And, Yes, Chattanooga We’re Still On Our Way

October 22, 23, 24, 2011

October 22
Some days just don't co-operate with the big plan.  Oh, I forgot -- this is our new life:  no plan, no schedule!  It's hard to break those habits after so many years of regiment and deadlines.  So, what I meant to say is -- We didn't get off at the crack of dawn like we had anticipated.  The fog was very thick this morning.  It was so thick that the fishing tournament boats had to wait around an extra hour.  Then, once they were released -- in a very orderly manner (most of another hour) we left the marina with seven boats that were on their way to the Great Circle Rendezvous.  

It is very difficult to get any sense of how large these
locks are.  The water will cover all of the dark
section of the doors

Look very carefully and you will see the 3M logo
on the water tower

The water was extremely calm with no wind -- while we waited for a lock to open we turned off the engine and just sat enjoying the quiet. Our first lock of the day was Wilson. We were lifted over 100 feet. I think this will be the biggest lift that we will go through. When Wilson was built it was the largest dam in the world. Even after all of these years, it is still number three behind one on the Snake River in Washington and another one in Eastern Europe.  

We ended the day in Decatur, Alabama, after passing a 3M plant that Brian used to visit in his previous life. 

October 23 



The morning started clear and sunny.  We were surprised that there was no fog.  As we left the marina, we could see a few wisps, but nothing to concern us.  Soon it was so thick that we couldn’t see anything in front of us.  The sun was still shining and its brightness was magnified by the fog and water.  It was like staring directly at a high wattage light bulb.  Luckily we have radar, AIS (Automatic Identification System) and electronic charts.  Within twenty minutes the fog lifted and we were on to smooth sailing.



The fog is lifting

Huntsville is the only commercial area that we passed today.  It was critical to our space program.  This is where Wernher Von Braun worked at the Marshall Space and Flight Center.  He is responsible for bringing the United States into the space age as the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the moon.   

Unfortunately, this is all we saw of the
Marshall Space Center





Although there are narrow sections of the Tennessee River, the dams have formed beautiful wide pools that are called lakes.  Each one has its own personality.  One might be primarily a wildlife preserve and another might be more residential, but all are fabulous recreational waterways.  Lake Wheeler, that we went through earlier today, has a National Wildlife Refuge (34,500 acres).  This is the southernmost wintering ground for Canada geese.  Guntersville Lake (76 miles long) also has state parks, but it is very residential.  By car this area is only about an hour from Chattanooga; making it very accessible for primary and secondary homes.  There is a wide variety of old and new houses, but no trailers on stilts.  This is definitely an upscale community! 



We’ve also seen a change in terrain.  The lake is now surrounded by wooded hills.  The foliage is still primarily green, but areas are showing fall color.  Large bays go for a mile or more off the main channel.  What we have seen the last few days gives us an entirely new impression of Alabama.  If you haven’t decided on a retirement location, check out the greater Chattanooga community.  The waterways are clean and abundant.  It is as beautiful as any river we have seen anywhere in the United States.  Previously, we had only seen Alabama from the Tombigbee.  It hardly seems like the same state!    





We found a perfect anchorage:  off the channel, behind an island off Mink Creek --- so quiet! 

October 24

Today’s river is  pretty much the same as yesterday except – the terrain is a little more dramatic, the hills are higher, the river banks a little wilder, the houses fewer and more moderate and the river narrower.  Other than that, it’s just like yesterday!  Oh, yes, and we crossed the state line -- we're back in Tennessee.

Near the end of the day we passed through the southern end of Sequatchie Valley.  This is one of two great rift valleys in the world.  The other one is the Great Victoria Valley in Africa.  Both were created when the earth's surface split apart.  The Sequatchie Valley is more than 125 miles long, but never more than five miles wide.  It's cliffs provide ideal conditions for hang gliding and it is known as the hang gliding capital of the east.  

The last map showed us entering Barkley Lake at the top of this map (the rivers form a circle). 
We have now gone through part of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and back into Tennessee
on the Tennessee River.
Chattanooga tomorrow!!!

1350 miles in less than a month -- We're smokin!!!!

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!

 

Chattanooga -- We're Still On Our Way

October 20, 21, 2011

October 20

Today we have been in Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama. It was almost noon when we left Aqua Harbor. A quick trip to another substandard grocery, visiting with boaters on the dock and changing the oil and filter on the generator took longer than we anticipated – doesn’t everything?  Our modest goal for today was about 45 miles which brings us to the Wilson Lock.  The dam built between 1918 & 1925 is a National Historic Landmark.

