Eisenhower Lock, St. Lawrence Seaway

I had just left the Nature Center (see previous two posts) and was headed south toward home. The area between the Grasse River and the St. Lawrence River (and Seaway) was rife with ponds, streams and marshes (see the Google map, below):

I hadn't expected to take any more pictures, but I couldn't resist. And this was what stopped me and caused me to pull to the side of the road - two displaying male turkeys. They were intent on what they were doing and not much concerned with me:

I got back on the road but was again distracted, this time by the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway. I had to drive uphill to get a view of it:

Looking to the west, a large ship appeared to be coming through:

And looking to the east, where two seagulls were squawking at me:

There was a lot of construction going on. It was a busy place, though tourists couldn't get to the active areas:

I was just leaving the Eisenhower Lock when I stopped to photograph this pair of Canada Geese:

Remember I said that I had to drive uphill to get a view of the Eisenhower Lock? The road goes beneath it, though the tunnel seems so short that I had to look it up on a map when I got home:

What I learned when I checked Google Maps was that the Seaway narrows dramatically at the point where they built the Eisenhower Lock. Rather than build a bridge for the road, they built a tunnel:

I thought I was finished with photos when I noticed a small body of water with a blacktopped drive going down to it. There were a number of birds in the water, so I drove down for a better look. As you can see, there were two Canada Geese, two Mallards and a Loon. I was surprised by all the interesting things I saw while driving home from the nature center, but that's all the more reason to return soon:

The Eisenhower Lock On The St. Lawrence Seaway

I traveled westward toward Massena after I left the Akwesasne Cultural Center in Hogansburg. I planned to tour the New York Power Authority Visitors Center next, but noticed the Eisenhower Lock along the way. How could I not stop and take a look?:

I did not hover overhead in a helicopter. This is a photo from the internet to show you what the lock looks like. It runs alongside the main body of the St. Lawrence River to get ships past extensive rapids in the river. It raises or lowers ships 42 feet:

I got a kick out of the ubiquitous Herring Gulls:

And then I parked and walked over to the observation area:

Looking off to the east, I could see where the lock emptied back into the river. At least I think that's what I was seeing:

This was the actual lock, just the other side of that grassy strip beyond the construction equipment:

Looking to the west, again toward the St. Lawrence River:

I imagined that a lot of people worked here from many branches of government:

I took one final look and headed on my way:

But I had to stop and snap a picture of the geese along the way, They, like the gulls, were abundant. My next stop was to be the New York Power Authority Visitors Center: