Hastings ON to Peterborough ON

Well today was the same.... And really different.  

We left Hastings and traveled up Rice Lake for miles and miles.   What a gorgeous area.  Reminds me of the North Channel. 

After many miles of cruising up the lake we hit something new.  WEEDS.  So thick they convinced the depth finder we were in 2ft of water..    We were literally mowing them.  

And they eventually covered the water so thick you couldn't see the water and birds were standing on it...

But that passed.  We just took it slow and ground our way through.  Eventually it turned into river again with fast moving water and less weeds.  

It really doesn't suck here.   Such a beautiful area.  Twisty river, beautiful homes and cottages.  

After four hours we reached our first lock of the day.  That was a long stretch of moving water.   We would run 10-11mph on the boat and get 6.2 on the water/over the ground.  

After we cleared our first lock we almost  immediately reached our second of the day..  these locks are smaller, room for just us and maybe a SeaDoo.    The valves in these locks are in the doors and are shutter valves that open like a window.  Very old.  All manual.   Still big wooden doors.  

As soon as we cleared the 2nd lock of the day the railroad decided it was time to close the railroad bridge.  That's a first for us .. trapped between two bridges.  We tied to the wall and buffed off a scratch we made on the prior staging wall.    Joy.  

The train didn't show up for a while 

Then it did.   Slow going.  

Finally the bridge moved out of the way and we could continue on to our final event of the day. 

The world's largest lift lock.  These are basically big bathtubs connected by a big hydraulic plunger system when weight in one is heavier it raises the other as the heavy one drops.

They essentially pump a foot of water out of the lock which makes the tub lighter and it rises to the top and the other lock lowers down to the bottom. 

And boy is it tall.... This is the view from the top looking down at the lock that is at the bottom.  

The view from the top is spectacular.  

For those that get vertigo this might not be a good idea.  They let kayaks and canoes through these in the bathtubs.   Normal locks they portage around because of the valves and water disturbance. One wouldn't want to get sucked into a valve....

After going through the lift lock we tied to the wall at the top and watched another boat come up.   We then went for a bike ride.   First stop seeing the fountain on Little Lake.  It's one of the tallest fountains in the world.  

Not musical or lighted....that we know of.  

We also took a bike ride on the trans Canada trail for a bit and ended up in a homeless encampment.   A big one with little houses and tents and lots of people in a comatose drugged up state.   Don't worry though they had free needle disposal.   Not all things work well in Canada.  The evidence of addiction is everywhere, and certainly not absent from US streets.  Government is not helping. They think they are but they are enabling. It's destroying people....

There is a tunnel under the lift lock that gets cars and trucks from one side to the other... 

Our day was 38 miles from start to end with three lifts - two conventional and one via the lift...    Very cool. 

We finished the day with a great dinner out with ribs and chicken.  

It did not suck.   

Til tomorrow.  Maybe we will have Internet.  Maybe not.  Tonight we have no power so we will run the generator most of the night.  It was time to take a day off of the marinas.  They were getting pricey. (3.00/ft Canadian here.  More than I'll pay).   We will probably pay half that just to park on the wall.  It comes with bathrooms etc but we don't need em....