June 28, 2017

Today was quite interesting.  We only traveled 21 miles in about 8 hours with an average of 4 knots an hour, but the things we saw and did were really something.  Our day started by doing the Hydraulic

Lift Lock.  It was one of the world's largest concrete structures at the time and was and still is an engineering wonder.  The lift locks raises and lowers boats in 2 water filled steel chambers.  Each chamber is 140 ft long and hold 228,000 imperial gallons weighing 1,700 tons. The 2, 7 1/2ft diameter chamber rams each lift 65 ft in the air .  Any movement of one chamber must force an equal and opposite movement of the other. It was built between 1896 and 1904 of unreinforced concrete. It takes about 45 minutes to fill the chamber and 2 minutes to ride the chamber up.  It is truly amazing.

We will get to do it one more time before we leave the Trent severn Canal. We finished 9 more locks so were are more than halfway done with the locks, but not halfway done with the canal.  The scenery is more and more beautiful, the water is becoming clearer,

Our one and only road sign

and the air smell like a forest after a rain.  One spot today was called "Hell's Gate".  Not sure why because it was like a post card.  Pink granite rocks, bolders in the water with fir trees and flowers.  

Hell's Gate

There are small cottages on many of them.  Very tranquil.  If that is hell's gate, what must heavens gate look like.  Tomorrow we have 2 more locks and several lakes to cross.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate.  Take time and look up the Peterborough Lift Lock.  You  will be amazed.  Pictures just don't do it justice.

we go to the very top of the tower

Looking down from the top

Looking down from almost at the top

entering the lift lock