Angela Hacker the winner of Nashville Star
with her was James Leblanc

We made it to the marina that is adjacent to the lock.  We had not planned to stay here, but daylight was running short.  Well, turns out this is quite the little find.  Florence, Alabama is the birthplace of Helen Keller, it has multiple museums and a walking tour of historical homes in the downtown area.  We are going to stay an additional day.  You just never know what you are going to find, when you take the time to slow down and explore.  More tomorrow on Florence……

October 21

Looks a little like locus swarming in the fog

We woke this morning at 6:00 to voices and the sound of outboard motors.  Brian came up to see what was going on and found us surrounded by 80 Bass fishing boats.  34 degrees did not discourage the contestants of this fishing tournament.  At 7:00 the chairman began calling out names to let the boats leave the marina in an orderly manner.  Everyone has to be back at the marina by 4:00 to weigh in.  They do the same thing tomorrow.

Another grocery trip--this time to Walmart and Target.  After grocery shopping in some of these small out of the way towns, you can't imagine how fresh and clean Walmart looks!  

We took a quick tour of the Historical Home District in Florence.  It is very extensive with a variety significant architecture.  While wondering around, we came across the home of George Washington Goethals.  He was my Great Uncle Will's business partner.  Goethals was the engineering genius behind the Panama Canal.  My Uncle was Henry Ford's efficiency expert.  Ford was considering opening a plant in this area and buying the lock and dam.  Neither project went forward, but Goethals was working on the Muscle Shoals project at this time.  It is thought that George and Will met here.  Goethals went on to do his work on the Panama Canal and later entered into partnership with Uncle Will.  Wow....  Uncle Will was later removed from Ford Motor Co.  He put together a plan to a take over the company and remove Henry!  Opps... a career changer.

Another night of great entertainment at
the marina bar
Russell Melford & Rick Mann

No, he's not a country western singer --
These are our new friends Lance and Debi Bretherick
.

Friday night the marina bar was on overload with locals and loopers.  Debi and Lance, who we met last night were there again.  Mercy, they were fun!  We hated to say good-bye.  We've met so many nice people already and it's only been a month.  No one is a stranger when you already have that common thread -- boating.   Russell and Rick were another example of the amazing local talent.  They sang a lot of their own music and threw in some of the oldies.  We could have stayed for hours, but had to get up for an early departure.

Gotta smile -- We're lovin the ride!

 

Chattanooga -- We're On Our Way

October 17, 18, 19, 2011

One of the many bays on Kentucky Lake

Land Between The Lakes

October 17

We traveled through Kentucky Lake all day….73 miles and we are now in Tennessee. Kentucky Lake is a really wide section of the Tennessee River. It was formed in 1944 when the Kentucky Lock was completed. That lock is close to Barkley Lock (completed in 1964) that we went through a couple days ago. Barkley Lock formed (you guessed it) Barkley Lake. The two lakes are parallel to each other and the peninsula of land that separates them is called The Land Between The Lakes. This is all a huge national recreation area: parks and wildlife preserves. The wildlife refuge alone is 80,000 acres. I mean this is ENORMOUS and beautiful! In forming the lakes, many people had to be relocated. Entire communities were moved. There are still a few remnants of the former towns.

Abandoned dock was an important shipping point
prior to Kentucky Dam being built 

We didn’t plan to go this far, but when we tried to pull into Little Crooked Creek to anchor for the night, the water was too shallow.  Plan B – Go to Pebble Isle Marina.  It was beyond dusk when we arrived.  The marina has a long intricate entry that was especially challenging after dark.  Luckily some nice boaters heard us coming in and were waiting on the dock to help us tie up.     

October 18,

The long path into Pebble Isle: Notice sand bar in
front of us and marina buildings WAY in the back.

Brian ranked Pebble Isle near the top of his favorite marinas. One of the employees serves fresh from the oven homemade hot cinnamon rolls for the boaters every morning at 8:30 sharp.  He's ready to stay here for a week!  But, instead we travel back the winding path to the river.  Another 14 miles on Kentucky Lake and then the water narrows to simply the Tennessee River.


Harvesting mussels

Mussel harvesting is a million dollar industry in this area. These strange looking boats have lines and prongs dangling from their flat roofs. As a mussel opens its shell slightly to get food, the prong enters, the mussel clamps down on it thinking it has a yummy morsel. Caught!!! The meat is used for fish bait. Most of the shells are exported to Japan for mother of pearl jewelry or seeding oysters for pearl production.  

