The Big Chute has a Bad Day.

 Even beautiful Canada has some issues.  This island has been ruined by bird guano.

Today we left Orillia at 7:50 am to go 35 miles to the Big Chute.  It is a beautiful sunny day.  There is no humidity.  We traveled with Sequacious, a boat carrying a young family from Staten Island, NY.  We saw interesting sights along the way.

                                     

We have seen every variety of water toy and boat.  Here is a slide on a floating dock.

                                     

We passed through McDonald's Cut, lined with granite.

We had two regular locks to traverse before arriving at the Big Chute.  When we were settled in the second lock, Lock #43, the lock master told us that the Big Chute was not working.  Then he said that there were no spaces there to dock because so many boats had piled up.  We were eight miles away and wanted to continue, hoping it would be fixed today.  I called Big Chute Marina, which is in the same pool as the lock.  Yes, they had a slip for us.  So we drove on and came into the marina.  Three guys came out to help us dock.  We had to back in, which is not our strong suit.  But George did fine, and we are all tied up now.

As we were heading to the marina, we heard people calling to us.  Nearly Perfect and Tumbleweeds were rafted together on the blue line for the Big Chute Lock.  They had been there since yesterday.
We walked over to visit, but the Big Chute started working before we could get there.  A cheer went up from the ten boats waiting.

 Tumbleweed is the first boat in the railway car. Straps cinch around the hull.

Nearly Perfect is coming in next.  Their granddaughters are standing on the bow.

The railway car carries the boats over the road to the bay beyond. 

We are looking at the back of Nearly Perfect.

Two bonuses:  Nearly Perfect had something caught on its propeller, and the

lockmaster climbed down and cut it off. 

Also the guy with the purple plaid clothes because it's hard to find that

in men's wear.

Tomorrow we will move to the blue line early and take our turn on the Big Chute when it opens.  Excitement in Canada!

Sunday in Orillia, Ontario

This seaplane drove right behind us in the marina.

Today we did chores:  washing laundry, scrubbing the boat, vacuuming inside, and stocking groceries. I visited with Keri from Dream Girl at the laundromat.  It was a sunny and beautiful day.  Several boats left the marina to continue on the Trent Severn Waterway.  We are still here with five looper boats.

When I finished washing the boat and went to turn off the hose, a couple was standing there, looking at Aunt Aggie.  The man asked me several questions about our trip and the boat. After I answered a few, George came outside.  We introduced ourselves to Mark and Marti, our Canadian visitors.  They
were quite curious about our adventure.  We brought them on board to see the interior and gave them a boat card.  It was fun to talk about our trip.  They were on holiday and imagining possible
life changes.  We remember walking around docks and looking at boats and wishing we could take off. This was one of our main vacation activities for years.

Later we walked around to visit with other boaters.  We saw friends from Field Trip, Patriot, Penny Pinchin', Seaquacious, and Spirit Journey.  We compared plans with them.  Some boats are exiting tomorrow, and some will wait for Tuesday.

We plan to travel to the Big Chute tomorrow.  We will watch it and see how it works and how to approach.  We'll probably wait until Tuesday morning to get on the blue line and go through the
Chute. This is another cool engineering feat.  Look it up on youtube:  Big Chute Lock in Ontario.

Seahorse and Aunt Aggie are tied on the wall below Lock #40.

Notice the park land beside the canal. 

Here's a clear shot of the blue line at Lock #40.  When a boater is ready

to enter the lock, he ties onto the blue line to wait for the lock master to let them enter.

Port of Orillia

We arrived at the Port of Orillia Marina on Friday at noon.  They have good internet, so we caught up with news and emails.  We had dinner with Ron and Michelle from Spirit Journey.  Today there are lots of fun events in Orillia.  We began the day at the farmers market.

We bought date pastries here. She also had the ubiquitous butter tarts.

There is a downtown art display of Doors of Orillia.  My favorite features books and has a lending library included.  I was able to donate several books I've finished.

This door features a poem by Shel Silverstein. 

There is also the 9th annual Beatles Celebration in the streets.  They blocked off the streets and have tribute bands on every block.  The bands were rocking when a storm broke out.  We had a hard rain for 20 minutes this afternoon.

There is lots of Beatles paraphernalia for sale.

