This morning, it was back to the coffee shop for a tea (Anne), decaf coffee (me) and a dose of wifi. The owner, who is a very nice young lady, has a father who came in to help in the store while we were there. He said he lived and worked for 15 years in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and knows Grand Haven well. We have met several other couples in the last few days who have been to Grand Haven and loved both the people and the place. What a nice surprise to learn this from people here in the remote Ottawa Valley!
This was a light day - only five locks; however they were a bit unusual. The first lock had a small one lane swing bridge directly over the lock. As we approached the lock, the lock personnel let down the road gates, and with one push, the bridge rotated slowly 90 degrees where it was then fastened to a post. No crank, chain, machinery or motor of any kind.
The lockmaster told me it was designed in the mid-1800s, and like a record player platter, rotates on a single center metal spindle with a volleyball-sized bearing set in oil at the base. The four metal wheels that you can see on the base do not touch the ground. They are there only to stabilize the bridge in case of unusual or extreme loading. This is simple and elegant and has worked consistently for about 160 years.
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| Lock with swing bridge over the top |
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| Bridge supported by a single center spindle and bearing |
We waited at the next two flight locks for what was described as a "log" coming down. I was unsure what that was until the door finally opened, and a young man in a blue-topped kayak came paddling through. He could have easily picked the kayak up and portaged these two locks in 10 minutes! His desire to go through must prove that all boats are equal in the Canadian locks! A "log" is apparently lock-speak for a kayak.
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| Young man in kayak |
We arrived in Smiths Falls, which long ago had beautiful falls and rapids until the dam and locks were built here to allow boats to safely navigate through. Now the name is just a memory of what was. We stopped at the basin just above the dam and found a spot on one of the Victoria Parks docks. This is a peaceful area with parks, fountains and flowers, a swimming area, and some families walking through. We walked to get some provisions (salmon, of course), had hors d'oeuvres on the sun deck, and ate a delicious meal of salmon, fresh corn, and fresh beans. The food was good, and life is great.
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| Unusually creative flower gardens |
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| The peace and quiet of Smiths Falls basin |
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