Day 136 to Lakefield, ON

      We left Buckhorn after eating out for lunch (photo at right). We first went to the restaurant from lunch yesterday, but they were out of pickerel due to heavy demand over the weekend so we went to the third restaurant to try it. Of course, I tried the fish 'n chips, and it was quite good. What can I say, but I'm in a rut when it comes to fish 'n chips...
      We had multiple possible destinations including one just 5 miles away.  After reviewing the weather forecast which is for rain all day tomorrow, considering we have a reservation at a Marina in Peterborough on Wednesday, and considering that we have 11 locks between Buckhorn and Peterborough, we decided on going to Lakefield, Ontario.  This will mean four locks and possibly a fifth lock depending on which side of the lock we stay at in Lakefield.  None of the lock wall possibilities included hydro power so we will be opening windows and using the generator some.

      By the time that we finished lunch about Noon, the traffic through the lock had slowed down, and the lock wall was down to mainly boats that were staying over another day (see photo at left). We had arranged to stay past the 11:00 am check out and had made sure that we had also unplugged the electric so that we did not get charged for another day. We got ready and just waited where we were rather than move over to the blue line on the other side of the channel. We made the next down locking with only one small boat for company.

      The photo on the right shows a view of the dam taken while we were still up in the lock and offers a little different perspective. Aside from the three restaurants and a church there is no development near the lock and dam on either side so our views were always very nice. You also can see the walkway on the downstream side of the dam where I was standing when I took the picture of the spillway in yesterday's post.

       The photo at the left was taken from the flybridge looking back at the lock after Lucky Us and the small boat had exited the lock chambers. A small houseboat has already entered the lock for the next lock up. There always seems to be a rush to enter the lock, and the lock masters do not seem to mind since it keeps the traffic moving quickly. Remember that there is no power on the lower walls of this lock so all of these boats are probably headed up even if they plan to stay here.

      The scenery was excellent, and the piloting had some of the usual tense moments, such as this narrow part of the channel (photo at right). I still exercise caution in narrow places like this, but I am growing more accustomed to having these areas pop up regularly on our routes. At least they are well marked, and most of the small boats simply bypass these tight spots by going around one of the islands on either side so the traffic is often light in the narrow part shown here.

      The photo at the left shows the unusual exit from the lock at Burleigh Falls, Ontario. Even though we came down in the lock, we did not come out into an open space, but we were in a dug out channel with vertical concrete walls and tall trees. It felt kind of tunnel like as we moved along through here.

      The photo at the right shows a fairly large church, which might not sound too unusual, but this church is on an island with no bridge to it. I suppose that there would be no need for a parking lot. However, in our view of the island we did not see even a small dock for boats, which must have been there somewhere (?). Obviously, the church is "open" and well cared for so the members get there somehow.

      We arrived at Lakefield where we were going to spend the night on the lock wall. The last half mile or so was in this narrow, straight, man made channel to the upper lock wall. The channel was cut into bedrock, which can be seen in the photo at the left. The vertical channel wall from water level up six feet or so is definitely bedrock. Then there is a grassy bench with what may be a rock retaining wall above it. The channel was so narrow that I was really happy that we did not pass any boats while we were in it. We are going to stay on the upper lock wall because the access to the town of Lakefield is better from there.

      The photo at the right shows part of the Lakefield Dam and power plant. I took the picture standing on a sidewalk along a road over the actual dam. The power plant is in the center top. The channel on the left carries water to the power plant and also has gates at the end of the channel. The Lakefield Lock is behind the trees on the right. Most of the town is out of view off to the left.

      The last photo (left) shows Lucky Us moored on the very end of the lock wall. We are going through a series of locks where there is no hydro (electricity) available on any of the lock walls. We chose to be on the very end so that when we run the generator, the exhaust noise, which goes out the stern, would not bother the other boaters. Speaking of "bothering", I was barely awake when we got back from dinner and had a hard time staying awake all evening... Needless to say, I slept well.