We are planning our trip through Georgian Bay.  For the past month or more our path has been set for us:  go north, travel up the Hudson River, take the Trent-Severn Waterway into Canada.  In a couple of days we will reach Port Severn and move into Georgian Bay, which is as big as a Great Lake.  There are infinite ways to cross this lake and infinite numbers of islands behind which to anchor. It's a bit daunting to consider.  As I write this, George is comparing charts and notes from various sources to plot a clear path westward across the lake. 

Back at the docks we met the woman above who is also Aunt Aggie. 

 She and her niece wanted their photo with our boat. 

The marina is decorated with these sailboats.  

I think this would look great in my future garden.

More loopers arrived while I was shopping downtown.  We are having intermittent showers but
no wind.  Today has been all play, and tomorrow we will do chores.

Lock 40 on the Trent Severn

On Thursday we motored from Fenelon Falls through six locks.  We traveled with Dan and Angie on Seahorse.  They have the same type of boat we do, so that’s fun.  There were five boats in our locks:  Seahorse, Aunt Aggie, and three Canadian boats.  We chatted in the locks and exchanged stories. We tied up in the afternoon on the lower side of lock 40. 

Dan and Angie behind us in a lock on Seahorse, a 35' Mainship Trawler.

There were a few exciting moments in the trip.  Our second lock was the Kirkfield Lift Lock.  Although this lock is only 49 feet, and it is a pan lock similar to the Peterborough Lock, the pan we entered was the higher one.  So we looked out over the world and had an unobstructed view of our five story descent. Scary for we folks who don’t like heights.  Kirkfield was our highest point on the Trent Severn Waterway.  From now on we lock down.  

We are at the top of Kirkland Lift Lock, looking out over the waterway.

The good news about locking down is that the Parks Canada folks help us with our lines.  We did not get help when we came down on the Erie Canal, and it was hard to wrap lines around the cables.  Also going down is smoother and faster than ascending.  

This is the real Trent Canal.  

Good news/bad news about the clear water:  We could see a rock shelf extending for 2 - 3 feet 

on the side of the channel.

We went through two canal sections today.  They were narrow and shallow.  Shades of New Jersey, but without the wind.  The canal was a conifer tunnel lined with rock.  We are now on the Canadian shield.  If we hit bottom, we will hurt a prop.  We stayed in the center and did ok. 

Hole in the Wall Bridge

We spent a beautiful night on the wall between Locks 40 and 41.  Only Seahorse and Aunt Aggie were there.  When the lock closes at 5:30, you know no one else can come through, so it is safe and quiet.  

The moon is rising.

Fenelon Falls

Aunt Aggie is tied on the wall right beside this sign.

This morning we left Buckhorn at 7:00 am, so that we would have quiet travels across the lakes to Fenelon Falls.  We passed through Pigeon Lake and arrived at Bobcaygeon as the lock opened around 9:00.  There we slipped into the lock beside Always Home.  Tumbleweed was in the lock too.  It was good to see our friends. Next we all motored across Sturgeon Lake to Fenelon Falls.  We had to wait a bit for the lock, but we all fit in.  The lock master helped us find a spot on the upper wall.  The wind had picked up, and it was hard to get the boat close.  Three guys pulled us in.  Thank you!  I was surprised by the wind's power since we'd driven from the lower helm, and I was not aware until we tried to dock that it was so strong.  We are rocking and rolling in the wind, but we are well tied.  

Wild rice grows in the lakes, making the channel narrower.

This is a charming town full of tourists.  Ice cream and pubs and gift stores are all on the two main streets right by our boat.  Across the way is the falls and a park.  I am writing this at a picnic table outside the visitor center, which has the free wifi.  

Top of a mill stone displayed in the park at Buckhorn.

This color of rock underlies Buckhorn.

Last night the wall at Buckhorn was much livelier than we've seen.  The area from Buckhorn to Fenelon Falls is a popular area for Canadians who rent houseboats or charming cottages on the lakes.  We counted 8 houseboats at our lock.  There were lots of folks playing games and enjoying music in the evening.  A group had a campfire too.  After I went to bed, I was awoken by the sound of a motor:  A houseboat was coming down the channel in the dark! Yikes!  I got up to watch.  There were no outside lights.  They motored quietly past all the tied boats and tied up on the blue line.  That's where you tie to show you are ready to go through the lock.  It was pretty weird to do that at 10:00 pm.  

