July 30, 2012 Day 80 Orillia to Big Chute Total miles to
date: 1493.5
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Following Our Time through
McDonald's Cut |
As planned we left the
marina in Orillia at 7:20 am and headed out toward the Big Chute, a 34 mile
trip that would take us through lakes bordered by homes and evergreen trees. We
also passed through the McDonald’s Cut, a narrow passageway that was excavated
by hand in 1905. We had to make a Securite’ call to announce that we were
there. Our path also required waiting on
a railroad bridge to open (the guide book said the bridge remains open unless a
train is coming - not the case). We waited an hour before the bridge opened and
it was 45 minutes before the slow freight train actually appeared! We mentioned
this to a lock master later and she said many people have waited three hours at
that bridge!
We went through two locks
today, Couchiching Lock 42, which was a 20 foot drop and then Swift Rapids Lock
43 which is the tallest on the Trent Water Way and lowered us 47 feet. We
finally arrived at the Big Chute Marine Railway at 2:30 and tied up on the dock
next to Our Time. Bruce and Joan on Joy Ride arrived soon and decided to ride the railway and stay on
the dock below the lock where there was more room. Watching them go through was the perfect
chance for us to see a larger boat being transported this way. We will have our
turn tomorrow!
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A typical scene today |
We had Bruce & Joan and
Brooks & Sarah over for drinks on our sundeck and had a good visit. Bruce and Joan live in New York but have a
summer home on the Georgian Bay.
Later we cooked steaks on
the grill and then took a walk around the area before dark.