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I am sitting at a picnic bench at a city dock in Orillia working off battery power so I am not sure how much I will get posted on the blog today...I know I probably won't get any photos downloaded. But, for now...
We left Bobcaygeon on Wednesday morning and began the trip to the Kirkfield Lift lock...they say it is not nearly as impressive as the lock in Peterborough (not true), and at Kirkfield we hit the "summit" of the waterway and began our descent down to Georgian Bay.
We enjoyed another glorious day with few clouds in the sky and little wind, which suits us "fair weather sailors" just fine--the first half of the day we cruised across Sturgeon Lake, best known for its immense cottages which line the lakefront, each with equally elaborate boat houses. I loved taking our time through the Fenlon River and Fenlon Falls area where at one point we rounded a blind corner only to be surprised by high-sided limestone walls dotted with yellow and purple wild flowers and a row of old style boat houses and funky docks, brightly painted--some with wooden ladders reaching up to the top of the cliffs where the cabins sat.
We crossed Cameron Lake and Balsam Lake (841 feet above sea level--that's a lot of locking!)and Mitchell Lake...and as we meandered our way through the lakes and rivers, it was never more clear how the the idea for the waterway was conceived. There were times when the man made channel was no more than 20' wide...thank goodness no other big boats were heading in the opposite direction. The water was so clear, we could see the rocks and lake grasses just below the surface.
Locking through at Kirkfield was awesome...The lift structure is NOT enclosed, so when you drive into the container you almost feel like you could just cruise right off the end. There we were, just hanging out there, floating nearly 5 stories up in the air, tied to the starboard side with 2 lines! It was a thrill! That night we slept at the bottom of the lock, moored to the lock wall. It was a very remote area, about 2 miles from the little town of Kirkfield. We walked to a small, country cookin' restaurant for dinner near the top lock...it was our very first night to eat dinner at a restaurant since we left Brewerton!
On Thursday we headed out and thought we would get as far as Lake Simcoe, but when we went through the last lock and saw how calm the water was we went for it. It was like gliding across glass. Perfect! We had been concerned for days because so many people told us to wait until a good day to cross the lake due to the winds this time of year...one can really get bounced around. We had the most perfect crossing and got into Orillia ahead of schedule...we even went for a swim off the back of the boat once we docked...it was fabulous!
I think we are going to stay here in Orillia for a couple of days---there seems to be a lot to do. Tomorrow there will be a huge parade through town with 25 marching bands--celebrating The 31st annual Orillia Scottish Festival...Our timing for this kind of thing is always perfect...we could not plan it any better...
The weather, the new friends, the activities...Our Timing is Perfect!
We left Bobcaygeon on Wednesday morning and began the trip to the Kirkfield Lift lock...they say it is not nearly as impressive as the lock in Peterborough (not true), and at Kirkfield we hit the "summit" of the waterway and began our descent down to Georgian Bay.
We enjoyed another glorious day with few clouds in the sky and little wind, which suits us "fair weather sailors" just fine--the first half of the day we cruised across Sturgeon Lake, best known for its immense cottages which line the lakefront, each with equally elaborate boat houses. I loved taking our time through the Fenlon River and Fenlon Falls area where at one point we rounded a blind corner only to be surprised by high-sided limestone walls dotted with yellow and purple wild flowers and a row of old style boat houses and funky docks, brightly painted--some with wooden ladders reaching up to the top of the cliffs where the cabins sat.
We crossed Cameron Lake and Balsam Lake (841 feet above sea level--that's a lot of locking!)and Mitchell Lake...and as we meandered our way through the lakes and rivers, it was never more clear how the the idea for the waterway was conceived. There were times when the man made channel was no more than 20' wide...thank goodness no other big boats were heading in the opposite direction. The water was so clear, we could see the rocks and lake grasses just below the surface.
Locking through at Kirkfield was awesome...The lift structure is NOT enclosed, so when you drive into the container you almost feel like you could just cruise right off the end. There we were, just hanging out there, floating nearly 5 stories up in the air, tied to the starboard side with 2 lines! It was a thrill! That night we slept at the bottom of the lock, moored to the lock wall. It was a very remote area, about 2 miles from the little town of Kirkfield. We walked to a small, country cookin' restaurant for dinner near the top lock...it was our very first night to eat dinner at a restaurant since we left Brewerton!
On Thursday we headed out and thought we would get as far as Lake Simcoe, but when we went through the last lock and saw how calm the water was we went for it. It was like gliding across glass. Perfect! We had been concerned for days because so many people told us to wait until a good day to cross the lake due to the winds this time of year...one can really get bounced around. We had the most perfect crossing and got into Orillia ahead of schedule...we even went for a swim off the back of the boat once we docked...it was fabulous!
I think we are going to stay here in Orillia for a couple of days---there seems to be a lot to do. Tomorrow there will be a huge parade through town with 25 marching bands--celebrating The 31st annual Orillia Scottish Festival...Our timing for this kind of thing is always perfect...we could not plan it any better...
The weather, the new friends, the activities...Our Timing is Perfect!
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