Flotsam Circus on the Erie Canal

23 August 2025 – Saturday

Today we travel from the Adirondacks to the Erie Canal in time to meet a floating circus in Rome as part of the canal’s bicentennial celebration.

0947 72,897 72°F Leave Fern Lake, New York

1123 72,968 78°F 900′ Riparius
Hudson River

The mighty Hudson River is more like a trout stream this far north. Water runs southward clear and fast. Rail bikes are available to rent if you want to pedal along the river.

1217 73,005 74°F 1,751′ Speculator
We stopped here for a quick stretch. Not our first visit, we talked about the town park and Pleasant Lake in a prior post. “Winding through the Adirondacks.”

1415 73,072 85°F Utica
Stopped for groceries at Market 32

1445 73,075 86°F 460′ Rome, New York
Copper City Brewing our Harvest Host for tonight

1500 73,076 86°F 412′ Bellamy Harbor Park on the Erie Canal

We arrived and setup our chairs well before the crowds. That gave us time to explore this park where the Mohawk River meets the Erie Canal. By the way, this is the bicentennial of the completion of the canal. The canal was a marvel of engineering at the time and played a huge role in westward migration.

Hamilton college has a boathouse in the park for their rowing team. If we had brought our bikes, this would be a good place to join the Mohawk River Trail. A new skate park had just opened for those with better balance than Beth and I.

Circus performers arrived by sea and land. While the barge/stage looked okay for canal travel, I’m concerned that it might be a bit unstable as they leave the protected waters of the canal. The Hudson river can get rough on the way towards their goal of New York City.

The Flotsam River Circus was great fun. Environmentally themed, the show portrayed a world where heat and pollution had produced mutant fish that threatened the last of humanity. The story was told through puppets, mimes, acrobatics, and music suitable for all ages.

Driving back to our Harvest Host after the show, we passed the illuminated Revere Copper factory sign. Tied to Paul Revere, it is an American company that has been working with copper for 225 years. The company is a big part of the reason Rome is called “The Copper City.”

This is one of the largest neon signs I’ve ever seen.

1945 73,078 80°F 460′ Copper City Brewing
Enjoyed conversation with locals and other visitors in the Brewery. Mike, the barkeep, was friendly and told us about some sights to see before leaving town. I enjoyed the brown ale enough to allocate space for some in our little van fridge. We would definitely stay here again.