Saturday drive to Elgin: on to Chaffeys Lock & Westport

 From Elgin we went to Chaffeys Lock, followed by Westport. This was the second leg, here was the first. It's fun seeing the landscape without the leaves out. The first photo shows the limestone. The next, a delightful old home.

      

The old hotel, formerly Opinicon, has been bought, and refinished. 

    

There is another one, Hotel Kenney. There was a fun TV show, Salvage Kings, who visited the Hotel Kenney, and found some amazing treasures and a ghost, trying to clean out the place. That hotel is on the canal system.

It is quite pretty in season (see below)! We had lunch there one summer, prior to COVID! I hope they manage to make a go of it. The problem is getting staff. They hope to be a wedding venue, to add to their services. 

These old locks still function well. It is a wonderful lock system right from Kingston up to Ottawa.

This was a mill back in the day. When we last visited it was an art gallery. 

There was a couple walking where I was headed at the end of the pier. You can see them in the 2nd photo, below.

I walked down to the end of the harbour, as well. I could see birds off in the distance. I spotted a heron during one visit.

It was bitterly cold, with winds whipping up at me off the lake. I didn't drag my zoom with me, but I did get some video. It was a pair of eagles soaring above the geese and ducks on the water.

Chaffey's Lock from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It's a nicer visit in summer, but it was peaceful. What's with the red candle, though?!

    

It is the end of snowmachine season. The trails, created over defunct railway lines, are closed. The next photo is a hunter's tree stand. Hunting season, thankfully, over.

 

I like this house in Newboro!
    

Finally, Westport! 

From there, home! 

It is a big day in Ottawa, Thursday, with President Biden visiting. There are many police at the airport, security everywhere. Ottawa has had a freezing rain warning. We had rain overnight, which I expect will continue, despite the blue indicating snow here. I hope all goes well. 

 

A wee drive

 We knew the weather would turn and rain would be expected Thursday/Friday-ish. Joseph Brian suggested a drive while the sun shone, just to take our mind off things. He did a bit of mapping, and suggested we go to Chaffey's Lock. Off we went. It was eventful, in a fun way. The sun is so low on the horizon. It does make for lovely images, if you squint and think creatively. We headed along through Murphys Point Park, and did the backroads. We went the back way, through Narrows Lock, that is where the locks make navigation possible across the Big Rideau.

The dashcam takes some interesting images! 

It was a lovely drive, with the sun really low. I have to remember to wash the interior of the windows, though. They were pretty reflections, but sure didn't help the drive!

Why did the chickens stand on the road? I honked and they didn't budge. Rural living!

From there, we drove along Narrows Lock Road. It is hunting season, as many of you know, and I spotted three vehicles in a row with two drivers each, all wearing camouflage and orange vests and ball caps. Shortly after, you can see we spotted a buck on the road. I think he was laughing at them.

This is the dashcam video!

Finally, Chaffeys Lock. It is a pretty spot. 

  

There were very few cars about, truthfully, and I stopped the car for photos wherever I felt like it. I took us on to MacDonalds Island. Cottage season is done, and the winter residents are the only ones there.

There were some geese and ducks hanging around. Hardy little things, as it has been chilly.

The sun provides lots of options for photos. We couldn't stop, though as it is a one-lane road.

This is a cool little cottage. I bet it's cold in winter, though!

Home and safe!

Chaffeys Lock on the Rideau Canal - a lovely spot

As was their way,
the mill was expropriated.

Gillian GPS tracked us

from Kingston north to the lock.

Rideau Canal

It was a lovely day to get out of the house. We'd had some bad news, and wanted to get out and about.
The greens are so bright, with the rain we have had, although we need more now.

The locks are now on limited hours, which has ticked off some users. Unfortunately, the feds have cut funding and they need to stay within their budget. Small towns cry for financial support, since the user-pay system doesn't
bring in enough money to support the infrastructure required to run the recreational system. Either the users, or taxpayers, have to cough up the cash.
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June 23 UPDATE: 

After much lobbying by town mayors, and those depending upon tourism, Parks Canada has back tracked and extended Rideau Canal hours.
"We listened to the people along the Rideau Canal," Brown said of consultations about hours, the season and fees, which have been frozen for five years. Brown said of work done promoting the four pillars of the Rideau Canal experience: season, fees, infrastructure and hours of operation."

HOURS OF OPERATION UPDATE

limited hours

As of June 27, 2014, Parks Canada will be adding 1 hour to their daily summer lockages. In addition, Beveridges will now operate on the same schedule as the other Rideau lockstations. Fridays in the fall season have been reduced by 2 hours. This is shown in the schedule below.

Parks Canada's budget was cut by $29 million in 2012, resulting in job losses among park staff.

From The Ottawa Citizen: Last year, Parks Canada said the decision to shorten the lockstation hours was unfortunate but there just wasn’t the money to operate them longer. Particularly, when a plan to increase the locking fees was scrapped by Peter Kent, who was then the minister in charge of Parks Canada. 

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We know that PM Harper has seriously cut funding in the area of the environment, flora and fauna seem to hold little import for him. Or, perhaps, its the boys in shorts who believe this.

The federal government has set aside $391.5 million to upgrade Parks Canada infrastructure. Recent reports tell us that the bridges are in serious disrepair, and this was not factored into the mix. Don Butler writes that new funding will benefit communities along the canal.
Some claim that many communities depend upon the canal for tourism. The tourists and locals, who want to go up and down the canal, have been frustrated with the condensed hours.

In 2000, UNESCO named the system as a World Heritage Site. The Rideau Canal system is 182 years old, and was built in the days of water being the major, most efficient, transportation system. The government wanted a safe, defensible inland route for troops and military supplies. It is 202km long, across a series of 47 lakes and rivers, built in the winter and spring of 1831/32, in unsettled, swampy, buggy wilderness. There are no records of those who perished building the canal. The tradesmen (masons, carpenters, blacksmiths) and primarily French-Canadian and immigrant Irish labourers who used picks, shovels and wheelbarrows who built the canal.

Early settlers became the main users of the system, as people sought land for settlement. Prime lands, nearest to the St. Laurence were picked up early. The canal ended up being a trade route for Eastern Ontario. Tourism, pleasure boating and cottagers now use it for recreational purposes.

Bridges over historic Rideau Canal in bad shape: Parks Canada report

Ottawa Citizen-Jun 9, 2014