July 30, 2015 - Half-way through the Trent-Severn

We are now in Buckhorn, Ontario and I am sitting in the shade of the public library porch writing this entry. Mark & Vicki are having work done on their boat and Jim is again working on installing the last three blinds.  Weather has been miserably HOT and today is no exception. Luckily there is a light breeze. Depending on how long the projects take, we may be leaving for a small trek up the waterway to another destination for the night.

Blue Willow and other boats nearing the famous Peterborough Lock. This lock was opened in 1904, one of only two hydraulic lift locks on the Waterway (Lock 21) and purported to be the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world (65 feet). This dual lock is fed by gravity, using the counterweight principle. The views surrounding - below and above - are spectacular. To understand more about this lock, go to www.pc.gc.ca

This looks like a real birch bark canoe resting along the shore.

Very interesting detail

Pretty flower garden beside the locks. Parks Canada does an outstanding job in every way.

Boats waiting to enter the "pan" that will lift us to the higher level. Instead of tying to the lock wall and having the water raise us up in other locks, this lock has "pans" that we tie to and the pan raises the boats. 

This is Blue Willow and a tour boat entering the Peterborough Lock pan.

Mark & Vicki on Blue Willow in the pan next to us.

Up we go!

Looking back from the top of the lock. Spectacular scenery!

Jim enjoying the view from above the lock

After a very hot day in Peterborough, we walked to this beach and took a dip.

On this part of the Trent-Severn, we have finally entered the Canada that we had all envisioned. The scenery along the waterway is spectacular!

Peaceful spot

Many houses are built upon the granite rock islands.

Peaceful and quaint

New house of dreams going up

Pictures can't capture the beauty of this area

Transportation via boat...pull into the boat garage instead of the car garage

Another charmer

Granite rock on nearly every shore

Check this one out, nestled in the trees, nearly hanging over the edge of this granite island

One of the few very large homes on the water. Most are rustic cottages.

Not sure what this is, but looked interesting from a waterfront view perspective, if these are all windows.

Babbling brook making its way over and through the granite

Better view of the brook

Calm and beautiful day on the water

Check out the foundation

Houseboats are very popular in this part of the country

Entrance to one of the locks

Picnic and resting area along the lock wall

July 28, 2015 - More pictures

Fatigue won out last night, so you got short-changed on all of our pictures. So, here are more:

This chart should give you an idea of the twists and turns this waterway takes. By car it's 120 miles from Trenton to Port Severn but via the water. On Sunday we left Trenton, Sunday night we were just past Campbellford and yesterday we made it to Peterborough. Those were two very long days of locking and traveling, but the rest of the trip through the Trent-Severn will be more leisurely. Our goal was to meet up with Blue Willow and we made it.

Many nice homes and cottages along the waterway. The Trent-Severn reminds us very much of the Northern Michigan inland waterways (Indian River, Burt Lake, Mullet Lake, etc.)

We saw many family outings along the way...fishing, swimming, just relaxing on the water. Rice Lake, through which we passed, is listed as one of the best fishing lakes in Canada. Dreaming of a perch and bluegill fry makes my mouth water! Jim is planning to purchase a fishing license so maybe that dream will come true.

This interaction between lock master & assistant is typical. They all have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome, and offered advice on things to see. 

It's very typical to see falls of differing heights at all of the locks. This is Lock 19, our last before Peterborough. Only 23 to go!!!

This man-made water fountain is a surprising sight after clearing the lock and entering the harbor  at Peterborough. It was provided to Peterborough by one of the utility companies for their centennial. Like the fountain in Grand Haven, it is lit with colors at night. (No music, though.)

Entering Peterborough Marina

We saw this crew boat fully engaged with their rowers in their pink flotation devices.  Our assumption was that they are all either breast cancer survivors or somehow touched by breast cancer. It was an awesome sight!

You go, girls!!! 

