Leaving late morning from Orillia, we wound the Trent Severn Waterways enjoying the everchanging landscape.
Our first obstacle of the day was a railroad swing bridge. Typically, you call the bridge keeper on Channel 14 and the bridge magically opens. Occasionally, you sound 1 long blast on the boat horn (my favorite because it sounds like a train), and then the bridge opens. But this morning, we called, then honked, and then waited. We were getting ready to pull over and tie to the concrete wall, when we heard the sound of a train, which was our clear signal that we are NOT the priority here. After the long train completed its crossing, the bridge-keeper came and told us a another train was coming, and we would have to wait for it to pass. And then he hoped he would be able to squeeze us through before the next train. If not, we would be able to tie to the wall and wait until 4:00 pm (currently 12:50). The passenger train passed by and he came out and told us we were in luck. By this time, there were 4 of us treading water in front of the bridge, hoping for the passage. We soon passed and continued the day.
First the freight train…. 
..then the passenger train 
The bridge swings open and we are making waves.
These pictures provide a panorama of scenes along the way. The rock foundations you hope to avoid with the boat, beauty of people’s residences along the way, the funny boats all make this experience a pleasant one. One we will treasure long after this adventure is over.
The green marker indicates “stay left”. As if I could go right. 
The train is gone, but you can still catch the caboose! 
The rocks like this help remind you how important staying in the channel is. 
With only 3 locks remaining ahead of us, we came to Lock 43, the tallest of the single stage lifts on the Trent Severn Waterway. We tied up to watch for awhile because there was so much traffic going through the lock. This is what is looked like from the top of the lock.
The boats just entered 
The last very deep lock, from the top 
The 40 something foot gates closing 
Directly over the giant doors.
Then it was our turn to go through and be lowered more than 40 feet.
We were the 1st boat in, so we got to be right against the gates–Whoa! 
We’re done and the big lock is in our rear view. 
The falls adjacent to the lock.
We made it to the wall at the Big Chute, Lock 44. The park system of Canada allows you to tie up for a nominal fee and be in line for the next morning haul, when it opens. This is the lock where the boat is actually picked up out of the water and carried over the railroad and dropped (gently) into waterway on the other side.