islandiagrabo – Page 3 – Islandia Grabo's Blog

Nov. 4-7, 2017 Demopolis to Bashi Creek, Alabama

DSCN6830 — Nov 4: We stayed in Demopolis until the morning of the 7th. This is a cotton field next to the marina. Borrowed the courtesy car to get groceries and did a variety of boat projects.

fullsizeoutput_27eb — People doing laundry at the marina lounge could entertain themselves painting rocks at the “Rock Painting” table.

fullsizeoutput_27ec — A Looper named Lesli painted all but one of these rocks. Such cool dot art. I painted the love bug at the bottom, yellow rock.

fullsizeoutput_27db — Nov. 5: Hal and Terri caught up to us and it turned out to be her 65th birthday. Since I only had an hour’s notice (and I’m not exactly Betty Crocker) I created a “cake” made out of 6 peanut butter cups surrounding a shot glass with a candle in it. She loved it.

words — Tonight’s song fest included my revision of Kenny Loggin’s “Watching the River Run.”

fullsizeoutput_27df — Picking through the new words.

fullsizeoutput_27dd — And moving on to other songs… Friends of the Wells’ Laurie and John from Vancouver joined us. John’s ability to play harmonica was a nice addition.

fullsizeoutput_27e2 — Nov. 6: We were under a metal roof for three days, days one and two – no changes to our tracking system. But day 3 – our tracking system went crazy again, this time adding 33 miles to our trip odometer. (And again, our Furuno system doesn’t include this marina, looks like we are on “the hard.”)

fullsizeoutput_27e3 — Saying farewell to the Wells. Not sure when we’ll see them again, they cross their wake in Mobile, about 200 miles away.

fullsizeoutput_27e5 — A snowy egret stands guard….

fullsizeoutput_27e4 — at the Great Gates of Kiev (aka the Demopolis Lock).

fullsizeoutput_27e6 — A Catalina 30 exits the 40 foot lock, only one more lock to go through on the Tombigbee Waterway.

fullsizeoutput_27bb — Variation on a theme… we learned that the white cliffs are mainly chalk.

fullsizeoutput_27bc — Overtaking the tow Greenwave…

fullsizeoutput_27bd — aptly named…looks like matching green steel beams.

fullsizeoutput_27be — Going by the remains of the Rooster Bridge which was removed in 1979. A few months before its removal a tugboat named Cahaba went sideways under the bridge in the great flood of April 19, 1979 when the river was a record high of 24 feet above flood level. In 2002 the film of this happening went viral on the internet. If you YouTube “tug under bridge” it will come up. Fortunately the boat along with the 3 crewmen survived relatively unscathed.

fullsizeoutput_27e7 — Came upon this tow stopped perpendicular in the river. A few more barges were being added to the tow (why here? not sure!). So we had to wait about 45 minutes before being allowed to pass by. The boat ahead of us is the 46 foot version of our boat.

fullsizeoutput_27c7 — Using the telephoto lens we could see a worker bee using a ladder to get to shore…

fullsizeoutput_27c8 — so he could tie off the tow (currently 8 barges with two more being added). Wow! is that sapling really going to hold a gazillion tons of loaded barges?

fullsizeoutput_27cb — But moving on, we noted these depth gauges. The depth of the river constantly changes but is relative to “normal pool.” (whatever that means…must be similar to the “normal” setting on the washing machine.)

fullsizeoutput_27c9 — Then we entered the “oxbow” territory. The distance from one shore to another was sometimes only 1/2 mile, but would take 5 miles of river to get there.

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fullsizeoutput_27cf — And in 5 miles we could point east – south – west – north – repeat.

fullsizeoutput_27cc — Anchorages continued to be sparse – this was one of them – simply anchor on the shallow side of the reds, at the top of a bend … no thank you!

fullsizeoutput_27d2 — We opted to try Bashi Creek instead.

fullsizeoutput_27da — Which on the chart appeared as Basin Creek.

fullsizeoutput_27d3 — Bob had to back in.

fullsizeoutput_27d6 — Then we launched the paddleboard and I secured the boat with lines to trees on both sides. Much easier than setting a stern anchor.

fullsizeoutput_27d4 — Bob checking out the anchorage with a tow going by. Glad to be out of the channel for the night.

fullsizeoutput_27ee — We heard owls hooting but didn’t see them. At least this kingfisher lit long enough to be photoed.

fullsizeoutput_27ef — Guidebook said there were alligators in this creek and we thought this was one…turned out to be a log!

DSCN6911 — Nov. 7: Morning light in our backyard. (Reminded me of a Linda Madin pastel).