July 27, 2015 - On the Trent-Severn Canal

We have made it to the Trent-Severn waterway! A key spot that boaters target is Trenton, the “gateway” to the Trent-Severn waterway, which is 240 miles long. This waterway was built without a plan over 90 years, not built for commercial or military purposes, and takes many twists and turns across Ontario. By 1780 the Canadians were looking for a good route to move goods and people from Northern to Southern Canada to avoid potential military intervention by the U.S. This was the birth of the idea for the Trent-Severn, but it met much opposition throughout the coming years. By 1815 the idea was dropped as an option because it wasn’t considered a military necessity. In the late 1800’s, trains were carrying lumber but, because they couldn’t reach all the areas along the water, steamboats began carrying supplies to the waterfront areas and pressure was exerted to build locks to connect lakes and rivers to facilitate steamboat travel. After numerous delays, the Trent-Severn waterway was finally opened on July 6, 1920. It had taken more than 90 years and cost over $19 million. While some modernization has taken place over the years, most of the locks and dams are more than 75 years old and many are operated manually.

By the time we reach the end of the Trent-Severn we will have traversed 42 locks! Yikes! We both admit that locking is one of our least favorite things on this trip but the folks working the locks have been tremendous! 

We left Trenton (now called Quinta West) yesterday (Sunday) and arrived at the first lock past Campbellford, Ontario for the night. We tied to the lock wall for the night and had a very peaceful and relaxing evening. It was a slow, frustrating day because there were three boats (including us) going through each of the locks so it took more time than we had hoped. Luckily, we were able to catch one more lock after the others dropped off for the night in Campbellford, so we had a head start on the others boats this morning. We arose early and rode our bikes to Campbellford for breakfast and then to a renown bakery for cream filled donuts to share with friends Mark and Vicki (Blue Willow). Today was a much better day of traveling because we had each of the locks to ourselves…NO other boats, so easy in and out!  Another plus for the day is that there are fewer locks so we’ve been able to travel at a decent speed for longer distances.

We made it through the last lock of the day, just before Peterborough, IN THE NICK OF TIME! We entered the lock with about 2 minutes to spare before they closed for the night. Unfortunately, we are restricted on our travel times because of the hours of lock operation. They open at 9 and close at 5:30 during the week. On weekends they continue to operate until 6:30. Luckily, we were able to get through that last lock and to our destination - Peterborough Marina, where we reconnected with Looper friends Mark, Vicki & Daisy (sweet dog). Vicki had prepared a delicious dinner for us all, so we had a wonderful evening catching up on things we had each missed, and have now retired for the night. We are SO happy to be traveling again with Blue Willow and will finish the Loop together and be with them when they cross their wake in Petoskey. 

Entrance to the marina in Trenton

The marina office, boaters lounge, showers, restrooms, etc. Gorgeous new facility which just opened a couple of weeks ago.

A flagship facility in this less than impressive city. The hope is that the marina facility will attract boaters and help boost the economy.

The bridge in Trenton which is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Canal

Trenton has recently been combined with other surrounding communities to now be named part of Quinte West.

This is the first sign graffiti we have seen in Canada.

Entering one of the locks

The locks offer a great opportunity for young college-age students for summer employment. We found every single lock master and intern to be exceptionally nice, friendly, enthusiastic, and just plain WONDERFUL! They do a fantastic job of welcoming boaters to Canada.

This portion is a man-made canal.

Very pretty scenery along this portion of the Trent-Severn. In the distance you can see a footbridge used to cross the waterway.

This is one of two tiered locks we have encountered. See the tall blue wall at the far end? The first lock where the boats are entering raised us up, then the blue wall opened and we entered the second lock behind the blue door, which took us up the second tier. It is literally 2 locks connected together on the same site. 

You can see water leaking from the higher lock to the lower lock. These locks are very small, as they were not intended to accommodate large ships or barges. 

Very pretty scenery along the waterway

Lock doors closing behind us

Charming homes along the waterway and on Rice Lake