Friday July 28: Bobcaygeon

Bobcaygeon - one of our favorite of the small towns here on the Trent.

As luck and timing would have it, we ended up in our favorite spot on our favorite dock in our favorite town :-) And power hookups to boot!!

The Bigley Shoe Store located in the corner building along the canal used to be the bank many years ago. It's still a very 'stately' building!

Below the locks at Youngs Point

The travel days have again been pretty cool with the sun shining through occasionally. When we left Lakefield for the short 5 mile trip to Youngs Point on Tuesday, the rain wasn't around but the wind and cloudy sky made for a jeans and jacket day.

But by the time we were tied and in for the day, the blue skies finally emerged! Steve decided to buck the current and go kayaking downstream from the lock area. Very pretty region and he said the current wasn't all that bad.

The idea on Wednesday was to stop and fish on Clear Lake - which we did - in front of the same cottage where the owner told us we weren't "allowed to anchor a houseboat in front of his property".

My brother Pat patiently explained (this was years ago) that although he did indeed own the land, he did not own the water :-)

Juniper Island

But no fish for Steve this day. Too much seaweed and too many bluegill so we took a ride around Stoney Lake - specifically past Juniper Island. There was a sail/paddle class being held so the dock was full of small boats - the only means of transportation for the kids on islands around the lake.

This lake is so beautiful with its many granite islands and evergreen trees. Sort of like a miniature Georgian Bay.

Above the lock at Burleigh Falls

We finally ended up staying above the lock at Burleigh Falls. This isn't one of our usual places to stop but the day was not very nice and rain was due in later in the day. Only 11 miles today - I love the short travel days up here :-)

It was just about time to cook when the rain showed up - of course :-)

Fortunately Steve was almost done cooking and finished up under the umbrella.

Truth be told we like Burleigh Falls because of the restaurant which has a nice breakfast. I mean, after all, that's what it's all about :-) Nice short bike ride.

The lock personnel have put up a really nice flower garden - well done!

After breakfast on Thursday, we headed out for Steve's fishing spot: Lovesick Lock!

Perfect spot for the day above the lock. I could watch Steve fishing off of the dam by looking out the window.

After about an hour or so, he returned- no fish. Too many small fish eating up all of the bait!

The Cody Inn - where we actually spent a night on our
honeymoon :-)

Even though we intended to spend the night, it was still pretty early.  Because Lovesick is an island, there really isn't much to do once the fishing is done :-)

Mmmmm ....  the Cody Inn isn't far away (only another 6 miles away) - some of the best Chinese around :-) Sounds like a good idea. So we shoved off and ended up docking below the lock on a wooden dock sometime after 1 or so. Definitely time for lunch!




Time for Steve to set up his chair to relax a bit and watch the action of boats in and out of the lock.

Turns out that one spot above the lock (with power) had been open all day. Probably because no one realized it was there. So we caught the last lock up and ended up staying up there for the night. This gives an advantage of not having to go through the lock in the morning!


By the time we shoved off the wall above the lock was almost empty.

Cruising was definitely called for today as we really wanted to find a spot with power tonight at Bobcaygeon. The limit is a 2 day stay which would put us there Friday and Saturday nights.

Nothing but action on the two busiest days of the week! Today was windy and cool again but tomorrow is forecast to be sunny and warm.

Should be a great day to people watch :-)

Gannon Narrows between Buckhorn and Pigeon Lakes.

Chimney Swift tower at
Buckhorn Lock. We
thought we were at the
farm :-)

Monday July 24: Lakefield Rain and More Rain

Ready to enter the lift lock at Peterborough.

Leaving Peterborough Sunday morning we expected to see boats traveling - as would normally be the case on a weekend.

Not the case. Maybe the weather has kept the local boaters and cottagers at home?? It was a nice enough day but very overcast and a little cool.

Destination: 8 miles to a lock just south of Lakefield. This is a set of 7 locks - all hand operated that will take us to the next small town. Travel is normally slow so the idea is to break the trip up by staying at one of the locks for the night.

