075: Rideau Canal Part 2: Battle with the Bastards

On the night of June 21st we were chilling out on Hygge when the mosquito’s started to arrive.   We put up all the screens we had for the boat, but most boat screens are less than 100% effective.   They bit us, we killed at least a dozen.   They bit us some more, we killed another dozen, more biting, more killing.   We probably killed a hundred before we decided to seal up the boat by closing all the windows.   Then we killed another dozen or more.  I had bites on my bites.    

Then next morning we went to the Perth Farmers Market and then headed back down the narrow channel to Locks 34 and 35.  The super helpful lock staff even ran a hose from their water spigot so we could top off our tank.   We also met “Ghost,” the lockmaster’s cat.   Seems a few years back the staff heard a faint mewing from down in the lock.   One little kitten was huddled on a crossbeam on the lock gate down near the water.   Apparently, it had fallen in and managed to at least get to a small ledge.   The lockmaster climbed down the ladder and rescued it, just a few weeks old.   Ghost lives with him now and he takes her to work every day (she rides in backpack on his motorcycle) and hangs out in the lock house.    Didn’t get a picture of her, but a cool story.

From there we ran down to the Rideau Ferry Harbor marina to top off the fuel tank and pump out the holding tank.  We met a nice couple on a Ranger Tug 25 called “Serendipity” who are retired and spend the summer bouncing around the Rideau Canal.   We also took a picture of some of the many loons that we’ve been seeing:

We then ran up to Smith Falls for the night.  Smith Falls is a bigger town (such as they are) and boasts a grocery store and Walmart Super Center all within walking distance from the dock.   Nancy and I went to the grocery store to stock up on provisions and then walked around town.   The dock areas (two of them) are both next to parks, and provide a nice setting, though we had to pay extra as we went to the town dock rather than the Canada Parks dock (we bought a season pass for the Parks docks) and we didn’t have the energy (it was raining as well) to move the boat across the basin/canal.   So, I pulled out the wallet and paid for the dockage.  The town dock did have showers and a coin laundry, so we did three loads of laundry.  (We went to use the showers the next morning, there was no hot water, so that made me very unhappy).

We did meet two other “loopers.”   One couple was in an American Tug 34, which dwarfed our RT 29, and another couple was in a Grand Banks Europa 46 which dwarfed the American Tug.   Nice folks.   We had dinner at a tavern, food was ok, but the singer/guitarist was too damn loud, and you couldn’t hear yourself think.  Not sure of the purpose of that.   

Smith Falls is aptly named.  We went through one lock to get to a basin area (with the parks and docks) and then you have to go through another lock to continue north.  The northern lock is newer having replaced a series of three of the original locks.   Luckily, they saved the old locks (like in Lockport, NY) for posterity.  And just another half mile north is yet another lock.  Around the area are several dams with the old rapids visible, again, an aptly named town.

Some of the "falls" of Smith Falls:

An AT6 Texan, or "Harvard" as the Brits and Canadians called it, in the park.  This was the advanced trainer in WW2, and actually used by some third world air forces as fighters.

On the 23^rd of June we headed up thirteen n/m’s to Merrickville.   Merrickville gets our vote for coolest number of shops per square kilometer of town.  Not a big place, but some really neat stores.   Pet, clothing, organic food, coffee shops, etc.   We walked around and visited the ruins of an old mill once owned by, no surprise, William Merrick.    The original plan was to continue north until we got to the end of the RC at Ottawa, the capital of Canada, but we decided not to further than Merrickville.  Why?  Basically because we just wanted to slow it down a bit and spend some more time in nature as opposed to rushing up to a big city.  So we decided to head back south and stay at some spots for a few days.

Streetscape:

Some of the mill ruins:

All these towns have a memorial to Canadian lives lost in WW1 and WW2..   This is the British anti-tank weapon (I believe a "six pounder") in once such memorial park.  (My father manned the 50 caliber machine gun on a halftrack and also an anti-tank gun.  The US ant-tank gun was criminally useless (the general who bought them was bribed to do so and later prosecuted) and dear old dad said, "they were so bad that the shells simply bounced off the German tanks, just pissing them off, giving away your position, and getting halftrack crews killed.")

On the 24^th we headed back down to Smith Falls, this time tying up to the Canada Parks side of the basin. Here are some various sites along the way:

Waiting for a lock to open:

A lock/swing bridge combination:

Back at S/F's, I rode my bike over to Walmart to pick up a few provisions while Nancy went sight seeing around town.  Later she went for swim in an area of the basin roped off for swimming.  That night I rowed us across the basin in the dinghy to go to the taco truck that had been recommended by multiple folks:  excellent dinner.   

Dave

Odometer: 4,846 n/m's

074: "Oh Canada" and the Rideau Canal Part 1

On June 16^th we left Baldwinsville for the thirty n/m trip to Oswego, NY: but not before catching this sunrise picture:

 

The trip was relatively uneventful.  At the “Three Rivers Junction” we officially left the Erie Canal and entered the Oswego River/Canal and went through a number of locks before pulling into the Oswego Marina to top off our fuel, clean the boat, shower, and do a thorough check of all engine fluids.  The next day we’d be crossing Lake Ontario, which technically, like all the Great Lakes, are not lakes at all, but rather “Inland Seas.”  You don’t mess with the Great Lakes; we checked and double checked several forecast models before casting loose the dock lines and passing this lighthouse to head out onto open water.  (Yes I played Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald):

The ride from Oswego to Kinston, Ontario, Canada was forty-eight n/m’s and smooth (one footers behind us).    We pulled into the Confederation Basin Marina in Kingston, and up came our yellow “quarantine flag” (shows that we have not cleared customs yet) and our courtesy Canadian flag.   We cleared Customs by calling an 800 number, answering a few questions, and providing various information.    “Welcome to Canada!”.  Down came the quarantine flag.

 

Kingston is a very cool, “happening,” town.   They make nice use of the waterfront and have lots of shops and restaurants.    Nancy and I walked around and went to dinner.   The next day we went to the farmer’s market and Nancy went sightseeing while I did research on our Rideau Canal trip. 

Old building:

Great Lakes Steamship Museum:

Part of the original fort guarding the harbor:

The Visitors Center:

About the Rideau Canal (“RC”):  (I lifted this from Wikipedia)  “The Rideau Canal is a 202 kilometer long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 meters upstream along the Rideau River to the Rideau Lakes, and from there drop 50 meters downstream along the Cataraqui River to Kingston.  Opened in 1832 for commercial shipping, freight was eventually moved to railways and the St. Lawrence Seaway, and it remains in use today for pleasure boating, operated by Parks Canada May to October.  It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At the first lock we came to we bought a Lock Transit Pass and a Mooring Permit Pass.  The former lets you go through the locks, the latter lets you tie up overnight to the lock entry/exit walls.    The lock through system is very simple:  you pull up to the wall area painted blue, that lets the staff know you want to lock through.  No calls on the radio.   If you want to stay the night, there is a section of the lock wall not painted blue, you just pull up there.   Very straightforward.    All the locks have bathrooms, a few of showers, and approximately half of them have power for a modest fee ($10.85 Canadian).  

 For the most part the locks are operated in the same way they were in the 1800’s: manually.    The staff cranks open/close valves or shutters to empty/fill the locks, and they hand-crank open/close the gates.   Pretty cool.   This being Canada, the lock staff are all super friendly and accommodating.  Quite a contrast to the US Inland River system which is geared to commercial traffic and for which on many of the locks, we pleasure boats seemed to be an annoyance.

 These cranks move the

long pole back and forth which open and closes the lock gates:

Sights along the way:

We went through seven locks and tied up for the night at Upper Brewers lock and talked to some locals in a pontoon-camper boat that the guy set up.  What he showed us is that you don’t need a ton of money to do this kind of trip, if there is a will there is a way.   Nancy went for a swim!   Upper Brewers is an ideal setting:

 

The next day we continued to head up, stopping briefly at the Jones Falls Lock for a look at the dam and at Davis Lock (“best water on the RC”) to top off our water tanks and then headed to Chaffeys Lock for the night.    We learned a bit about Colonel By, the British Engineer who built the locks:

 

We got a great spot in the shade, and again Nancy went for swim before we headed over to The Opinicon for dinner.  The Opinicon is a former resort that was bought and renovated by the wife of a billionaire, then closed during Covid.   The restaurant and ice cream shop are still open, but the lodging is just used for corporate events. 

