The Panama Canal

OK, so I think I"m fixated on this whole Panama Canal thing... We went to the locks today and it was sooooo cool watching those huge ships go up and down
!! Did you know they have to lift the ships up 85 feet and then lower them back down on the other side? What a concept!

Anyway, I wrote up an article about the process and put in a slide show with a bunch of pics showing a ship pass through the lock. I think it would make a great lesson for a kid. I know my boys learned a lot! You can read it here: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-6098-Boise-International-Travel-Examiner~y2009m7d21-How-does-a-ship-move-through-the-Panama-Canal

 

How awesome Nancy! Thank you!!

We went to The Crayola Factory in Easton, PA two years ago. They also have a canal museum within the building.. my oldest (the littles were too little to "get" it) had a blast sailing a boat up a hill and back down though a system of locks!! We must have spent an hour or better just in that room alone! It's a really cool place if you ever bike in our direction

 

That is great. Thank you so much for sharing that and it is good to hear from you again. Stay safe. Beth

 

I just keep looking at the pics and thinking, "Wow!! That's way cool!"

 

Nancy- so good to see you! We've been following you via your site and your newsletters- thanks so much for that.

I think I would be pretty awestruck by the Canal too. How neat that the boys are getting to see that. It will be years though before they see how "odd" it is that they have been there and 99% of their friends in the States haven't. A very cool "odd"!!

Take care, enjoy the next part of the trip (hope you don't get too seasick)- and we'll keep watching ya!

MT3

 

Thanks MT3. You are so right - my boys just assume this is all normal. People tell them over and over again that it is most definitely not normal, but they don't know anything else. What a childhood!

 

SO COOL!!! never been to the panama canal...but I've been to the SOO Locks in Canada. SO COOL!

 

I never really understood locks until now. They are pretty neat things!

 

And just to add a little movement to the story, take a look at this.

 

Cool, Steve!

We went to see the Soo Canal when we were in the Upper Penninsula. Rachael did her oral report at our co-op on how a canal works.

 

What I find fascinating in that video is how the tug boats guide the ships into the lock. If you start the video at 5:45, you'll see what I mean. From around 6:15, you can see the 'mules' doing their job too.

I've never seen the canal at ground level, but I have flown over it at night. It's mind-boggling to see the number of ships all lit up and waiting to pass through.