Poonamalie and the Long Weekend

What a wonderful long weekend!  So far this summer has been absolutely amazing weather wise.   Most weekends have been lovely sunshine with reasonable winds!   I can honestly say the boat is getting some miles put on it this year!

Jen and I both took last Friday off resulting in a 4 day weekend for the 2 of us.    Friday was a relax day as we were picking up Erin (Jen's daughter) from camp, Saturday we paddled the Poonamalie area (below), Sunday we were back to Black Rapids in Ottawa for a paddle, Sunday night was wine and chatter with some friends and Monday was a relaxing morning followed me finally going home to do laundry, chores and to put the boat away ;-(    Back to work tomorrow but I know I can say that I'm going back relaxed.

Poonamalie Lock 32 as described by - Rideau-Info.com

"This odd name dates back to the time of canal construction. The cool cedars in this area reminded one of the British soldiers of a previous posting in Poonamallee, India, a garrison town used by the British army. It was also known as First Rapids, being the first set of rapids on the Rideau River. Have a look at the beautiful lockmaster’s house, still home to today’s Lockmaster, one of only three still in use by lockmasters on the Rideau. Take a hike to the dam and weir, a 1km trail leads to the upstream control dam - very scenic. The dense cedars provide cool shade and an enchanting scent. The location of the dam, at the bottom end of Lower Rideau Lake, is susceptible to spring ice damage. In April 1904, a 300 foot (91 m) wide sheet of ice opened up a 75 foot (23 m) hole in the weir. The dam and weir were then re-done in concrete. In 1971 the dam was again rebuilt, this time a large hydraulic gate replaced the wooden stop logs previously in use."

My description?   A beautiful spot!!!

Once again I have no idea how to sort through my photos and just pick a few ;-)  There are a crapload below, enjoy!    Click the image for bigger version.   Have a great week everyone.

Look at that over there.

A dragonfly eating a dragonfly on Jen's finger ;-)

Not sure if this was an old building, raft, dock or just what?

Calm in the lily pads.

In the shallows

Top part of Lower Rideau Lake

Definition of "RELAXING"

Mouth of the canal at Lower Rideau Lake to get to Poonamalie

Well behaved boaters in the channel.

Neat seeing sailboats in the channel.

Relaxing.  The launch spot just south of the lockstation to the right.  Free parking and launching for canoes and kayaks.  There is a fee for power boats.

One of the boaters who loved the camera hahaha

Arriving back at Poonamalie Lock, a peaceful place.

Poonamalie lockmasters house.  One 1 of 3 houses on the system that has the lockmaster living in them.

Looking northwards from the lock.  Plan to paddle this on the next trip.

The lock house.

The channel that we had just paddled.

The lock itself.