June 28... Deep Creek, Va

Most of the morning was spent hanging out with Robert, the lockmaster here at Deep Creek. Three boats locked through at 11 and we knew two of them and had a nice chat. I changed a primary fuel filter that seemed to be acting up recently as well.

It was hot in the afternoon and most of our time was spent reading. We walked to a convenience store about ¼ mile away and picked up a Sunday paper and some beer.

The park adjacent to the lock here gets lots of business on the weekends and so there was lots of traffic on our dock. Our way of life is so foreign to theirs, that many stop and talk. We had two people ask if there was anything we needed ... or did we need them to drive us somewhere. Most just wanted to know where we've been and where we were going.

Later, I topped off our water tank so we should be good until Deltaville.

We had our second rotisserie chicken and broccoli slaw meal in a row ... because it was easy and too hot to cook.

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From talking with Robert today I learned that the Dismal Swamp Canal can never be closed. It can be closed to boat traffic but his is main job is managing the water. When the canal was built 200 years ago the natural west to east drainage was interrupted. Lake Drummond which lies in the Dismal Swamp west of the canal drained naturally into the Northeast River to the east. The canal is a dike to that drainage. East of the canal ditches and drains were dug over time make up for the lack of natural drainage.

There is a dam at Lake Drummond with an operator and locks at each end of the canal. By controlling the amount of water that leaves the lake and the number of lock openings per day, the level of water is maintained but it's not as easy as just holding or letting water go...

Rain in the area, soil saturation, and evaporation all play a part in water levels. They have to anticipate summer droughts as well as tropical storms. It is projected that without the canal the water table in the area would drop about 25 feet.

The canal and the lock at Great Bridge also control the water level in the Elizabeth River which flows through Norfolk and the Navy yard there.