August 11th: Back to Port Severn

We planned to stay one night at Port Severn after arriving from Georgian Bay. We had all day to relax which was nice because we had gotten up so early to beat the windy weather coming in.

There are some nice displays which related information about Port Severn's history of tourism. Interesting that it was a Pittsburgh firm that started a lodge and camp at Port Severn.

I did the best I could with pictures of the displays. Unfortunately they are quite sun faded.

Port Severn Dam Repairs

Sunday morning I was up early and went over to take pictures of the dam repair construction. It is a massive project and will take two years to complete. The pipes in the picture are a part of what is holding back the water during construction.

We were anchored in our favorite spot so I walked up a huge rock hill and took a couple pictures. It's a very scenic and peaceful spot. Guppy is just left of the tree tied to a concrete wall.



After spending a quiet night we stopped for fuel and a pump out. Then we were on our way to Swift Rapids, the largest lock on the system. We wanted to keep moving so we could have enough time to spend three days in Orillia and still meet Cindy and Randy while the grand kids were still traveling with them.


Last blog's wildflower:  Creeping Bellflower - Campanula rapunculoides 

Creeping bellflower, Campanula rapunculoides, is a too-vigorous herbaceous perennial native to Europe, Western Asia and the Caucasus. The specific name rapunculoides, meaning like Rapunculus, refers to a now obsolete-name for a group of bellflowers, meaning “little turnip” (for the roots). One common name in Europe is rampion, after which the Old World fairy tale figure Rapunzel is named. In that story her father steals a rampion plant from a witch’s magic garden to aid his wife in childbirth, and as punishment Rapunzel is exiled to a tower. Other common names include creeping bluebell, European bellflower, garden bluebell, June bell, rampion bellflower, and rover bellflower. The leaves, shoots and roots of this plant are edible, and it was once grown for culinary purposes.

In its native range creeping bellflower is found mainly in open woodlands, forest edges, and meadows. It was brought to North America as an ornamental, but is now considered an invasive weed by most people, despite its attractive flowers.

This blog's wildflower: