Repair updates: water tank is not
leaking and the new battery has exceeded our expectations! When's the
last time that happened?!!
So we left Orillia Wednesday with a
slight breeze at our stern. Nice way to travel across Simcoe –
especially since coming the other direction it was a rainy,
not-very-nice day.
The first 3 locks (now going up in
elevation) are straight as an arrow, passing through farmland around
the lake. It's not unusual to see a herd of cows grazing in the
pasture off of the canal.
We even saw the swans from two years
ago! Well, we've decreed they are the same ones since swans tend to
be territorial and this is where we saw the family of seven.
I was once again confused by the
bouncing 'buoys' off to the right of the channel. Couldn't figure out
what they were or why they were there. Until we were close enough to
realize it was once again just Canadian geese getting their lunch :-)
We ended up spending the night at the
lower end of Kirkfield lift lock. All by ourselves! Not that we cared
that much – just surprised.
This lift lock is similar of course to
the one at Peterborough with the exception that it is made from steel
rather than concrete. Not quite as high of a lift either. And I don't
think as well known – only because of it's distance for any kind of
a town. Looking closely, you can see the top of a houseboat as it
makes the trip up.
From Kirkfield to Balsam Lake, much of
the travel is through the 17 mile canal dug to create the waterway
connection from Balsam to Lake Simcoe.
What's amazing is this waterway was dug
using dynamite to blast the rock then horses and men to remove the
rock. Not much in the way of power equipment at that time (late
1800's).
Our favorite dock at Coboconk was
available – we settled in for the weekend. Steve cooked a GREAT all
in one on the grill: turkey, veggies with onions. Perfect.
And the resident loon kept paying us a
visit. Really fun to see. They are such beautiful birds.
Saturday turned out to be a nice to
kayak. Steve had scoped it out the previous afternoon. No sun but
that was fine as the days have been pleasant in the shade but quite
warm in the sun. The turtles were still out even though the sun
wasn't.
There's a nice weed bed with logs not
far from the dock. Definitely too shallow for a boat but perfect for
a kayak.
Lots of stumps as well. Some with new
trees growing!
Wind-downed trees as well – evidence
of the extreme winds that frequent this area. And a reminder that
most of the trees are not very well rooted in true soil.
This blown over tree has a heart-shaped
hole in it's root system – formed by the rock around which the
roots grew. Guess it just didn't have enough of a hold though …..
It was a very quiet, peaceful morning
Sunday as we prepared to move on. More red adirondack chairs
compliments of Parks Canada …..
Arrival to Fenelon Falls at lunch time
was probably not the best idea. We ended up moving three times until
we eventually ended up with a spot with power and water. Not that we
really need it – just makes life easier :-)
Plus time for a late afternoon bike
ride. Good thing we fueled up before we left the boat ….
There was time to stop on Cameron Lake
for a bit of fishing. Sadly no perch – just one rather large rock
bass (not very good for eating). But there was a family of loons
fishing also. I think they did a lot better than Steve :-)
Award for the day: best tie job. This
boat was NO WAY going to get away! Funny thing? There is not one
twist in the line that was turned back on itself. Definitely done by
a non-boater :-)
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