And of course we had to travel the through the lift lock which is always fun! For more info on it and how it works, click here.


The stop for the day was at Douro - Lock 24. Basically by ourselves most of the day and night with a few boats traveling but not 'normal' for a Sunday in mid-July!






It was a perfect place to cook dinner outside in the toaster oven!

It was going to be on the grill but when Steve pulled the portable gas grill out, the insides were totally rusted away - guess two years of just sitting is not a good thing for those little things :-)

The stay at Lakefield Marina was supposed to be just one night but the weather had other ideas: a high Monday of 62 degrees? Really?? Plus rain and thunderstorms?

We'll stay a second night please ....

Fortunately the rain was mostly at night and the rest of the time either dry or a slight misting.

We had to have a picture of the Lakefield sign so a ride down past the lock was in order. And that McDonalds is SO close ......

Plus there is a bike trail here with a fun Lakefield sign.




Steve took the extended ride around the point across from the marina. We often stay here instead of at the lock - great breakfast place right around the corner, after all :-)

It wasn't an all day play and no work: Steve had the buffer out and did some waxing on the boat in between the rain and mistings.

So the boat looks great - as long as we're docked on the Starboard side!








And if you're going to McDonalds, might as well get Happy Meals for the minions, right ? :-)

I just LOVE those little minions :-)

Tomorrow: headed out for Youngs Point, Burleigh Falls, Lovesick and beyond.

Friday July 21: Peterborough!

After the nice breakfast Monday morning at Frankford we continued north on the Trent River.

There were 6 locks to go through before we would arrive at Campbellford - destination for the night - 24 miles away.

The lower part of the Trent Canal varies from narrow waterways to wide bodies of water that are relatively shallow off channel. We're basically following the original river bed with the wide shallow area created with the damming of the river.



Fortunately there were areas where it was ok to cruise so we took advantage of those opportunities.

The day was sunny and cool - a beautiful day to be traveling.

We were lucky in that we were mostly going through the locks by ourselves. This means less time moving boats into the lock and a faster raising of the locks as for whatever reason the lockmasters let in the water much faster when a single boat is in the lock. We learned that the next day :-)

Finally - the last two locks of the day: a flight lock at Ranney Falls.

Nice in that once you are in the first lock, you just drive right into the second one - no waiting.

The lift in this flight is something like 70 feet. The current continues to be crazy strong.

And we found out just how strong when we arrived at Campbellford :-(

This year!

Normal years.

The picture left is from 2 years ago and is the normal water flow from the dam associated with the locks at Ranney Falls.

The island is circled in both pictures! It's just crazy!!



So one would think that we've been boating long enough to know that you ALWAYS dock going into the current right? (As the older gentleman who finally caught our line indicated to me :-) )

Of course I didn't think the current was really all that strong and decided that I could bring the boat in as we turned and attempted to dock WITH the current. Bad, bad idea. Not once, but twice!! WRONG! I ran into the concrete dock with the anchor platform not once but twice.

Riding to see the water flow and the park.

It was not a pretty sight ..... Eventually we did get in going with the current but that will be the last time to try that - for sure :-)

Looking north toward town from the
suspension bridge over the river.

Once in, we enjoyed the town again with a bike ride early on Wednesday before leaving for Hasting - another longish day of 21 miles and 5 more locks.

Really getting tired of the locks ....

There is a beautiful Provincial Park that runs along the river.

Some history of a dedicated group of volunteers that made this continuing vision of a family continue.







It was a peaceful night at Hastings on upper lock wall after a very looong day locking through the 5 locks - with 4 other boats!

Due to the design of the lower Trent locks, boats must use only one side of the lock when going up.

So we ended up with 3 boats on one side and the 4th boat rafted onto the larger boat behind us.

Which is normally fine except getting 4 boats in the lock takes four times as long as one - plus the one guy (and it was a guy - no sexism here :-) ) didn't have a clue about how to get his boat into the lock. I thought he was going to lose his wife several times as he maneuvered the boat so she could make a grab for the cables. I'm sure they were just inexperienced ..... So the five locks too twice as long as the previous 5. Tired by the time we were in Hastings for sure.

