Navigating the Augusta Canal

Low bridge ev'-ry bod-y down, 

Low bridge for we're com-in to a town, 

And you al-ways know your neighbor, 

You'll always know your pal, 

If you've ev-er navigated on the Augusta can-al

Hi Blog!

It has been raining for the past three days.  We really didn't mind the first two days of rain.  We got a lot accomplished - did some chores, read a couple books and made some travel plans. However, by the fourth day, we were ready to escape the confines of our one bedroom apartment on wheels. Even though the sun hadn't appeared yet, we went into town with a promise from the weatherman that - yes, the sun will shine today. 

Ever since coming back from Lima, Peru (where we visited our niece, Hannah and her partner, David - owners of several coffee shops), we have been hopelessly addicted to our new coffee making devices - the Clever and the Areopress.  As we travel about, we are constantly in search of local coffee roasters who can supply us with freshly roasted coffee beans, which we turn into the elixir of life. Today, our first stop was at Buona Caffe, owned and operated by John and Pat Curry. Several years ago, John started roasting coffee at home. After extensive testing with fellow coffee aficionados, John and Pat started Buona Caffe (“good coffee” in Italian) Artisan Roasted Coffee to offer the coffee that they enjoy in their home every day. Who could ask for more - homemade coffee in a very homey shop.

We left with four bags - Bali Blue Moon, Tanzanian Peaberry, Sumatra Ketiara Gayo and Ethiopian Sidamo. Until Blogger invents the "Smell Button," you will just have to take our word for it that this coffee smells heavenly. We would have brought home more, but space in the RV is limited.  This just means that sometime in the future we'll have to venture forth and discover another artisan roaster! It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it!

Next stop, Augusta Canal National Heritage Area. We had reservations for a 3:00 p.m. canal boat tour, but we wanted to come down early and spend a little time in the Interpretive Center and then take a bike ride along the tow path. Here is Kathy looking over one of the historical displays explaining how "cotton was king" in Augusta, which was central not only in trading and shipping raw cotton, but also in processing the raw cotton and making finished goods from it.

The Interpretive Center is located in the Enterprise Mill, a revitalized 19th Century textile mill.  In 1983, Graniteville Company shut down the facility. During the mid and late 1980s, the city originally planned to demolish the aging building. However, a major renovation took place in 1995 as part of the downtown redevelopment, and the developers re-purposed the building into offices and loft apartments. The water powered turbines that generated electricity for the mill are still in operation today, providing power to the tenants and selling the surplus back to the state.

After a quick lunch, we jumped on the bikes and began pedaling upstream. Augusta was home to the Confederate Powderworks, a gunpowder factory during the American Civil War and the only permanent structures ever completed anywhere by the Confederate States of America. The 150 foot Powderworks chimney is all that remains. The building behind the chimney is the Sibley cotton mill which was built on the site as a private venture in 1882, using bricks from the demolished powder works. Sibley Mill became one of the largest and most successful cotton mills in the region, a model of good management and worker relations. It manufactured denim until 2006. The mill is closed now, but the mill's water-driven turbines still generate electricity which is sold to Georgia Power.

Further upstream, we came to Rae's Creek.  The original canal actually traversed the creek via an aqueduct. However, when the canal needed expanding, Rae's Creek was dammed, creating Lake Olmstead. The water from Rae's Creek now flows directly into the canal, with any excess being diverted into spillways, which direct the excess water to the other side of the canal along the original creek bed until it reaches the Savanah River. Here is the first spillway located just past the Olmstead Bulkhead.

Here is the second spillway coming down from the Tin House Gate.

The ride across the Tin House Gate was exciting. Later, our tour guide told us that this railing is relatively new.  Too many people fell off that they decided to put up a railing.

Just as we were reaching the turn-around point, one of the tour boats caught up to us.  These boats are replicas of the original Petersburg boats that use to transport cargo from Petersburg down to Augusta.

We quickly retraced our route to make sure we got back in time for our 3:00 p.m. tour.  Here in the background is Julianna, our tour guide, with our fearless boat captain plying the rudder behind her. The nice couple in the foreground hails from Maryland and also have a home in Mullan, Idaho, which is close to where David's grandparents lived in Wallace, Idaho. We also met an Augusta family, whose daughter, Katie, was on Spring Break from Yale University. We did ask if she knew our Katie, who is currently working at Yale.  While the name was familiar, she didn't know her. Still, small world.

Here is another view of the Tin House Gate. The water just seems to disappear over the edge.

You know that song about the canal - "low bridge, everybody down" - well they mean it.  Here is Kathy moments away from decapitation as the 13 foot boat tries to make its way through the 15 foot wide door in the Olmstead Bulkhead.

This low bridge is called the "Butt Bridge" in honor of Major Archibald Butt, in memory of his heroism during the sinking of the Titanic.

As noted earlier in the blog, we had just experienced three straight days of rain. Note to self - don't bike on the canal towpath so soon after heavy rain.  Back at the RV, we had to power-wash the bikes to get all this caked mud off:

Tomorrow, we move to Mrytle Beach!  Happy Hump Day!