Trent Severn Hastings to Orillia

(You're getting 3 blogs in 12 hours here... I'm playing catch-up with our busy 9 days of travel and adventure AND taking advantage of wifi while we have it. Be sure to read this and the 2 that follow.)


Hello Ship(?)Mates,

We've been traveling! So far, we've come 3500 miles, with a new location almost every night, altho its slow going on the canals. The Trent Severn (TSW) Waterway continues to be great, but with some excitement all its own.

Our pattern has been to travel in the mornings, get a tie-up along the lock walls, and then hang-out, walk around, read, etc. You can see how strenuous this is for Jack, Dinah, and Steve when we got to Ashburnham, just before Peterborough.

We wanted you to see the variety of boats that are on the waterways and in the locks.






The excitement at Peterborough is the first of 2 'lift-locks'... The second is at Kirkfield. Basically, this is 2 pans of water, each the size of a lock. You drive your boat into the one on your level, they close the back gate to keep the water in the lower one, then enough water is added to the upper one to make it come down. It starts moving slowly, then speeds up as they pass each other. An engineering wonder, a terrific view and a near meltdown for those of us with height issues.


At Peterborough there is a great visitors center for both water and land travelers with lots of info explaining the construction and workings of lift locks. Coincidentally, this week the Toronto paper carried an article about a modernistic design of a lift lock in Scotland(?) as well.








The Kirkland lift lock is in a rural area and doesn't have the tourist traffic that Peterborough does, but is just as dramatic. All the locks are ascending from Trenton to Kirkland; Kirkland begins the descending locks to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.




The lakes here are amazingly clean and clear... you can see the bottom of the lock and lakes, more than 6' down. Folks say this is compliments of an invasion of the zebra mussels. We've been swimming: water temps at Peterborough were 73, but warmed to 82 by the time we got to Gamebridge, just east of Lake Simcoe.


We love looking at the variety of cottages and homes on the shores, and on the islands. As you can see, there are some narrow places that wind
between the rocks, and some cottages perched on small rocky islands.





Weekends are very busy on the water, especially in the central region of the TSW, called Kawartha Lakes. This next pict is the busy lock at Buckhorn on Sunday afternoon. We were happy to get places on the wall, and there were at least another 7 boats there overnight after the

dayboaters went home. Almost always there is an ice cream shop nearby. Here at Buckhorn, there were 4 shops within a short walk, and by 8pm they had all run out! And before we got there. :(

















At Fenelon Falls we saw this make-shift barge pushing some distinctive logs. Turns out the logs were for new doors on the locks there. And to show the elaborate landscaping, you can see the gardens there.

After crossing some more lakes, we came to the actual cuts... likely handcut through stone, which is piled on the sides in the woods, some 6-8' high. You can see that the canals here are very narrow: you are told to use your radio to call ahead to oncoming traffic. It was a tight squeeze to pass this boat. We tied up just before the Kirkland lock and met this tour boat going eastbound. It carries 45 people plus crew, and, we're told, folds down some of the upper portions to get under the bridges which are no more than 16' high.

You can see the Shingebiss as we descend the liftlock here. Eschaton was unwilling to take the front position! Gulp! Later, we passed from a narrow canal into a larger lake through this unique opening. At a later narrow spot, we encountered this barge, also unique, carrying a pickup truck, an aluminum boat, and a medium sized generator. Hmmm. Clearly, not everyone we encounter is doing the Loop.

Lastly, yesterday we crossed Lake Simcoe, a 20 mile trip on a lake that for us was as calm as a millpond but can have waves up to 8'. Our relief was tempered by a huge infestation of fleas and gnats that descended on both boats after we got out into the lake, driving us downstairs to travel the last 10 miles. They were all over the windows, the rails, the screens, and this is a small portion of the piles around the back door. We were going to wash down the boat anyway, but this necessitated it when we got to the Port of Orillia marina (ah, electricity to run our AC!).
Amidst the beauty and serenity, fleas and gnats happen.

For those of you who have wanted more pictures, this is a 3 star blog entry, don't you think?

Later today, we'll be heading north and west again. Our new excitement will be the Big Chute (google it and get a preview) and then the open waters of Georgian Bay. As the Psalmist says, "new every morning is your love, O Lord" and also new every morning are more wonders and beauty to behold.

We're so glad to know you're traveling with us.

Be safe, know God is with you, and keep in touch.
nan and jack