Cruising the Trent-Severn...

We haven't had a wifi connection since our last post. After several days staying on lock walls, it's nice to be connected again.

Regarding the Trent-Severn...

Oh, my goodness gracious! THIS WATERWAY IS SPECTACULAR! We have been through some beautiful country, some interesting locks, and met some truly outstanding people.

Our first night in the marina provided us with some new friends that we've wound up meeting the last couple nights. Scottish transplants to Canada, Bill and Kathy are a hoot - warm, welcoming, and great sense of humor. And Bill cooks! And Al, the ladies' man (I think he took a real shine to Joan).

We have been through lakes, rivers, blasted channels, and some wonderful locks. I'll be a while getting some photos, but the lift locks (run like a see-saw) are pretty amazing... especially when you pull into one from the UP side and you are looking out over your bow... 5 stories above the ground! And the Historic Locks, where the lockmasters turn the valves by walking a wheel around. What an absolute treat this has been. The waterway runs through towns, farmland, wilderness, and lake after beautiful lake... each one looks like a destination resort... and these people love their boating... most of the homes along the water have boathouses (some with two large doors).

And the weather: days in the low 70s with scads of sunshine, and nights cool enough to need the Wallas. Great boating, great water, great sleeping. I love this area!

We are now at a small town called Lagoon City on the NE shore of Lake Simco. The canals in the town remind me of Ft. Lauderdale... only a bit nippier, eh? And a lot smaller.

As we close in on the Labor Day weekend, we know the waterway will be more populated; our plan is to get down, enjoy wherever we are, and stay out of the way of the crowds. So far, this cruise has been blissfully quiet. And did I mention: beautiful!

I'll hit the highlights:

We spent the first night on the Trent-Severn at the Reach Harbour Marina (photos that morning in the previous post). Nice folks, good showers, wifi, and ice cream.

After leaving the marina, we traveled west. The locks here are smaller than those on the Erie Canal. And while there are definite canals along the T-S, there are also wide open lakes with beautiful blue water... beautiful homes and boat houses dotting the shoreline... beautiful parks alongside the locks (you have to pay to stay on the lock wall, unlike the free walls in the Erie). It is interesting how the lakes are tied together with the canals, rivers, and locks. The lift-locks are like giant see-saws, raising one lift full of boats up while the other side goes down - it's quite a ride.

Our second night was on the wall at Bobcaygeon - a great little town alongside the canal. The wall was nearly full when we pulled in; the only spot we could find was close to the lock opening. The lockmaster came down and said, "You can stay there, but you really won't want to. The rental houseboats will be on their way back through here the next couple days, and they are not always... um, under good control." A couple guys overheard our conversation, came up to us and said, "We can pull our boat back on the rocks and you can have our spot. We're only going to be here for a couple hours." How's that for nice? We thanked them and moved Wild Blue into a tight spot, but out of the way of the lock traffic.

Izzy on the dock...
We walked all around town, had pizza for supper and Tim Horton's for breakfast - it was a really fun stop. Late afternoon, the Kawartha Voyager pulled into town...
As you can see, it FILLS the lock. It also filled most of the wall space on the south side. It's a passenger boat, obviously made for these waters.


There are no boater services (like power and water) on the wall, but there is a restroom. With their hot water, we can fill our solar shower and still live large on our small boat.