Approaching the Canal 2010-10-14 Another view of the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. That's our narrowboat, just about finished rotating to match the runway to the Union Canal. It is very quiet, and the caisson holding the boat stays wonderfully flat and smooth during the 15 minute trip up (thank heavens!) - and it is so well balanced that it only takes a few hundred watts to move this giant wheel. I'll get back to commenting and more posting tomorrow! Enjoy the day.

Quiet Basin 2010-10-13 A first shot upon returning from our holiday in Scotland. This is the Falkirk Wheel - a millennium project that joins the reconstructed Union Canal and the Forth & Clyde Canal across southern Scotland. It has two caissons (one at the top visible here), each holding up to four boats, and rotates in a semicircle in 15 minutes, replacing a series of locks. We spent three nights in this basin during our trip up and down the canals. Steering the boat into a caisson and letting it be lifted (or dropped) 35 meters is much simpler than working locks ;-) More when I get around to it, but we have lots of work getting our house and such back into a normal routine. Cheers, Jerry

Scenic west Lothian 2010-10-02 (I think): We are docked in Falkirk, Scotland and actually have a wifi signal here (poor but ok), so here is one picture from our trip. This is the view from the Union Canal, looking towards the town of Linlithgow - you can see the top of the palace where Mary Queen of Scots was born. I have no idea how this picture looks on a 'big screen' - working here on the boat on my small laptop. Nevertheless, greetings to everyone. We've had frigid, warm, wet, dry weather :). You'll get more pictures once we get back home. Cheers