July 28th: Big Chute and Port Severn

Thursday morning we left Swift Rapids after going through the first lock of the day. It was a beautiful day for travelling. This part of the Trent is very scenic as you can see from the picture.






We made it to the Big Chute Marina restaurant, in time for breakfast. The plan was to go to breakfast with our new friends, travel across the land on the marine railway, and then stay at the bottom, even though it was a very short cruise day. We wanted to be at Port Severn for the weekend and with the two nights maximum stay, we needed to hold up for a day. Breakfast was great and we once again enjoyed the ride on Big Chute. It is always impressive, especially looking down from the top of the hill.



It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed watching the boats being transported on the marine railway. I walked up the many stairs to get a picture of the people we met the night before. Its always fun to have a picture of your boat as it is travelling on the railway.






On the way back down I took a picture through a window that overlooks the huge steel drums and cables that operate the railway. I wish there had been a person in the picture for a size perspective. I'd guess the drums are about ten feet in diameter. For more info on Big Chute click here:






Here is a picture of the Big Chute Falls. The railway was designed to allow navigation around the falls. The railway was used instead of a lock because the Park System wanted to prevent the sea lamprey, an invasive species in the Great Lakes, from invading the Trent Canal system.

The next morning we traveled to Port Severn and were able to get our favorite spot right on the wall under a beautiful shade tree. We planned to stay Friday night and Saturday because the weekends are very crowded with numerous boaters. Some know what they are doing and others.....well, not so much.


There is a nice farmer's market stand a short bike ride away. We could always count on them for good sweet corn. I bought 1/2 dozen thinking three ears today and three for tomorrow. There wasn't room in the cooler for the three ears I was saving so I just put them in the shade on the back deck. I know better than to do that over night! When I got up the next morning I found the remains of our corn. We're guessing a raccoon. At least it didn't tear a hole in our door screen trying to get in. That had happened several times in the past.




I noticed Avalon (from Orillia) coming to the lock. They were planning to go on through , not staying over night. The Port Severn Lock is the smallest on the system. The canal heading into the lock on the bottom is pretty narrow. Richard and Terri were checking out the exit path and it looked very narrow. The lock master said, "You can fit through there." With boats tied on both sides it looked quite tight. I got some pictures for Richard and Terri as they successfully navigated the channel.


I took advantage of the shade to wash and wax the boat. I had given it a good scrubbing at Big Chute but didn't have the energy to wax it also. It went pretty easily and Guppy is looking really good. I really hate having the boat looking dirty.






We had noticed when we arrived at Port Severn that the water on the bottom was very high. That means the water in Georgian Bay is very high. If you look closely at the wall in the picture, you'll see that the wall that is usually at least two feet above the water, is now only a few inches above the water. People have to jump out and hold their boats so they don't end up on the concrete.






We waited before leaving Sunday until mid day, hoping a lot of the boat traffic would be gone. Also, we wanted to find a dock on Beausoleil Island. The island is a beautiful Provincial park and is very popular. We passed several completely filled docks and came to one of the last remaining. We decided to drop the anchor and if nothing opened up stay on anchor over night. We wanted to be on a dock because I like to hike on the island. Fortunately, a couple boaters on the dock saw us and moved a couple small boats to make room for us. Very Nice! As we always say, boaters try to take care of each other.


Last blog's wildflower:

 Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel, Indian blanket, Indian blanketflower, or sundance), is a North American species of short-lived perennial or annual flowering plants in the sunflower family. It is native to northern Mexico and the southern and central United States from Arizona to Florida and the Carolinas and north as far as Nebraska. It is also naturalized in scattered locations in other parts of the United States as well as in Quebec and Ontario.

The branching stem of Gaillardia pulchella is hairy and upright, growing to 60 cm (2 ft) tall. The leaves are alternate, mostly basal, 4–8 cm long, with edges smooth to coarsely toothed or lobed. The pinwheel, daisy-likeinflorences are 4–6 cm in diameter, vividly colored with red, orange and yellow. The central disc florets of the flower head tend to be more red-violet, with the outer ray florets being yellow. In one variety, almost the entire flower is red, with only the barest tips of the petals touched with yellow. It blooms practically year-round in some areas, but more typically in summer to early fall.

I believe this is the correct identification but am not certain. There are many different looks to the Blanket Flower. If you have a different identification, let me know!

This week's blog wild flower: