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