Sunday, July 17, 2022

Day 27 July 17, 2022

 Another beautiful travel day of sunshine, temp in the 80's and calm breezes.   We spent a pleasant night on the upper wall of Lock 6 in Frankford with 6 other boats. 

We bought a one night mooring pass but will upgrade to a seasonal pass if we spend enough nights on the lock walls.    We were 6 miles from the next lock which should take us about an hour travel time.  Two of our boat neighbors left at 8am hoping to make it to Lock 7 for the 9am opening.  

We left at 8:55 opting for a later start.  We traveled Lock 7 and 8 alone.  At Lock 8 we picked up another boater and traveled the rest of the way with them.  

We saw several pairs of swans.All of the homes along the water take so much pride in their property.  There are a lot of red chairs and beautiful flowers.

Is this considered an island?

We traveled 6 locks and arrived at Campbellford at 2:45.  Twenty four miles in just shy of six hours.  Better yet, only 4 hours of that was actual engine hours.  The rest was spent waiting for or within the locks.

Each lock is a bit different due to the river terrain.  Some are built to bypass rapids others travel past dams.  Most offer areas to moor overnight or stop for a few hours to walk to the local town at both the lower and upper walls.  Not all offer power.  

A few lock doors are hydraulic while others are hand cranked. 

Waiting at the blue line for our turn to go into the lock.

Entering the lock.

    Water filling the lock.

That's a long way up!!

Frankford Lock 6 had easy walking access to groceries, laundry, pharmacy, bank, liquor store and hardware. The fabric store was closed.  

The most memorable locks today included Lock 7 at Glenn Ross and the paired Locks 11 and 12 at Ranney Falls.   Glenn Ross is only a 10 foot lift but includes a 3 foot clearance swing bridge that must be opened to exit the lock.  The Lock is named after the lockmaster who started work at the lock at the age of 3 with his family.  Families lived at the lock; locks were open 24 hours a day.  At night boaters would ring a bell to notify the lock master for passage.  Glenn Ross worked at the lock until the age of 78!

Blue Swing Bridge
 Jerry actually got wet while the lock was filling.

The Ranney Falls Locks are done as a pair.  Each is a 24 foot lift.  Once you lift in the first lock the doors open and you travel immediately into the second lock for another 24 feet.  Then, you must wait for them to open the swing bridge.  All a very coordinated affair.  Less than 2 miles later we reach Campbellford Town Dock at the Old Mill Park, run by the Chamber of Commerce. 

Town docks are on each side of the Trent River.  We are tied to the East wall with 50 amp power and close to the town center and Dooher's Bakery!  That did mean that we had to walk the bridge over to register -- in the 80 plus heat.  It also meant that we got directions to the local ice cream shop!!  Refreshing and tasty.  Back to the boat to enjoy the air conditioning and talk to Dad.

Tied to the Campbellford Town Dock Wall.

Shout out to Chuck Perry, our friend in Texas, who is scouring the internet for pics of us during our travels!! He found us on the  NYS Oswego Canal and the Trent Severn.                         Thanks Chuck!!


Tomorrow's plan will be dictated by the weather.  Regardless of our decision we are definitely visiting Dooher's Bakery!







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1 comment:

KathyD said...

We're loving the pics of the locks & your great descriptions of transitioning them. How cool for your friend to have found cam pics of you guys! Please stay safe & take good care! We love you both! XOXO 😘🤗 1-4 😂