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Holidays, 2005 Page #1 of 6 --- Keswick to Burleigh Falls --- (This Page Originally Posted Nov. 6/05) For this segment, I've included a rough outline for the travel times between destinations our trip, along with the usual boring captions. This is to help in planning for anyone who is considering traveling through the Trent Severn Waterway for the first time (or if it's been so long that you forgot). Actually, the way I go on, it'll probably take longer to navigate these pages than actually navigate the system :-) ........ ........ First day of our 'tripping' holidays begins with us preparing to leave home port. Anchor Girl gives the 'all clear' to shove off. Nice to see the green of the trees, eh?  ........ ....... After stopping to fuel up at Crate's we got out of Keswick at 11:00 a.m. By 12:10 we arrived at the entrance to the Talbot (eastern) section of the Waterway.  ........ ....... 'Locking through' at Gamebridge - the first of five locks to pass through in rapid succession. These locks are the old, manually operated style, so they take a bit longer to get through than the hydraulically operated ones. Some of the locks were upgraded to electric / hydraulic operation in the 60's & 70's, but that policy was terminated when it was learned that the Waterway would have lost it's historical status if the rest were updated.  ........ ....... Along our travels we see many impressive sights, but I think that this was one of the more inspiring. Some day, you too may be able to own one of these beauties! How many boats do you see with a couch on the bow - not to mention the lovely sleeper seats on the upper deck and, of course, the necessary blue tarped pontoons. Ahh, that's the life. I guess the banjo goes in it's own felt lined closet.  ........ ....... Going through Canal Lake, chasing (and being chased by) a few thunderstorms that were swirling around us.  ........ ....... Passing through the 'Hole In The Wall', midway through Canal Lake. This is the only spot you should slow down on that mini lake - otherwise, give 'er!  ........ ....... At the eastern end of Canal Lake, we enter into the man made canal that runs to Balsam Lake. This is a typical speed limit sign encountered along the system & they're all marked on the charts. And if you miss these signs, you will surely see all the ones posted by the shoreline property owners. . . or them yelling at you (me) - but more on that later . . .  ........ ....... Heading down the section toward Kirkfield. The folks in the boat ahead (Ross Mac Arthur & his wife) used to live in Keswick and were familiar with a number of our gang. These people continued past us at the end this day, but we ended up meeting with them the next day. It turns out that Ross didn't feel like getting his charts out, so he decided to wait for us to guide him to Buckhorn. . .  ........ ....... When we got into Kirkfield liftlock, the other boat (Ross's) was wet from the thunderstorm we saw in the previous picture - but ours was completely dry & we were never more than 300 yards behind them. Time was 3:55 p.m., or 5 hours from Keswick & 1 hour past Bolsover  ........ ....... Leaving the top of Kirkfeild liftlock - the apex of the system. This means that whichever way you head from here, you will be heading downstream. Also, the markers reverse because of that change. So, using the Red Right Return rule, up to this point we kept the red markers to our starboard side, but now had to keep them on our port side. Confused? Don't worry, I'm sure I got it right . . . Well, you have to be straight on that point or else you ARE going to be in trouble . . . But more on THAT later :-(  ........ ....... Moving through the canal between Kirkfield & Mitchell Lake, you can see it gets kinda tight for this run, but it is cool to move through this area, as it almost feels like being in the jungle (despite leaving most of the wild animals back at the marina) - at least that's how it felt with the HOT & HUMID conditions we had that day!!  ........ ....... Here's the same boat from the above picture, passing by us.  ........ ....... Heading onto Balsam Lake - the first real lake on this stretch - and a welcome relief from the friggin black flies that were biting at my legs at the end of the canal!  ...... ....... Entering into Rosedale Lock, dodging the geese. Normally this lock (with a lift of only 3 feet) goes quite quickly, but we got held up by a very vocal woman boater who was screaming & carrying on like she had never been in a boat before! Well, that lasted until I threatened to throw her in the water :-) My mistake, as from that point on, we were friends & they followed us into Fenelon Falls Marina :-(  ........ ....... Fenelon Falls Marina - our first stop. Travel time from Keswick was 7 hours. And boy, were my arms tired. . . Ba-Dum!  ........ ....... Next day, heading towards the Fenelon Falls lock. Should be pretty quiet in there, as it was a weekday. . . .  ........ ....... D'oh! Ok, so there was only ONE other boat with us in that lock - but it was about as big as 10! The 200 passenger 'Kawartha Spirit'.  ........ ....... Bottom of the lock - The picturesque Fenelon River.  ........ ....... Making time crossing Sturgeon Lake. Bobcaygeon sits at the eastern end of the lake.  ........ ....... Exiting Bobcaygeon, we head on to the lovely & talented Pigeon Lake. Travel time from Fenelon Falls Marina to leaving Bobcaygeon lock: 1 hour, 45 minutes  ........ ....... The bridge at Gannon Narrows (between Pigeon Lake & Upper Buckhorn Lake) was clearly out of commission.  ........ ....... Lower Buckhorn Lake, just after the lock.  ........ ....... The landscape becomes really rocky in this area.  ........ ....... Our next stop on the tour was at Burleigh Falls, on Stoney Lake. A beautiful spot - but I hear that the water gets a little choppy on the weekends with all the traffic heading to & from the lock (located just behind me when I took this picture). We were lucky, because when we were there, the movie 'Cheaper By The Dozen II' was being filmed at the big house (at the right in this shot), and there was a guy in a small boat chasing all the boats coming into the vicinity to get them to stop for awhile or proceed slowly. Travel time from Fenelon Falls: 4 hours, 40 minutes  ........ ....... Nice wide docks & a great view in all directions.  ........ ....... Looking towards the marina and Burleigh Island Lodge at the top of the hill.  ........ ....... Anchor Girl strolls along the dock with her (first of many) ice cream cone.  ........ ....... The marina building. The only drawback about this place was that the washroom & shower (they only have one) is located inside this office building. You have to go into the washroom right beside their cash counter. So, if you're like me & have to drop off a rosebud in the morning (or afternoon, or evening), you leave it with EVERYONE in the store.  ........ ....... A shot of the falls from the highway.  ........ ....... The view looking down from the store, next to the lodge. This area is surrounded by a retaining wall made from the large rocks excavated when the Burleigh Falls lock was enlarged, back in the 60's.  ........ ....... The evening view, looking southward. Isn't that nice?  ........ ....... Looking northward, over the bow of 'Boogaboo III'.  ........ ....... The next morning brought another fantastic day!  ........ ....... Anchor Girl enjoys her morning coffee.  ........ ....... We took a walk down to the falls for a closer look - and to see if we could get into where the movie was being filmed. Despite my story that we were with the caterers, they wouldn't let us onto the set. Click HERE for a short video clip from this spot.  ........ ....... Another view of the falls. No kidding.  ........ ....... Another HOT day & time for a jump into Stoney Lake. When I surfaced form this splash, the woman in the boat beside us warned me that there were large water snakes in there. Oh well . . .  ........ ....... It sure was refreshing to hit the water but it was time to hit the waves, as we were soon to leave for our next adventure . . .  ........ If you Are Still Awake, It's On To Page 2 . . . .
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