Woohoo! George got a haircut today.

There's no privacy on the walls or in the marinas, so I am out of the haircutting business for now. 

Lift Lock + Lakefield + Buckhorn

 We are entering the lift lock on the left.  See the pan hanging above on the right side?

On Monday we left Peterborough at 10:30 am.  We had tried to let some other boats go ahead of us, and then we had to wait for a pump out before exiting.  We sat for a few minutes alone at Lock # 20, feeling pretty smug.  We were going through the locks alone. Then the tour boat showed up.  Oh, darn.  I had forgotten that the tour boat left our marina at 10:30, and now it was waiting for the lock with us.  Then two smaller boats came along too.  What a crowd!  The lockmaster said the tour boat would go in first, then the two smaller boats, and we would enter last.  I’m not sure why.  “Would we have room?”

“Yes,” he assured me. 

“Would there be room in the Peterborough Lift Lock for all four of us?”

“Yes.”

Here is the view from the top and back of the lift lock. 

So we went through Lock #20 and then motored a half mile to the Lift Lock.  The Lift Lock is a mechanical wonder completed in 1904.  We entered at the back of the lock and actually had the best position.  We were looking out over the world.  As the lock pan moved up, there were no walls around us.  I did have a moment of terror, but there was nothing to do but enjoy the ride.  And the ride was swift.  The lock pan moved up quickly like an elevator.  We were surprised.  Some looper friends were on the tour boat, and they took photos of us.  We were amazed to be doing one of those iconic looper challenges: We were in the lift lock!

The tour boat turned back after that lock, and we continued with the two smaller boats through five more locks, finally stopping for the night at Lakefield on the wall above Lock #26.  We had done a good day’s work, and we were surprised that only one boat was on the long wall.  After we tied up, we read a bit.  Then we walked into town for ice cream, groceries, and the LCBO store (again). 

We put down the dinghy and dangled our legs in the cold and clear water. On the back porch there was cool breeze, so we read there.  George tried to entice fish onto his pole.  We could actually see the fish look at his lure as it passed them.  That’s how clear the water was.  It was a quiet and delightful evening.

As we sat on the swim platform, this was the view by the wall.

Today we went 20 miles and through four locks to Buckhorn.  We saw amazing scenery in the Clear Lake region.  We were surrounded by spruce and stone.  There were huge rock outcroppings and whole islands of stone. 

Here is a house built on stone.  

Going through Hell's Gate we had to be careful to stay in the curvy channel. 

See the red and green markers?

We had an easy travel day because we were either alone or with one other boat in the locks.  Several locks opened as we reached them.  Open Sesamé.  I had a fun encounter in Lock #28, Burleigh Falls.  A woman on the boat to our side said, "Hello, Martha" after she tied her line.  What?  She knew me because she reads the blog.  I asked if they were doing the loop, and she replied that they were doing it with us.  How charming!  

When we reached Buckhorn, we decided to stop for the day.  The wind had picked up, and we wondered how rough the next lake would be.  The lock master helped us secure a spot on the wall, and we went to lunch at a cafe on the water.  

Seaquacious and Always Home passed as we were eating.  Spirit and Nearly Perfect tied up below the lock to wait for entrance.  They had to wait over an hour because four houseboats entered the lock at the top.  It was a wild show.  This is houseboat rental territory, and we've heard the renter just has to watch a 10 minute video and then takes the boat.  Two boats entered the lock without trouble.  When the third tried to come in, the wind caught its stern and turned it sideways.  I was scared for Aunt Aggie, who was sitting nearby on the wall.  

This houseboat had to move out, turn around and try a second time.

We are at the library in Buckhorn, using the public internet.  We will walk to the marina and visit friends for docktails later.  Then home for dinner and an early start tomorrow across Stony Lake.  There is less wind in the morning, so we will take off around 7:00 am.  

We visited the lift lock.

We crossed this bridge on our walk to the lift lock.

There's lots to do in Peterborough.  Yesterday we met Freya and Don, famous harbor hosts here, at a party she hosted.  There were about 20 loopers there.  Then we walked into the park and enjoyed the 

concert by Hannah Georgas.  She is an Ontario native but now lives in BC.  Her music was a backdrop for more conversations about routes and our backgrounds.  I enjoyed chatting with Penny from Penny Pinchin'. 

