Rainy Day
Downtown Dock
Today was a lazy
Sunday…the wind and rain kept us on the boat most of the day. We did make a
trip to the grocery store for a few staple items and one more trip to ByWard
Market for blueberries, corn and colored peppers. We will go through the Ottawa Flight of Eight
locks tomorrow and start our journey towards Montreal.
Ottawa uses the
Rideau Canal as the world’s largest skating rink in the winter. The Skateway is
4.8 miles long (the size of 90 Olympic-sized rinks), and begins just steps from the Parliament
Buildings and extends to the Hartwell Locks and includes Dows Lake. In between,
there are warm up areas, with toasty fires, hot drinks and tasty snacks. Turning
the Rideau Canal into the world’s largest skating rink requires much more than
just removing the snow. Work on the Skateway starts well before the skating
season. After the water level of the Rideau Canal is lowered in the fall,
chalets and other structures used on the Skateway are installed. Maintenance
crews work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the skating surface smooth
and clear. Special ramps are installed
so snowplows can clear the snow from the canal. Portions of the Skateway are
flooded every night and the ice is kept groomed with a 52’ wide Zamboni that
was designed just for the canal.
Summer view of the Rideau Canal
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