Summer Holidays, 2005 Page #5 of 6 --- Lagoon City to Midland to Orillia--- (This Page Originally Posted Jan. 28/06) ........ ........ Dinner time at Lagoon City, before moving on to our next leg of the journey.  ........ ....... The next day, we headed off - with a quick stop at Orillia for supplies.  ........ ....... This railway swing bridge is just past the highway 11 bridge, on the Severn portion of the Waterway. Some may say it's just a rusty piece of steel, but I think it looks somewhat majestic.  ........ ....... Here's the first lock heading towards Georgian Bay - Couchiching Lock.  ........ ....... Another hot, hazy day of traveling. This is the Severn River. The dots on the water ahead of our boat was a group of kids in canoes.  ........ ....... Speaking of majestic, the rocky shoreline of the Severn River was a beautiful sight, all the way along this portion of the Trent Severn.  ........ ....... Approaching the Swift Rapids lock from the top side, it doesn't look all that impressive. Once you are in it at the bottom, you appreciate it's size, as it has the highest lift of any of the conventional locks (47 feet).  ........ ....... Pulling out of the aptly named Swift Rapids - there is a strong current here, from the run out of the dam.  ........ ....... Loading onto the Big Chute!  ........ ....... Here, we're out of the water as the carriage crosses the road.  ........ ....... 'Over the top'. This was our first trip over the Big Chute, so it was a bit of a thrill! Despite my original apprehension, this was the easiest of all the locks (?) we went through (over).  ........ ....... Back in the water, a little ways before Port Severn.  ........ ....... Eight and a half hours after leaving Lagoon City, we arrived at Driftwood Cove, our spot for the night.  ...... ....... They have a sandy beach here, but with the hot weather, it was kinda scumy with sea weed, etc., so I passed on the swim, in favour of a shower - but don't get me started on that experience . . .  ........ ....... The following day we moved on toward Midland. This is a shot of the channel in and out of Driftwood Cove. As you can see, it's really tight through here & particularly hard to navigate when approaching in the setting sun, as we did the night before.  ........ ....... The final lock on the system, lock #45 at Port Severn. The big boat in front of us here pulled out of Driftwood just ahead of us & we passed through the lock together. I was hoping that he was heading to Midland too, so he could lead the way. Unfortunately, he turned left when we went straight, so it was all eyes on the charts & markers through he channel to Georgian Bay.  ........ ....... This is the approach to Midland.  ........ ....... Midland Harbour was our home for a a day & night.  ........ ....... This is the famous mural on the grain elevator (which is still operating - 24 hours a day - by the way), and the view from our slip.  ........ ....... Looking northward, one can't miss the huge piles of crushed stone (which stay there 24 hours a day, by the way :-).  ........ ....... The same view as above, during the thunderstorm we had that evening.  ........ ....... This fellow is Stu, who was spending a few days in Midland. He & his wife, Denise, keep their boat ('Magic') at Crate's. He was helping to keep that post up . . . . Boogaboo III was doing a nice job as a backdrop, too ;-)  ........ ....... The next morning the clouds, rain & humidity had cleared away & we were greeted with a super clear, and cooler (comfortable) day.  ........ ....... Just before we took off, we had a visitor from another boat. The guy who owned him was living on his boat for the summer and his cat, named 'Cat', was free to come and go as he pleased. Clearly.  ........ ....... Heading back across Georgian Bay, we had to plod through some rough stuff, but I guess that's to be expected on that body of water . . .  ........ ....... Waiting at the blue line for the Port Severn lock to open. This is the narrowest lock on the system, as it was built only as a 'temporary' measure. There's quite a strong current here, too - both at the top & bottom.  ........ ....... This is the previously identified 'Little Chute', a narrow dogleg at the bottom of the Big Chute approach. So narrow, in fact, that a securite' is required before passing through, to warn other approaching boaters.  ........ ....... Luckily for us, when we got to the Big Chute, there was ONLY 12 boats in the little bay, waiting for their turn to tie up to the blue line. That's 12 boats in the bay, 4 on the blue line + 6 on the floating docks ahead of the blue line :-( Our wait was 1-3/4 hours, not too bad considering the 3 hour waits we had heard about.  ........ ....... Waiting our turn on the blue line. The guys who run the carriage aren't all that patient, so when they call you to approach, you gotta jump!  ........ ....... Going up the track . . .  ........ ....... Arriving at the top . . .  ........ ....... Back onto the Severn river.  ........ ....... This is the Township docks at Severn Falls - about 1/2 hour east of the Big Chute. The general store there is an agency Beer & Liquor outlet, just in case you need a case . . .  ........ ....... Just a bit east of Severn Falls is this spot, the Waubic Inn & Restaurant. They have room to tie up for the night, or 2.  ........ ....... A better shot of the Swift Rapids lock, giving you a clearer idea of the height.  ........ ....... Inside the lock chamber. It's like a boater's cathedral in there, man. At any of the other conventional locks, if a boater bounces off the wall (like I did during our LAST lockage of our holidays), the attendants can throw down a line to pull the boat to one side or the other. If you loose it in here, you're at the mercy of the wind and any other misfortunates who happen to be trapped in there with you. Or me.  ........ ....... Another one of the many, many picturesque passages through this area. Man, if you ever want any screen savers or anything, I took a ton of pictures (surprise) through here & I'd be happy to send you some - or all - of them.  ...... ....... Nine hours after departing from Midland, we entered Orillia (Port Of).  ... .... ........ FINALLY, There's The Final Page . . . (Coming Soon)
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