*****Every once in a while I feel like I need to insert a little worthwhile information.  I’ve read other blogs that are crammed full of history and interesting tidbits.  I prefer to make my readers really search through the drivel to find the good stuff.  Think of it as a wordy ‘Where’s Waldo?’.******   

Someone is way too crazy about lighthouses.
Six story house under construction.

The river is framed with rock ledges of shale and gray limestone.  It’s not unusual to see huge plates that have dropped off and others that look like they are ready to let go.   

We came across another intricate dredging project.  This one brings sand and gravel up from the river bottom.  The water is drained off, and the gravel and sand are sorted and placed in separate barges for delivery.  

Water extracted off center front.  Sand deposited in
two barges at back and gravel in barge in front

The anchorage for tonight is behind a small island.  Cozy and quiet….   

October 19

Erosion on the rivers is a huge problem especially with annual and even semi-annual floods.  There is too much frontage for the Corps of Engineers to rip rap and it doesn’t appear that land owners are required to do it.  Over time the river carves a new route due to erosion and shoaling.  We encounter one curve after another that would be about two miles straight line, but is closer to nine miles following the river. 

Mother Nature's rip rap

Section without rip rap between protected banks.
Notice mature trees that have slid down the bank.

Our navigation screen showing one of the curves in
the river.

The only bank we've seen with
planted erosion control

The Shiloh National Military Park





This is one of the most historically significant areas on the Tennessee River. Grant was having breakfast at the Cherry Mansion on April 6, 1862 when he heard distant artillery fire. The Confederate army was attacking in nearby Shiloh. During the two day battle, 23,000 men were killed in locations now named Bloody Pond, Hell’s Hollow and the Hornet’s Nest. The Shiloh National Military Park parallels the river for about a mile.

The Cherry Mansion -- Grant's headquarter
during the battle of Shiloh

At the point where Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama touch we go through the Pickwick Lock.The lock will raise us 55 feet.  Every lockage uses 37,500,000 gallons of water to fill the chamber.It is pretty amazing! Not only is this a lock and dam – it is a power plant and automobile bridge.

Coming out of the lock the choices are: Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway (south to Mobile) or stay on the Tennessee River (east to Chattanooga). We are continuing on the Tennessee River. We will then backtrack and take the Tombigbee.

For tonight we’re in a familiar marina – Aqua Harbor in Iuka, Mississippi.

We're met on the dock by Bill who helps us with our lines for the second time on this trip.  We met him and his wife, Deb, in Green Turtle.  They invite us to join them for dinner along with the owner of a Florida Bay Coaster.  Florida Bay Coasters are a very interesting boat...only 14 have been built.  We had considered buying one about 18 years ago.  For our 25th wedding anniversary we chartered one for a week with our good friends Larry and Joan Arnold.   

Gotta smile -- we're lovin the ride!

                

Return to Green Turtle

October 15, 16, 2011

October 15

The day begins with a little bit of spiffing up of the boat, because we are expecting company from home!  Then we borrow the marina car and drive into Grand Rivers for a few supplies.  As it turns out, less supplies than we planned.  This IGA is a poor excuse for a grocery store.  I'm not looking for exotic foods -- just some basics.  When we checked out we only had 3 bananas and a box of confectioners sugar.  We also stopped in a very cute store that we remembered from before, So Cool.  They have a little bit of everything and it is all fun.  Brian leaves with a sunscreen protective shirt with a sailfish embroidered on the back, a Pirate Book (that he said he was buying for the Grand kids, but I caught him reading it this morning) and a dress and t-shirt for me.  Ok, if I have to choose between a good grocery store or a fun whatever store---we can always find groceries!   

 

Barb and Sandy Cobb arrived around 2:00 after a little tour of the area (they got lost).  We spent several hours catching up on life in general, went for a walk and then jumped in their car to go for dinner at Patti's 1880 Restaurant.  This place is a destination for people that really like to eat.  I'm trying to be politically correct.  The food is very good and the portions are huge.  The second thing that you notice is how absolutely overdecorated the restaurant is.  Artificial flowers hang from every conceivable location in quantities that would easily fill the shelves of all the Michael's craft stores in the Twin Cities.  This is no exaggeration...  Back to the boat and it is time for a serious game of Chicken Foot.  We have to play a game or we will fall into a food comma.  When we quit the game for the evening, I am clearly in the lead.  Everyone agrees that the game will be continued tomorrow after breakfast.  The worm turned and by morning my luck had turned with it.  Barb wound up the grand champion with me in second place.  Guess that lets you know where the boys finished. 

