Home  Summer Holidays, 2005 Page #3 of 6 --- Hastings back to Peterborough, Young's Point & Buckhorn --- (This Page Originally Posted Dec. 10/05) - Fair Warning - There's over 60 pictures on this page, so make sure your supervisor at work doesn't catch you doing nothing productive for the next 1/2 hour or so. - Video Information - I've posted the newest video clips in both Apple Quicktime ~ And ~ Windows Media formats to give you, the surfing public, even MORE choices. ........ ........ We woke this day to steady rain, so we didn't get heading until nearly noon. By that time the rain had started to slow a bit, so we took our chances & departed. ........ ....... The things one sees along the way . . Two houseboats seemingly plunked right at the water's edge. It looked like they have been there for quite awhile, as there were trees growing all around them - probably a few on them, too. ........ ....... Northbound on the Otonabee River. This stretch winds quite allot & the shoreline is mostly undeveloped. With the cloudy conditions (& me cruising at about 25 MPH) it looked many times like the river was coming to a dead end. I got some cool video of us zooming along here. Click HERE for a QUICKTIME  video clip from this spot. Click HERE for a WINDOWS MEDIA  video clip from this spot. ........ ....... The morning rain was replaced by patchy skies by the time be got back to Peterborough. This swing bridge is just south of Little Lake & was the narrowest passage we encountered along this section of the System - only wide enough for one boat at a time. ........ ....... As we were heading northward, back to Peterborough - the 'Hold The Dream' crew were heading southward to meet up with us at Peterborough Marina! Here's proof - Brauweiller's smiling face (and boat) exiting the Peterborough Liftlock.. Oh ya, I see HE'S got his Rotten Row flag flying . . . . ........ ....... And here we are - rendezvousing at Peterborough! ........ ....... For a day that started so lousy, we ended up with another great sunset. ........ ....... We all headed over to watch some of the show at the Del Crary Park (located right beside the marina) to watch the free concert. ........ ....... See - here we are :-) ........ ....... Unfortunately for Mr. SOWweiller, he had a bit of 'spillage in the billage' on the way over. Yes, it appeared that (hold your nose for this) the holding tank had exceeded it's capacity :-( So he spent a bit of time washing, scrubbing & breaking wires . . . ........ ....... With the bilge all clean, we were off for a bike ride to Peterborough's Riverview Park And Zoo! ........ ....... Looking from the bridge pictured above back towards the marina. This is part of the Otonabee River that is not navigable. You can see it's pretty shallow, as evidenced by the guy standing in the water fishing, about a third of the way into the stream. ........ ....... A great day for a bike ride. And, despite Brauweiller's complaining, this trail DIDN'T go on forever . . . It only seemed like that for the first 6 hours :-) Click HERE for a short video clip from this spot. ...... ....... YAY! We're at the Zoo! ........ ....... Yup, it didn't take long for this guy to find another PIG to associate with. (I'm talking about the guy on the other side of the fence :-) ........ ....... Along with the animals in the Zoo, we got to see a whole bunch of giant carp that lived in the river. You can see them here with the ducks, waiting for treats. These guys were so used to each other, that the ducks were almost standing on the carp at times. ........ ....... By the time we were heading back to the marina, it seemed that someone's seat was getting allot smaller :-) ........ ....... Pit stop at the drive through Scotiabank. ........ ....... Anchor Girl had to get some gas money. Oh, don't be silly - we were on BIKES! ........ ....... Trying to catch some fresh meat for dinner. . . But he had to fatten them up with crackers first . . . Click HERE for a QUICKTIME  video clip from this spot. Click HERE for a WINDOWS MEDIA  video clip from this spot. ........ ....... Anchor Girl ponders whether we should barbecue the duck, or just fry them. . . . ........ ....... Barbecue! Mmmm, duck patties. . . ........ ....... Oh ya, this vacationing thing is something I could get used to. ........ ....... The two ships in their berths. ........ ....... The Rotten Row flag proudly flying at Peterborough! (I told you we unfurled it in Port, Sharon ;-) ........ ....... Our last night in Peterborough . . . That was a great time there & I'm looking forward to going back some day . ........ ....... Towards the end of their holidays, Billie Sue was starting to run a bit low on cash. It was sad to see her having to resort to going through the garbage, though. . . I kid you not - with my own eyes, I saw her pick this bag out of the garbage bin to root through it. ........ ....... After a successful garbage collection, we were off. . . ........ ....... Luckily for us, my Visa didn't max out until we hit Midland, so our garbage picking days were still a week away :-) ........ ....... When heading out from Little Lake, one encounters locks (going both north & south) right away, so don't put the fenders away just yet . ........ ....... "Hi, Paul!" ........ ....... You know, I really wish my wife could learn to relax & not be so tense going through these locks. (Actually, I was hoping she would wake up, because we had 7 more of these to go through that day) ........ ....... Entering the world famous Peterborough Liftlock. Really. ........ ....... Going . . .  UP! ........ ....... Exiting the Liftlock. You can see 'Hold The Dream' just coming out . . . ........ ....... Another pretty section of the Otonabee River through here. . . Click HERE for a QUICKTIME  video clip from this spot. Click HERE for a WINDOWS MEDIA  video clip from this spot. ........ ....... Approaching Lock #26, at Lakefield. I wanted to include this one to share the story told to us by the lock attendants when we went through here (both ways). Apparently there are spiders in this lock the size of small birds & they caution boaters about it, so that nobody freaks too much when they encounter them, or find them aboard  their boats later on their trip . . . Now you can't say I didn't warn you. I have some video of 'Hold The Dream' entering this lock. Wow, eh? Click HERE for a QUICKTIME  video clip from this spot. Click HERE for a WINDOWS MEDIA  video clip from this spot. ........ ....... When we arrived back at Young's Point, the HTD crew stopped long enough to grab an ice cream on a waffle cone & take a few pictures. As you can see, the women just couldn't keep their hands off this Pig's . . . ah . . .  er . . .  Ears! ...... ....... Ok, ok - so SOWweiller & I couldn't resist either. Slap that porker (sorry, Steve) - make him squeal like a PIG! ...... ....... After traveling for 5-1/2 hours through 8 locks, I sure was looking forward to that ice cold beer! ...... ....... While we spent the night in Young's Point, HTD continued on to Burleigh Falls, for a reunion get together. We met up with them again in Bobcaygeon, a couple of days later. ...... ....... The next morning, Anchor Girl casts us off for our next adventure. (play dramatic music HERE) ...... ....... Entering Clear Lake, heading north. Oh, what a beautiful, calm, clear day. Perfect for boating - what could possibly go wrong? ...... ....... Another scenic cruise. Look at that big, pretty rock sticking out of the water . . . ...... ....... Boy, there sure are allot of big rocks around here. I guess that's why this area is called 'Hell's Gate'. . . .. ....... This is the aptly named 'St. Peters-On-The-Rock' church, which is only accessible by boat. In an effort to get in really close for a picture (not to mention suffering from a slight case of overconfidence), poor little Boogaboo kinda hit the bottom :-(( I will always say that I felt like I left a small part of me behind in Stony Lake. Click HERE for a QUICKTIME  video clip from this spot. Click HERE for a WINDOWS MEDIA  video clip from this spot. When you watch this video clip, you'll notice that I quickly put the camera down, right after zooming in on the chart. That's because when I looked up, that's when I realized we were in the WRONG SPOT! ...... ...... After loosing an hour to investigating for damage to the bottom of the boat (and an outdrive that refused to go back down), we got back on track (between the red & green markers). ...... ....... Despite shaving about 1" off the bottom of both drives, I was still impressed with the rugged beauty through here. . . . ...... ....... D'oh! Could have happened to anyone. (That's what I kept telling myself) ...... ....... Approaching Burleigh Falls lock. . . ...... ....... . . . And Lovesick Lock. . . ...... ....... . . . The top of Buckhorn Lock - the last one for the day. ...... ....... For anyone that wanted to see what Gary's Chris Craft looked like on the water, here's a shot of a similar vessel. I took this photo at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour - our overnight spot. ... ....... Riding up to the Trading Post in Buckhorn. ...... ....... Riding back to the marina, we discovered this interesting spot. These rocks, called the 'Adam & Eve Rocks', are a phenomenon of nature, deposited here after the last ice age. ...... ....... What a fantastic view! This was from the back of our boat, looking over Upper Buckhorn Lake. I remember that we got to see quite a few falling stars that night. I also remember phoning Graham that night. They were at anchor (along with 'Garlic Pillow' & 'My Bride') back on Lake Simcoe, in McFee Bay. ...... .................. A shot of the marina we stayed at. Another nice spot. And we got to meet Diane's sister here! .... ........ WAKE UP - There's Page 4  . . .   Home