This is what we woke up to on the morning that we headed out from the marina - the boat + dock + pretty much everything else was covered with Shad Flies (May Flies);
Approaching the eastern portion of the Trent Severn Waterway, close to Gamebridge;
Lock #39 - 'Portage Lock' , our home for the next few days;
Anchor Girl getting the lines ready;
A look eastward from the top of the lock, towards Lake Simcoe. You can see how the locks are in close proximity along this stretch;
Looks like we got a great parking spot;
This is what the grounds look like. As I mentioned in the above video, the entire Trent Severn Waterway is operated by Parks Canada and, therefore, we can enjoy a park like setting at many of the locks. The ones in this area are particularly appealing as the have limited road access, keeping the road/car traffic to a minimum;
The cruise boat 'Kawartha Voyageur' passed through on day one. That big boat was built to fit in the smallest lock that it passes through. The tighter locks it passes through are accommodated by the fact that the bow section is hinged so that it can fold up, making room for the boat to get into a lock like this one;
Here she is exiting at the bottom;
Once again, I have MORE MIND BLOWING VIDEO to share of this monumental event;
Waiting at the bottom we have the 'Poker Sticks' & 'Sand Dollar' crews;
This was the first time for these guys to pass through this way;
They decided to continue on to attempt an overnight at Coboconk, on Balsam Lake. Ultimately, they ended up staying at the Kirkfield Liftlock;
Good time for a brief snooze. Ya, it was REALLY brief, as my first mate wouldn't stop bugging me;
This is one of my favorite photos of the summer of '11;
Nice spot;
Another look east;
A quiet evening;
The following day, Jim & Marg returned with Bill & Joan to spend some time here.
Here's Jimmy & I doing our best figuring out how to put his bug tent together;
Still working on it . . .
At least our fumbling around with the thing provided some entertainment for Bill & Joan;
TADA! We got it;
Just before the lock closed for the day, these guys moved their boats from the bottom to the top for the night;
This boat 'Life Is Short' was behind us. These folks have taken them words to heart and 'did the Loop' - all 6000+ miles of it - in this vessel a few years back.
Here's a LINK to their web site, if you would like to read about their adventure.
Good for them!!
BBQ time;
A nice evening;
This was the first time using the recently installed fire pit. They even sell firewood at the lock;
Jimmy kicking back to enjoy the fire - and maybe even an evening cocktail or two ;-)
Sunday morning and time to head home. Here the three of us in the lock;
'Poker Sticks' splashing through the waves on Simcoe. It doesn't look too rough in this photo, but we were having some waves break spray right up to the flybridge;
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As we had such an enjoyable time on the long weekend, we decided to head back the following weekend, this time spending a night at Lock #40. The 'Docked Wages' crew were able to join us, as well;
Yaaaaaa!
A final look out the side of Boogaboo . . .