October 16
After a leisurely breakfast and the completion of our game, Barb and Sandy head off for Nashville and a visit with Sandy's brother.  Then they are on to Florida.  Brian and I enjoy a walk around the marina, do a couple more projects and this beautiful 80+ degree day is almost gone.    

Walking into our retirement

Muddy Waters from Miami, FL

 Another 48 foot North Sea Krogen is docked next to us.  We first saw their boat in Alton, MO while we were waiting for a lock to open.  Jennifer and Mike are doing the Great Loop with their two children, Keenan & Daria.  They are now headed back to Florida for some time on land.  We got together to look at each other's boats and compare notes on storage and living on board.  Their boat is a widebody -- no walk around on one side which makes their salon another two+ feet wider than ours and they have 3 staterooms.  It is beautiful inside with granite counters, new upholstery and a 4 drawer Subzero refrigerator/freezer.  As we upgrade some of our interior, these are things that we will definitely consider.  Keenan is my new hero.  He showed me how to recover some pictures from email and put them in my picture file.  What a nice family -- Just the kind of people that we hoped to meet on this trip.

Keenan -- computer wizard

Monday morning we begin our trip up the Tennessee river to Chattanooga.  This is an area that we have not explored before.  We are very excited about it because we have heard wonderful reports from so many others.
Gotta Smile -- We're lovin the ride!
           

What's round on the ends & high in the middle? OHIO

October 11, 12, 13, 14, 2001

October 11

Brian washed the outside of the boat this morning while I finished the laundry.  The washer uses a lot of water so I try to save laundry until we are near a marina and we can refill the water tanks.  We left Hoppies, as scheduled, at noon, and did a short trip to the Kaskaskia Lock (41 miles).  Because there are no marinas or safe places to anchor in this area, the Corp of Engineers allows boats to tie to the lock wall overnight.  It is just off the Mississippi on what else – the Kaskaskia River.  The trip was especially short because instead of moving at our usual pace of 8 mph, we were racing along at + or – 12 mph!  That can make you almost giddy….  We have gone through our last lock on the Mississippi.  It was in St Louis.  From that point on the river flows free to New Orleans.  We, however, will not be following the Mississippi and we will be going through many more locks.  Some very very large ones.  The rivers are extremely shallow this fall (about 23 feet lower than when we went through June 2010). 

Building a wing dam

Wing dam with a channel buoy

Spring and early summer of this year they were above flood stage.  We have seen hundreds of wing dams along the river.  Normally they would be under water.  Wing dams are long piles of rocks that extend part way across the river.  They are installed to direct the fast moving water into the center channel and reduce the amount of erosion along the banks.  We have never seen them exposed before – meaning we’ve never seen the water this low.  Now I see why I did so much damage to our previous boat when I missed a turn in the channel and drove in to one of them.  We came to a very quick stop!    

 

October 12

We got our first rain of the trip this afternoon.  Inside the pilot house it was very cozy and it didn’t change our plans.  Now that it’s just the two of us on board we are wearing our man overboard bracelets.  They are kind of like the ‘I fell and can’t get up’ fobs that you have seen on TV.  If one of us would fall in the water an alarm would automatically go off in the pilot house.  Hopefully, the Captain would then turn the boat around and come back to pick me up….guess it depends on the day....  Also, if we slip and get hurt, we can push a button in the middle which also sets off the alarm.  How did we ever survive without technology? 



Since we are below the locks, the tow boats and the number of barges they push has gotten considerably larger. Today we saw one tow with 26 barges. To go through the locks, their size was limited to 15 barges. As we get further south they will be even bigger. When we approach a tow coming towards us, Brian calls the captain to see which side of the channel we should pass on. One whistle means we pass on our port sides. The two whistle means starboard. As we go past the pilot house of the tow boat, Brian steps out, closes the door behind him and does a two arm wave to the captain. They usually open their door and wave back to him. Just a way of politely saying “thanks for not running over us”. The further south we go the more colorful the names of the islands, bluffs, etc. We just passed Hanging Dog Island north of Dog Tooth Bend. I guess Minnesota has more than it’s share of colorful names -- Pig’s Eye and Beer Can. At the end of the day we anchor after 110 miles.  

