canal, which connects the tidal portion of the Hudson River with Lake Champlain.

You can still see remnants of the originals in many places. I forget the dimensions of the original
but I believe the depth was only 2 feet and the width was under 10 feet.
The original being mainly hand dug meandered quite a bit to best utilize the natural contours to bypass the un-navigable portions of the Hudson river and then over to Lake Champlain.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

The swastika used by Nazi Germany was a symbol that originated in India and was also part of some Native American cultures.

"One of the oldest symbols made by humans, the swastika dates back some 6,000 years to rock and cave paintings. Scholars generally agree it originated in India. With the emergence of the Sanskrit language came the term 'swastika', a combination of 'su', or good, and 'asti', to be; in other words, well-being."

From Wikipedia:


"The swastika was a widely used Native American symbol. It was used by many southwestern tribes, most notably the Navajo. Among different tribes the swastika carried various meanings. To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clans; to the Navajo it represented a whirling log ( tsil no'oli' ), a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals.

"The history of the swastika goes back to the origins of the Eurasian Continent. The swastika is an important symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, among others, and was also used in Native American and Jewish faiths prior to World War II. By the early twentieth century it was regarded worldwide as symbol of good luck and auspiciousness."