 Docktails on the dock with Freya.

A  panoramic view of the concert in the park.

Today George and I walked about three miles round trip to see the lift lock that we will go through tomorrow.  It is an impressive mechanical structure.  When we arrived, no boats were entering, so we didn't get to see them move up and down.  

The pan on the left is down, so we would enter there and tie to the railing.  At the same time

boats can enter the top pan from the other side.  The two pans move at the same time to change positions. Then boats exit.

On the walk home we stopped and watched a children's baseball game.  It was fun to see the kids' hitting and fielding and hear the coaches and parents' comments.  There were a few differences from our games:  This was machine pitched, and kids got five strikes.  Every kid got a hit while we watched two innings. The Chiefs, whose dugout we were behind, knew lots of call and response chants.  Oh, I wanted to copy all the words.  They reminded me of jump ropes songs.  The kids called them out with no embarrassment.  "Kevin hit a triple. A what? A triple. You doubt it? Read all about it...." 

We continued our walk to the LCBO and stocked up on gin and wine for our next week on the walls.
This morning Gypsea and Plane2Sea exited the marina.  Field Trip and Patriot just entered slips near us.  Last time we saw them was when they passed us in Sylvan Beach.  And the looper parade continues.

George is the main street here.

Peterborough, Ontario

The Otonabee River

Yesterday we came through Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River and into Little Lake.  It was a cloudy day, and rain was coming. The river reminded us of southern rivers, which was a surprise.

We are now at Peterborough Marina.  This is one of the places we've heard so much about.  It's another must see town to visit.  As we arrived, the rain started.  We had lunch, read the AJC and took a nap.  Jack (Nearly Perfect) banged on the boat to invite us to docktails on Gypsea at 5:00 pm.  There we visited with the folks from the other seven boats with whom we are traveling.  There are many other loopers here too.  We came home for supper and House of Cards.  We stopped with just two episodes because it sometimes haunts me, and I need a break before bed.  

The internet works better in the early morning.  We have already read our newspapers, sent Words to Friends, and checked email.  I would prefer to write this blog after exploring Peterborough, but the internet will probably not work as well in the afternoon.  

Today we will do some chores:  washing the boat, vacuuming inside.  Then we'll go downtown.  I hope to get a new stack of books and groceries.  

We may walk the mile to the famous Peterborough Lift Lock, built in 1904.  It is a two pan system.  Boats enter a pan going up or down.  The pans are in balance, and then one foot of water is added to the top pan, causing them to swap places.  Boats exit in each direction.  We are invited to docktails at the harbor hosts' boat today, a concert, and fireworks, the Summer Festival of Lights in the park beside the marina.  

Just as we passed, they caught another fish.  They held up the string for us to see.

Day 2 in Hastings

This cartoony map of the Trent Severn actually is a pretty good representation.

We decided to spend this beautiful July day on the wall at Hastings.  We have the internet! George did some engineering this morning while I did 3 loads of laundry.  We walked down the street to a family restaurant and ate fried haddock and fries and cole slaw for lunch.  Then we had nap.  I finished my book, Started Early, Took my Dog by Kate Atkinson.  What a complicated story!  I admire her writing and one of her themes, that children are the treasure.  One of the joys of retirement is reading all I want.  I feel like a girl, lying about reading on a summer afternoon.

Hollyhocks growing beside a wall.

There are several fun things about being in a small town.  One is the quiet and safety.  Crossing the street is easy/peasy. Another is walking down the street and finding everything you need: hardware, post office, ice cream, restaurants (three here in Hastings), gift shops, laundromat, LCBO (liquor store), quickie mart, bookstore, and recycling.  There is no large grocery in view, but it could be on a side street.  Another spot we see in every town is the Royal Canadian Legion Hall.  In the US these seem to be in more obscure locations.  In Canada we walk by one in each town on the main street.

Maybe they have veterans' services.  

Time to go sit out in the park and visit with the neighbors.  New boats arrived today, and we need to hear stories.

20 miles and 6 locks = Hastings, Ontario

Chairs lined up on the shore to watch boaters.

We motored on Wednesday from Campbellford to Hastings, a distance of 20 miles and six more locks.  We went through the locks with Always Home.  They entered first, and we were behind them.  It was stress free.  The day was beautiful and fresh.  That’s how several Canadians described the air.  Some might call it cold.  We had a storm Tuesday night, and  there was a north wind and a temperature of 55 when we awoke.  Fresh indeed.  