October 13

We woke up at 6 to get an early start on a long day. The goal of 96 miles would put us in Green Turtle Marina for the night.  When we looked at the AIS screen first thing in the morning there were 39 tow boats on it.  AIS is Automatic Identification System – a program that identifies any other boat with AIS within a 20 mile radius and plots it on our electronic chart.  Normally we will see 2 or 3.  We were anchored near Cairo, Illinois.  Cairo is a busy port that is at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.  It has river frontage on both rivers.  The river is very wide here and it looks like a parking lot for barges.  There are hundreds of them waiting to be filled and taken to their destination. 

Imagine about 500 barges and tow boats tied up like this 



In less than an hour we made the turn onto the Ohio River and ended our voyage on the Mississippi. While on the Ohio we are pushing upstream.  Instead of traveling at 12 mph we are now at 7.8 mph and using a couple more RPM’s.  

A new lock and dam is being constructed in Olmstead, Illinois.  Work began in December of 1995 and it won’t be completed until 2016----wow, 21 years! Two other locks will be removed as Olmstead will be capable of controlling all of the water by itself.  We had two locks to go through today.  One was easy; we went right over what used to be the spillway wall.  The second one had a barge going in when we arrived which caused us about an hour wait.  Then instead of taking us in, as most locks would, they took another tow.  Another hour and 20 minutes waiting.  Nothing to do but chill and relax.

Can't you just hear Jimmy Buffet in the background

Passed Paducah, Kentucky (now, it sounds like we really are in the south) where the Tennessee and Ohio rivers converge.  Our speed improved (8.5 mph) but not enough to get us to Green Turtle tonight. Another anchorage.  This time behind Towhead Island – very picturesque.  And, we are at the convergence of the Ohio and Cumberland rivers.  Total miles today:68    

Hope this helps others that are geographically challenged

October 14

Sprint just contacted us and said that they turned off our data roaming.  We had used more than our allotted number of something bites.  And, it wouldn’t be turned on until our next billing period begins, October 26.  We asked what the charge for the overage would be -- $437!  Yikes….  We made it to Green Turtle and I’m using their Wifi.  Sounds like a good time to catch on postings.

Historic Smithland, Kentucky -- Gower House built in 1780
Luxury inn for travelers including presidents Polk & Taylor.

The entrance to the Cumberland River, which was adjacent to our anchorage last night, looks like a stream.  It would be tough to pass a tow in this area. 

All of the rivers have one thing in common--
massive erosion along their banks.

The only community that we pass today is Smithfield.  In the mid 1800's it was a thriving community with many businesses and three newspapers.  It was a strategic staging area during the Cival War.  If you look closely at the photo of the Grower house you will see the erosion of the banks and the white line above it is riprap for the floods.  Also, the dirt on the bridge pillar shows how high the water was -- it's dropped about 30 feet since the spring flood this year. 

I'm sure that if they put one more rock on this barge
it will go straight to the bottom of the river!

From the river it looks like the main industry in this area is rock excavating.  The quarries are very large and the equipment for grading is extensive.   

How cute!  The smallest tow boat we've seen 
Little Toot 

 Just before we arrived at the marina we went through the Barkley Lock.  This is one of the newer locks (completed in 1966) and the biggest lift we've gone through on this trip. ....53 feet.  I tell you, as you pull into the chamber and they close those doors it is a bit scarey.  The dark areas on the walls and doors indicates how far we have to be raised.  I yelled up to the lock master and asked him if he had checked the seals on the doors and he assured me that all was in good shape.  Just think of the pressure of the water pushing against the doors...  Well, obviously we made it just fine.

At 1:10 we pulled into Green Turtle Marina.  Lots of friendly faces and helping hands to tie us off.  We are immediately invited to an impromtu party on the dock.  It's not that we look like we are fun -- they invite everyone that is traveling south and staying for a couple of days.  We go and it is fun.  Most of the people there are from Minnesota or Michigan (Brian and I both grew up in Michigan).  So we immediately fall into easy conversation.  As we walk back to the boat, another Krogen like ours pulls in.  This one has a family of four on board and they are from Miami.  The kids look like they are about 12.  What a great bonding experience.  Then, we get back to the boat, the phone rings and it is Barb and Sandy Cobb.  The Cobbs are great friends from Minnesota who are on their way to Florida.  Their route almost takes them right by the marina tomorrow.  So, yea!!!  They are coming to spend a night or maybe two with us.  What a great day this has been!

33 miles today and 932 total for the trip.

Gotta Smile -- We're lovin the ride!