I had not realized just how long the process would be. We entered the lock early in the evening and waited and waited and waited.
The reason for the wait was that operating the lock is an expensive proposition and it didn't make sense to open it just to let one boat through. So we waited through the evening for more boats to come. Eventually a barge and another cruise boat appeared and took their places inside the lock.
It was a close fit.
Then as the hours passed and the sky darkened another barge and another, and another took their place.
Finally in the middle of the night the lock was full. The gates closed behind us, the water level sank, and when the gates opened before us we sailed on into the night.
