July 2018
We started out by taking a drive to the Big Chute Marine Railway. This engineering marvel is the only one of its kind in North America. This contraption captures a boat or multiple boats in a sling the proceeds to drive up out of the water, across a small stretch of land, including a crossing a road, and then drive down into the water on the other side to release the boat. It's lock 44 on the Trent-Severn Waterway. After watching the Marine railway do its things a few times, we drove to Parry Sound and climbed a 100 foot lookout tower before setting off on a 3 hour boat tour of the 30,000 islands in the Georgian Bay.
This might look like a normal railroad crossing, but it's much more!
A boat pulls into the Big Chute Marine Railway
A boat gets strapped into the Big Chute Marine Railway
After another boat sails in, the Big Chute Marine Railway starts its short journey
The Big Chute Marine Railway carries boats across land and back into the water
The Big Chute Marine Railway carries boats across land and back into the water
The Big Chute Marine Railway heads back into the water with its boat passengers
And off the boats go on the other side
The equipment that powers the the Big Chute Marine Railway is impressive
The Big Chute Marine Railway carries another pleasure craft over the land
The Big Chute Marine Railway carries another pleasure craft over the land
There's a lot of boat traffic on the Big Chute Marine Railway today
These are the tracks that the Big Chute Marine Railway traverses
More boats getting ready to ride the Big Chute Marine Railway
How do boats cross a street? On the Big Chute Marine Railway, of course!
Getting an up close look at the Big Chute Marine Railway in action
The Big Chute Marine Railway heads back into the water with its passengers
The Big Chute Marine Railway heads back empty
This is the output of the Big Chute Generating Station
The old version of the Big Chute Marine Railway still sits up the road from the current one
The old Big Chute Marine Railway rode on these tracks
Just a random Canadian flag on some rocks
We're arrived in Parry Sound
I'm not even sure our vehicle will fit down this road
Inukshuks in Parry Sound
Beginning our climb to the top of the Tower Hill Lookout Tower
The view from Tower Hill Lookout was pretty great on this clear day.
Plenty of plane parking available on the water
The view from Tower Hill Lookout was pretty great on this clear day.
The view from Tower Hill Lookout was pretty great on this clear day.
It's best not to look down while climbing down the Tower Hill Lookout Tower
We were just way up there!
Walking around downtown Parry Sound
Walking around downtown Parry Sound
Waiting to board the boat for a tour of the 30,000 Islands
There's one of the 30,000 Islands
Passing through the Wasauksing Swing Bridge
Passing through the Wasauksing Swing Bridge
Passing through the Wasauksing Swing Bridge
Passing through the Wasauksing Swing Bridge
Navigating through the 30,000 Islands
Some of the islands have cottages tucked away on them
Planes and boats are the way to get to these islands
Some island homes are fancier than others
An osprey sitting in its nest
Some island homes are fancier than others
These folks are sightseeing on a RHIB. I'm glad our boat is a bit bigger
Some of the islands are nothing more than a rock
Two of the very few islands that you can walk between thanks to a bridge
I'm not sure if this house was once on an island or what
These folks don't have much of a yard!
Navigating through the 30,000 Islands
Hey, you can own one of the 30,000 Islands!
Someone built an Inukshuk
Now that's a nice cottage
Navigating through the 30,000 Islands
We're certainly not alone out here in this maze of islands
We barely fit through the Hole in the Wall Passage. The shoreline was close on both sides but we made it through.
We barely fit through the Hole in the Wall Passage. The shoreline was close on both sides but we made it through
We barely fit through the Hole in the Wall Passage. The shoreline was close on both sides but we made it through
We barely fit through the Hole in the Wall Passage. The shoreline was close on both sides but we made it through
We barely fit through the Hole in the Wall Passage. The shoreline was close on both sides but we made it through
We barely fit through the Hole in the Wall Passage. The shoreline was close on both sides but we made it through
Passing by the Parry Sound Coast Guard Base
That's the tower we climbed earlier in the day
A CN train passes on the trestle high above us
A CN train passes on the trestle high above us
These are the same planes we were looking way down on earlier in the day
We had lunch at the Bay Street Cafe
The road back to Orillia is not a flat one
We stopped in Orillia and had dinner at Lake Country Grill
You might think these are potato skins, but they're really "Loaded Canoes"
My dinner of blackened pickeral was delicious
We're staying in Barrie for the night