Water Bridge
⇚ Sunday, July 5, 2015 / Stephanie / Exploration ⇛
Staked out for the evening, Brian and I took a stroll along a footpath along the Vosges Canal to take a look at what lay ahead for the next day's travel. 
A short side-track along this walking trail which crossed two small streams; each with functioning, although old in appearance, water control systems. One stream was dammed and the other had a lock-style gate. The French certainly have a knack for water control! We discussed how these side streams may or may not affect the Vosges, or manage flooding, or whether they had previously been a canal system. 
Unique trail marker marked the end of this woodland stroll. 
Back along the canal, we had an up-close inspection of what would be our first lock the next morning. Intriguing! This was an aqueduct; a bridge constructed to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley. This aqueduct would carry Detour over the Mosel River. I've crossed rivers in boats before, but never quite like this!
The aqueduct led straight into a lock, which would lower Detour (photo is looking back at the aqueduct from the lock) and thus we would continue along our way in the Vosges Canal.
We had a peaceful night staked along the canal bank. The next morning, off we went over the river and through the woods! 
A short side-track along this walking trail which crossed two small streams; each with functioning, although old in appearance, water control systems. One stream was dammed and the other had a lock-style gate. The French certainly have a knack for water control! We discussed how these side streams may or may not affect the Vosges, or manage flooding, or whether they had previously been a canal system. Unique trail marker marked the end of this woodland stroll. Back along the canal, we had an up-close inspection of what would be our first lock the next morning. Intriguing! This was an aqueduct; a bridge constructed to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley. This aqueduct would carry Detour over the Mosel River. I've crossed rivers in boats before, but never quite like this!The aqueduct led straight into a lock, which would lower Detour (photo is looking back at the aqueduct from the lock) and thus we would continue along our way in the Vosges Canal.We had a peaceful night staked along the canal bank. The next morning, off we went over the river and through the woods! 4 Comments
-
From Ric on Jul 12, 2015
Just a funny here, I know impossible, but. How awesome would it have been to step the mast and hoist the sails to cross that aqueduct FULL SAIL!?! -
From Ric on Jul 08, 2015
Thank you Stephanie. I had been following you along your travel, and just got lost around Lyon, I think. I was stationed in Spangdahlem, Germany (near Luxemburgh) back in the '80's, so when you mentioned the Moselle (Mosel), it jarred some memories of the wines of that region, as well as the countryside. -
From Stephanie Grandjean on Jul 07, 2015
Hi Ric, Below is a link for french-waterways.com which has information pertaining to the French canals and rivers. This particular link has a small map of the Alsace region, where you will see Vosges labeled just south of Strasbourg. http://www.french-waterways.com/waterways/central-waterways.html -
From Ric on Jul 07, 2015
Wonderful journey. Cruising over a river; check off another "honestly, we did this" thing on the who-could-possibly-imagine-we-would-do-this, to do list. I do have a minor complaint in that I have no idea where this is. I can find no Vosges canal on Google maps of France, and the Moselle (Mosel) winds all over the place. Continue the journey though, you are doing amazing things, which I never will. Again, Detour looks fantastic!