Day 60- Dow's Lake, Ottawa to Burritt's Lock 17


 

The Rideau Canal is about 120 miles long.  My simple math tells me you need to go about 30 miles a day to get through in 4 days.  It's not easy to guarantee a whopping 30 miles a day due to speed limits, locks and bridges.  But, you do the best you can.

Working in our favor today, it was a weekend and the locks operate on the schedule that will become normal in the summer , 9AM to 7PM.  

With that in mind, we were poised on the Blue Line just before 9.  Then the locktender came by and apologized that the 'Reach', or the span of water between this lock and the next, had low water and it would take about a half hour for the next locktender to release enough water to refill it.

OK, such is life.   Then, a few minutes later, he came back and said, "More bad news.  They're having a bicycle road race and the cops have shut down traffic on the road that goes over the bridge at the next lock and they won't be able to open it until 1PM!"

Yipes!  This whole day is going up in smoke!  Thankfully, the reach got filled and there was clarification on the road race and the bridge could open and we were on our way at the crack of 1030.


Lots of bike traffic on the path, all the time.


Saw a lot of foam in this lock chamber.


If you are strong and have an (expensive) lightweight bike you carry it over the lock to go back the other way.


If you don't have the criteria listed above, you push them across.


The Rideau Canoe Club was bustling with activity this time.


Racers


These are Oru Kayaks like mine, just a shorter model. They fold up small and only weigh 20 pounds. Check them out. Love mine!


Pretty cloud line above this dam.



The water looks like a string mop??

Weigela


I wouldn't want to fall into that cold water!!

This farmer must have sold off the canal front water to pay for the kids' college,
or the blue Harvestore silo.


They obviously always wanted to live in a lighthouse.

Can you find the glider plane in this photo?


Getting ready to land.


Pulling another into the air. 

It was a treat to see the glider operations as we went by.


Get your floaty ring or life jacket, the water is freezing!


What kind of party is going on here??

Another fabulous day on the Rideau Canal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheryl comments in this font
Paul comments in this font


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Almost READY

Thanks for stopping by to check on our progress on the Great Loop. This is Cheryl writing today. Grady, the gray house/boat cat is now on board and getting adjusted to the new sites, smells and sounds. The plan is to depart the dock on Wednesday morning! Seems like we have been planning for a while and are almost ready to go. Tonight will be the first night sleeping on board. So far the boat is very well equipped and comfortable. Paul has done an excellent job of seeing that it is ready. For those who want more information on the Great Loop click on this to go to the FAQ section of the official site AGCLA. Check back for the next blog after we are underway. Let the fun begin!!
Read more

Year End Summary

Image
  Wow! Amazing! Incredible! Life changing, maybe not. Life changing is a comment that several people have made about this trip. But, we have learned that they had never lived on a boat before. They had hardly ever planned a route, anchored, docked, slept at anchor, handled lines, encountered weather and done all the things that Paul and I took for granted because we had both done many times in the past.  For this we are both thankful for the history we brought into this trip.  Paul's knowledge and past experience and research made the trip safe, fun and easy. Was it a once in a lifetime trip, YES! We met a lot of very friendly folks. Ate a lot of really good food. Laughed our way around the miles.  Saw so many sights we have to look back on this blog to remember them all. Any way about it we are part of a very small group of people to do this trip. I will be eternally grateful to Paul for inviting me to join him on the Loop. It was a simple question.  "Do you wa...
Read more

Days 184-186- October 17, 18, & 19 Iuka, MS to Midway Marina, Fulton, MS to Columbus, MS

Image
Tennessee River, Tenn-Tom Waterway, Tombigbee River A 525-mile long river that flows through the states of Mississippi and Alabama. The name Tombigbee, comes from the Choctaw word for "coffin makers," referring to tribesmen who prepared the dead.  Welcome to fall on the rivers!  Chilly nights and relatively warm water means fog, fog fog.  The treetops could be in sunshine, but that first 40 feet above the water reminds me of Maine. Tippy toe slow, radar on, autopilot driving on a route.   As the first hour or so passes, the sun does the job. That bird ever so kindly flew across the sun as I took the photo. Yay, it is burning off. Well, maybe not quite yet! Ok, now it's gone for the day. ...and then, one more patch of it. These structures show you where a river or a creek  enters the waterway from a higher elevation.  The 'teeth' break up the flow of water so it doesn't cause a problem in the channel.  All the ones we saw were dry, but spring ...
Read more