Sensational Smiths Falls

Sensational Smiths Falls

At least that is the city’s slogan – it might fall a little short of sensational, but it was a restful if damp stop.  We spent three nights in the basin at Smiths Falls – plenty of time to troop through the handy WalMart – a strangely weird trip in this 19^th century town – as well as wander in the Heritage Museum rooms full of 1860s décor. (Steve might have enjoyed WalMart more, but he was a good sport and walked the mile along the canal to the museum in the rain so I could see the antiques displayed there.) 

Our rainy day was supposed to be only a few hours in the afternoon and the evening, but it turned into a full day deluge which gave us time to catch up on indoor chores and reading plus watch the World Cup Final.  It also kept the neighbors’ dock party to a dull roar – we have now met the Quebec Navy.  This is the annual two week holiday for Quebec workers when large groups invade the Rideau. We had heard about the traffic but were not prepared for the music, dock crowds and chain smokers. While courteously moving aside to let us pass, they did keep late hours, showed a preference for loud rock music, and “occupied” all readily available picnic tables and shade.

The Rideau Canal Visitor Center Museum was another stop here where we enjoyed a film and displays on the construction of the 47 locks and 74 dams which created the canal.  All of this was done in a few short years – remember the winters are rather unfriendly here to construction – and through terrain that was wild, largely empty, or swampy.  Those swamps were the source of the malaria that plagued the crews and their families contributing to the high toll in human lives lost during the construction. In Smiths Falls is the one modern lock that was built in the 1970s to replace the original flight of three locks. Fortunately the old locks were left and the new 26ft chamber was built alongside with electric gates and doors. The juxtaposition of these two structures underscores the remarkable engineering feat from the early 19^th century.