Bob and Gail's Next Adventure: Days 113-124

I arrived back in Orillia around 9:30 AM after a LOOOONG red-eye flight back from Seattle. I managed 2 hours of sleep on the plane. It was SOO good to see Bob waiting at the baggage claim. He managed to keep me awake the rest of the day by going shopping to re-provision the boat for the next few weeks as we'll be away from stores for awhile. I managed to stay awake until 8 and fell into bed where I slept for 11 hours! Felt GREAT!

The weekend in Orillia brought the Scottish Festival. It began with a parade mostly made up of Pipe and Drum bands from Orillia and all the surrounding towns. Who knew there were so many talented pipers! Then we all went over to the neighborhood park where the bands massed and played together. Very impressive!

Note the drummer that really is into the beat! Loved watching her ;)

Orillia was also celebrating their 150th birthday (in addition to Canada's 150th and Ontario's 150th) and had mounted Maple Leaf sculptures around town that the local artists, merchants and organizations decorated. One side celebrating Ontario's birthday and the other Orillia's. Some were simple and others were lavish! I got to meet the artist on this one. It is all interactive with a woodpecker that pecks the tree, a maple leaf that plays "Oh Canada," Orcas that "leap" through the water, "syrup" pouring into a pail, and more that I've forgotten. The artist's husband took my picture "paddling" the canoe! - note my skirt trailing in the "water"!

The Orillia side.

We left Orillia the next morning in time to make the first lock shortly after opening, but first we had to go through a swing bridge. We were warned by earlier Loopers that they may delay opening to wait for several boats to go through together. We were lucky as there was one other boat on the other side and the operator opened the bridge for us.

Three other Loopers were a bit behind us and they were able to get through as well. Observer, Fins, and Hour Plan caught up with us shortly after the bridge as well as several boats behind them! We made quite a parade!

The four of us went through the next lock together.

As they moved at a faster speed we let them go around us after the lock, but the speed limit kept them mostly right ahead of us. We all arrived at Lock 43 in time for a thunderstorm and the lock was required to shut down. Thankfully the 4 of us were the first to arrive and were able to tie up to the lock wall. A few other boats were able to as well but over 14 boats were stacked up waiting by the time the storm passed and the lock reopened. Our three friends went through first and we followed with a new Looper friend – Sanctuary. This was the tallest single regular (not lift) lock we’ve been in (47' drop) and the flow over the dam next to the lock was impressive!

From above...

From below

Going down...

Coming out of the lock

The scenery didn’t let us down and was breathtaking in spots and many interesting sites along the way.

Morning clouds

Early morning fishermen

Following the leader down a narrow channel

Neat log reflection

Fun water toys

Silhouettes in Canada too!

Rocklyn - think they're from Brooklyn?

So sad - it's seen better days!

Party time? Beach for a rental community

Beautiful log home - home of the Canada goose? They (the geese) are EVERYWHERE!!

It was quite a cool, overcast day but that didn’t stop Canadians on vacation from enjoying the water!

This is what I expected the “Rock Pile” in South Carolina to look like. Narrow channel carved out of rock – STAY IN THE CHANNEL!!

We arrived at Big Chute ahead of the pack and got good spots on the dock with the three boats that were already there. Three more came in later and docked and a few others went right on through the Lock. We had fun watching the boats go through and learning the system.

The railway car is lowered into the water and the boats are instructed who is to enter first. The straps are secured and the next boat is loaded. Kayaks and canoes are not secured - they just hold on the side of the car! When all is ready the car comes out of the water and literally goes over land to the other side and back into the water. The railway was built in early 1900's as a cheaper option than cutting through the rock to form a regular lock. It was meant as a temporary option but is still running today with only a few upgrades!

Several boats can go through at once