Our spot at Chaffeys:

Most of the locks have old guardhouses that were build to defend the locks back in the 1800's.  From whom?  From the Americans, of course!  The War of 1812 spooked the Canadians into believing that we might want to expand north.

We met some very nice locals and got further 411 on things to do and see on the Rideau.

The next day we headed north and had a short day stop at Colonel By Island for a swim, this time I briefly joined Nancy in the water.  We were going to hike around the Island and stay the night, but it was during the “Heat Dome” heat wave, so we decided to save Colonel By Island for another day and we headed to the Lower Beveridges Lock for the night. 

Looking back from our spot at the Lock:

Some of the locks have yurts for "glam camping:"

The lockmaster was extremely nice, a former SCUBA instructor (so we had a lot in common), and gave us lots of good advice for the rest of our trip on the RC.   That night we walked up to the showers at the Upper Beveridges Lock (a half mile up the trail) and the mosquitos had a field day with me, so we turned back to the boat (I ran).   

The next morning, we locked through the Lower/Upper locks and tied up for our delayed showers.  After that we took a narrow and relatively shallow canal to the town of Perth.   Perth was great.  Nicest town along the Rideau Canal that we visited.  We pulled up to a dock at the “Last Duel Park,” because it was, in fact, the spot were the last fatal duel in Canada was fought.  

Crazy story:

\

Apparently Wilson took offense to Lyon's comment about Ms. Hughes that he (Lyons)  put “his arms about her in a position which no woman of spirit would permit.”  Strong words indeed!   

The actual pistols used in the duel:

Mr. Lyon's grave:

Perth has a lot going on, here are some sights:

 

Lunch:

 Dave

Odometer: 4,805 n/m/s

073: Erie Canal Part 5: Back Again

 Lockport is the end of the road as far as locks managed by the New York Canal System, though not the end of the Erie Canal.   We decided to begin our journey back to the east to catch some towns that we passed by, but not before Nancy got a picture of me with statues of former lock staff from the early 1900’s, can you tell which one is me?

The next day we headed east to Holley, but first we did a short stop at Medina, tying up to the free wall (power, water, bathrooms, pump out).   Medina has two main attractions: the historic downtown of late 19^th century buildings and the Railroad/Model Train Museum.  Either one makes it “stop worthy” but both together make this a must stop.  Many of the buildings feature the sandstone that this area is famous for, and the Museum has great train artifacts and one of the finest model train layouts I’ve ever seen.  Just fantastic.    After our visit we had lunch at the wall and did a quick pump out before heading out again.

 

We passed by a small barge doing tree/log removal from the EC, and we thanked them for their service!

 

We pulled up to Holley’s free wall  which is part of lovely park.  One of the nicest settings on the EC for tie up.  After getting Hygge squared away we took a short bike ride to the Holley Canal Falls Park which is officially one of our favorite spots so far on our trip.   

The next day we continued East and made it to Fairport.   Like Pittsford, Fairport’s tie up wall is in the center of the Village action, there is just more of it (action) in Fairport.   There are lots of restaurants, bars, and shops all within easy walking distance.  

 

Sals:

We reluctantly left Fairport the following day for a short run to Newark.  We briefly considered a day stop at Palmyra to visit some of its museums, but we needed a “downtime afternoon” to get caught up on laundry, and boat chores, so we motored by it.  We did take the time to pull up to a small floating dock to explore the remains of the original Lock #60.

Newark  was the perfect stop.   We got our chores done and caught the first night of “Music on the Erie" and listened to an eclectic blend of rock and roll and outlaw country music.  And as a bonus, we got another visit from the indominable Bob Stopper who took a picture of us at the wall, and leaving the lock the next day:

 

We left Newark the next morning and headed back to Baldwinsville thus ending our two-week side trip.  As a bonus, we got another concert, this time at their lock-side park.

 


In summary, we really enjoyed the Western Half of the Erie Canal, it has more of a “Low bridge, everybody down, Low bridge, we must be getting near a town, You can always tell your neighbor; you can always tell your pal. If he's ever navigated on the Erie Canal” feel to it than does the Eastern Half. 

Dave

Odometer: 4,669 n/m