MERRICKVILLE, ONTARIO TO SMITHS FALLS, ONTARIO

Sunday, July 5th, 2015

Day 335

Miles Traveled: 16

Total Miles Traveled: 4950

  We again traveled with "Bama Dream" and "Gud-Nuff".  The waterway today was a mix of a wider river and a very small channel.  We went through 6 locks today and have gotten a good routine going for locking through with relative ease.

Rideau River on Rideau Canal

smaller channel on Rideau Canal leading to a lock

  As we arrived at our last lock for the day, Rideau Canal Lock 29A, we saw what looked like a landscaped waterfall.  After further investigation, we found out that it was the remains of the Rideau Canal Locks 28, 29, and 30 that were replaced by Lock 29A.  The town has preserved what is left of these staircase locks in order to help show how a lock looks when it is not completely full of water.  In addition, they have added some potted plants to make it look more appealing to the eye.

what remains of Rideau Canal Locks 28, 29, 30

   After getting the boat tied up to the mooring wall, we got down our red folding wagon and set off to find the WalMart (the guide books had mentioned there was one within walking distance).  We received directions from the lockmaster and headed on our way.  It was a little less than a mile away with sidewalks.  After filling our little red wagon with household goods and some groceries, we hurried back to the boat in order to also get some sightseeing done.  Our traveling companions for the past several days decided to continue on up the canal.  They had just bought fishing license and were looking to find a good fishing hole for the evening. 

  Nearby was a museum about the history of the Rideau Canal and Smith Falls.  Several of the locks have museums nearby with history about the canal and the nearby town.  Much of the information in this museum about the Rideau Canal was a duplication of what we had learned at the Bytown Museum in Ottawa.  We were disappointed with the lack of history that was given about the town of Smiths Falls.

  Before dinner, we relaxed on the back of the boat and enjoyed the quietness of the park that was right at the mooring wall.

Seahorse docked next to park at Smiths Falls

  Dan grilled some tasty pork chops for dinner.  We enjoyed our dinner while listening to a free music concert being performed at the park.