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| Close the LOCK DOORS...South Mills Lock |
The Great Dismal Swamp ends at the South Mills Lock where you are lowered 8 feet to the Pasquotank River of North Carolina. Riding the lock down is far more calm than riding a lock up, as the water simply drains out of the lock and you are slowly lowered along the lock wall.
Once in the river, we encountered a river full of Duckweed (thank you Bonnie F. for identifying this). And thanks to our lead boat named Ascension, a path was plowed down river through the duck weed. The trip ends at the drawbridge into Elizabeth City where we take their free docks and enjoy their long standing tradition of a wine and cheese party hosted by the Rose Buddies. We were lucky enough to have met the creator, Fred Fearing, a long time ago when we did this loop on our IP27, Cinnamon. Today, the city continues his tradition and it is truly the City of Hospitality. Great Job, Elizabeth City, and thank you Fred!
Here are some great photos of the day...(I shot 87 photos today and one video)
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| Lock Tender checking the overlap mitre joint of the lock doors |
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| Top of lock, watch us drop 8 feet |
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| Halfway down...more drop to go |
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| 8 feet down, the lock doors can now open |
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| Welcome to the Pasquotank River, Good Bye Dismal Swamp |
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| Welcome DUCKWEED as we move south towards Elizabeth City |
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| Our lead boat, Ascension, cuts a path for all 5 boats to follow, thank you |
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| Follow the path in the Duckweed |
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| This does make for beautiful photos |
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| Looking aft, the sun illuminates the colors |
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| Pasquotank River and a sea of contrast |
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| The Elizabeth City Lift Bridge ends this beautiful section of the waterway |
Tonight, we will enjoy the town's hosted wine and cheese party and visit with all the cruisers heading south. This is a wonderful life and we really enjoy the travels and beauty....
DSC is one of my all-time favorite places! Next time through, if you have time, tie up at Arbuckle's Landing for the night and take the dink up the feeder ditch to Lake Drummond. A free electric hoist at the dam will put you in (and take you back down from) the lake. Given the lack of rain this year, good thing the canal had enough water in it to take traffic. --sb
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