Lock 22 to 36

 Another beautiful day to cruise through the area referred to as Kawartha Lakes.

This area is a popular vacation spot for Canadians and abounds in lakeside homes, cottages, boating & recreational activities.

 

 

 

 

The Kawartha Lake area is characterized by a series of lakes joined by locks.

 

 

The terrain is rocky and spotted with lovely little islands 

 



Isolated island cottages & summer homes provide an escape for city dwellers.

 





 

Watching a sailboat race brought us back to our Hawaii days . . . . . .

  

. . . . . . . and seeing a "Chocolate Goose" seaplane brought us back to our California days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our 2 night stop at Fenelon Falls, "The Jewel of the Kawarthas," was a delight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We walked for miles on the Kawartha Trail, enjoying the beautiful flowers . . . . . 

  

 . . . . . even the bridges were adorned with flower boxes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we travel the Trent Canal, a narrow & shallow rock cut. 

This canal is cut through the Canadian Shield, a geological feature that covers half the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A look back at the longest entrance tunnel the Captain had to navigate Spiritus through!

 

 

 

 

 

Spiritus & crew discover that locking down is much smoother & more relaxing than locking up.

 

 

 

 

 

Lock 36, Kirkfield Lift Lock, is more thrilling than the Peterborough Lock because we are in the front of the pan, going down.

We take time to check out this marvel before proceeding into the pan which is nearly 5 stories high.

 

 

 

Each of the two pans weighs 1300 tons when filled.  With one pan up and the other down, the two balance each other.  It does not matter how many boats are in either pan because a boat displaces its own weight in water.

 

 

When it is time to lower one pan and raise the other, one extra foot of water is allowed to enter the upper pan.  This extra weight allows the upper pan to push down and raise the lower pan to the top.

 

 

The two pans are locked in place and the extra water is let out of the lower pan.

 

Boats enter and exit the upper and lower pans and the process is repeated.

 

Now it's OUR turn to enter the upper pan!

This lift structure is not enclosed like the Peterborough Lift so you get a feeling of "hanging out there"!

Soon Spiritus will be lowered down and tied to the lock wall you see below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a memorable ride, the Captain relaxes on the bow of Spiritus with his Kindle & a scotch!