We passed peaceful scenes of rural life on the canal.  Then we tied up at Hastings with several other looper boats.  We had docktails at a picnic table under the trees with people who are now becoming friends.  

One of the many fishermen we saw. He looked like a ad for Canadian travel.

Canadians make the most of their short growing season:  They have wonderful gardens.

This morning our friends have gone on to Peterborough.  We are staying here or just going part of the way.  George is doing some engineering.  I am enjoying the internet and heading off soon to do laundry and walk around Hastings.  It is another lovely morning.

We are on the Trent Severn Waterway in Canada!

The locks are hand operated.  Here the lock master turns the crank to open the lock.

Yesterday we started the Trent Severn Waterway by going through six locks.  We only covered seven miles in 4.5 hours.  The first two locks were SLOW.  There were so many boats, and the locks are small.  We were in lock one with a large trawler and a sailboat, and there was just enough room to tuck us in the back.  At lock two we only had one line available, so we pulled to the blue line and said we would wait for the next opening.  We had only done two locks by 1:00 p.m.  However, locks 3 - 6 were easy and quick:  We were in the locks with a motor boat driven by a French couple from Montreal, and everything went smoothly.  

We were able to stay on the wall above lock six with seven other boats.  We had electricity and a shade tree beside us.  We walked to town, Frankford, for a few items and passed the Trent River, which had a sandy beach and families’ swimming.  We were charmed.  

Later that afternoon we came back and waded, and I went all the way in.  It was just knee deep, so cool and refreshing.  Jenny from Nearly Perfect and her daughters came too, and we skipped rocks.  

Here I am at lock six last night.

We had a potluck cookout under the trees with Nearly Perfect, Always Home, and Spirit.  The French boaters came too.  We grilled salmon and brought a salad.  

We slept well, quite tired after all the fresh air. 

We went swimming and skipped rocks in the Trent River.

Today  we left lock six at 8:00 am with three other boats.  We went through six locks together, rafted to each other to fit in.  It was a tight squeeze as you can see below.  We are now in Campbellford, having finished 12 locks.  There are lots of loopers here on the walls.  There is a farmers market tomorrow.  We will not travel with the group tomorrow but will leave later in the day and go fewer miles.  

As we drive by, kids wave to us on the canal.

Aunt Aggie is on the right in this photo.  Look how tight we are beside Always Home in the lock. 

Here are the two boats ahead of us in the lock.

Traveling to Trenton, Ontario

                                      

I sat on Don's back porch yesterday to write the blog. 

We left quiet Prinyers Cove at 7:30 am and traveled through Adolphus Reach and the Bay of Quinte to reach Trenton, Ontario.  We had a smooth traveling day with quiet water.  It was Sunday, so there were pleasure boaters out.  Lots of fishermen, sailors, and other trawlers passed us.

We passed three sailboats as we exited the cove.

This colorful sailboat was in the Bay of Quinte, 

The sail is the banner of Scotland.

When we got close to Trenton, we went under this parasailing adventurer.

We were happy to arrive in Trenton at Fraser Park Marina at 1:30 pm.  Lots of loopers are here.  This is the place to rally before entering the Trent-Severn Waterway, which we will do tomorrow morning.

I feel the old anxiety because there are so many boats here.  How will we all fit in the locks?  Will it be as crowded as the Oswego Canal?  We have heard that the locks are smaller and only hold four boats, so that would be an improvement.  We also heard that the lock master comes to each boat and organizes the lock. Tomorrow we hope to go through six or more locks and tie up on a wall for the night.  This is a part of the trip we have anticipated and heard about for two years. We are very excited to be here.    

We visited tonight with old friends from Nearly Perfect (Jack and Patti) and Seahorse (Angie and Dan) and Gypsea (Dick and Pat) and met new folks too. After docktails we returned to Aunt Aggie and ate supper.  We will soon be watching a couple of hours of House of Cards, season one.  We are hooked.  

Fraser Park is right beside our boat. 

Looking down the full dock; Aunt Aggie is at the back on the right.

Since we are in the back, we will do a couple of chores and wait to leave. I will try to be relaxed

as we move through the waterway.