Oh well. All else was going well! Thursday was again a nice day with rain due in later in the day.

Travel? A long day of 40 miles across Rice Lake and up the Trent River to Peterborough.

The rain arrived early but we made it to the Trent River before it really started hard. Weird but the day ended the way it started - sunny with a few clouds!

The fountain is a fixture here from the centennial celebration of Canada 50 years ago. And when the sun shines through the mist? A nice rainbow :-)

We're staying another night - it's just time for a day off :-)

Plus the Despicable Me 3 movie was opening!

How could we possibly miss out on that??!!








So we rode though the very nice park to the theatre that is downtown.

















With a bonus stop at the small cafe on the river that Steve discovered served low saturated fat frozen black cherry yougurt!

Definitely a great score!










But the BEST SCORE EVER???

Steve had taken a ride to Walmart and being ever on the lookout: managed to find a NINTENDO SWITCH! What a surprise he pulled out of his backpack! This is the new video game system that he bought for me for Christmas but production has lagged way behind demand. Zelda is the best ever role playing game.

Can't wait to try it!! That will be shortly :-)

Monday July 17: Frankford on the Trent - Feels Like Home

Guppy at Kingston

Saturday we said good-bye to Kingston and a See-you-later to Karen and Craig on Rahn de Vous.

We were headed for the Trent Canal and they were headed back to Oswego and the Erie Canal. Not likely we'll see them again on the water this year but plans are formulating for a visit to their home in California sometime this fall. We'll miss them :-(

It was a gorgeous day for a change - perfect for traveling.


The idea was to break the trip to the Trent up into two days as it would actually have been closer for us to return to New York than to go to Trenton - the start of the Trent Canal.

So 40 miles to a small town called Picton. We ended up anchoring as the public docks were filled. Ok with us as the winds were predicted to die down at night.


It could not have been a more pleasant evening and overnight stay. The morning promised another good day of travel.

anchor alarm on phone

We were not dissappointed. We've been on these same bodies of waters in the past and with wind the travel can be quite miserable!

 The anchor alarm was set even though we didn't think it would be needed. Just really makes it easy to have a good night's sleep. At left, the anchor is obvious - and we are the small blue dot. If the blue dot goes outside the circle - the alarm rings. So nice :-)

Belleville (30 miles away) was the next place we wanted to stop.

There was this Chinese/Tibetan restaurant we found a couple of years ago there :-)

Craig and Karen were even going to drive over from Kingston to meet us there! Sadly - it was not open! Nor was it open Monday.

Sad state of affairs.... Steve took the bikes down and we ended up finding a nice Thai place and of course a breakfast place for Monday morning.

It wasn't long Monday (12 miles cruising which is only 45 minutes) until we went under the sign declaring we were entering the Trent-Severn Waterway!!!

No matter how many times we have passed under this sign and this bridge, it is always fun to do :-)

The water levels in the Trent are higher than we've ever seen. And the accompanying currents are also the most we've ever seen.

It's easy to know where there is a lot of current: just look for what I call the "dancing bouys" :-)

Of course most locks have an accompanying dam so the current sweeping past the end of the lock walls cause some interesting approaches to locking through.

We were locking through with 2 somewhat larger boats but fortunately both knew what they were doing so the locking process through the first 5 locks went relatively well.


Going through 5 locks was enough for us so we pulled over at Frankford - one of the few locks on the Trent that has power. I'm thinking we need to wean off of having power every night as it's not going to happen much after this!

It's a beautiful setting with perfect weather once again.

Steve cooked on the picnic table by the boat and there were nice shade trees for the warm afternoon sun.

One of the best thing about this stop is the small cafe a short bike ride from the lock. New owners, a bit of remodeling but basically just the kind of place we like :-)

And I love their fire hydrants - what a better way to find them than to put a big tall yellow stick that will be above the snow level :-)

Tomorrow: off to Campbellford!