DSCN6917 — Launched the paddle board to take a ride and also to release the lines.

fullsizeoutput_27c0 — No cell service here so I took the hand held VHF.

fullsizeoutput_27e8 — I paddled upstream for almost a mile, eerie but cool at the same time, glad I didn’t see any alligators or snakes. Good to see Islandia on the return trip.

fullsizeoutput_27ea — Water level went up about a foot overnight so I didn’t have to go ashore to undo the lines, just had to tuck under all the branches (and hope there were no spiders).

fullsizeoutput_27d9 — On the road again…next up is Bobby’s Fish Camp, only about 30 miles away.

Nov. 1-3, 2017 Columbus, MS to Demopolis, Alabama

fullsizeoutput_27b4 — Nov. 1: We stayed a day at the Columbus Marina to do some exploring and re-provisioning. This nearby Antebellum Waverly Mansion was built in 1852 by Col. George Young, spared by the war since it was just off enough of the war trail and near a hospital. It’s actually for sale for 2.7 million dollars.

fullsizeoutput_27b5 — On the grounds is this magnificent Southern Magnolia tree which the curator said is perhaps the oldest (250+ years) and largest magnolia in Mississippi.

fullsizeoutput_279c — Nov. 2: Got up early to join 7 other boaters to go through the nearby lock. Had to mill around a bit, but hey, there’s a cell tower! Got to check my email.

fullsizeoutput_279e — Went by this scrap metal operation which puts into perspective how much freight the barges carry. There were several trucks lined up to off load this barge of scrap metal. Most of the tows we see push 15 barges – so that’s about 1050 trucks worth of stuff. (One barge = 70 trucks or 16 railcars).

fullsizeoutput_27a0 — That’s a lot of scrap metal!

fullsizeoutput_279f — And, bam! Into the truck it goes.

fullsizeoutput_27a1 — Along the way we saw miles of trees and very few houses – and then completely random things like giant colorful roosters….

fullsizeoutput_27a2 — a telephone booth in the middle of nowhere…..

fullsizeoutput_27a3 — and Bernie and Bernadette!

fullsizeoutput_27a5 — Next lock – we went through with 10 boats after an hour wait.

fullsizeoutput_27a6 — We didn’t go ashore here but this lock had on display the 108 foot snag boat Montgomery. There is a constant need to remove debris from the waterway.

fullsizeoutput_27a7 — This well preserved antebellum house now houses the Tom Bevill Lock Resource Management and Visitor Center.

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fullsizeoutput_2776 — Shocks of orange trees along the way.

fullsizeoutput_27b6 — Marinas and anchorages are few and far between. We pulled into this small anchorage which only has room for a few boats. Fortunately the two boats already anchored here (Sumter Landing) called over and invited us to raft up to them.

fullsizeoutput_27a9 — Thank you! We don’t normally anchor this close to shore but one of the Loopers had anchored here many times before and assured us it was OK.

fullsizeoutput_27aa — A nearly full moon rise on Nov. 2.

fullsizeoutput_27ab — Nov. 3: The next morning just before we took off, we hadn’t moved an inch.

fullsizeoutput_2779 — Eerie morning with lots of debris in the channel.

fullsizeoutput_277a — And a pretty big log in the middle of the channel with a blue heron on it that actually looked blue.

fullsizeoutput_277c — The heron moves on to the next snag.

fullsizeoutput_277d — OK, I can’t help myself. If there’s an eagle, I have to take its picture.

fullsizeoutput_27ae — This part of the waterway isn’t as “canalized” as the upper part so there are lots of hairpin turns where you can’t see what’s up ahead. Thank goodness for “AIS” which tells us if a ship is coming. The captain of this tow told us to stay put while he went around the bend.

fullsizeoutput_27af — Because there really wasn’t enough room for the two of us to pass.

fullsizeoutput_2782 — We then encountered the white cliffs of Epes – which went on for about 5 miles.

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fullsizeoutput_2795 — Such cool topography with the added bonus of fall colors.

fullsizeoutput_279b — Our destination for the next few days: the metropolis of Demopolis, Alabama.

fullsizeoutput_27b2 — Enjoyed the rise of the Beaver Moon…

fullsizeoutput_27b3 — with a Mohawk!

Oct. 29-31, 2017 Bay Springs to Columbus, MS

fullsizeoutput_2761 — Oct. 29: Left Bay Springs Marina and headed to the nearby Aberdeen Lock . We passed by this beach which is probably teaming with people on a normal Sunday – but today the temps were in the 40s.

DSCN6602 — I’m wearing so many layers including leggings under my jeans and one pair wrapped around my neck. I was ill-prepared for this level of cold.

DSCN6603 — Terry across the way in the lock also has a million layers on.

fullsizeoutput_2762 — Lots of dead heads just outside the channel, you can’t stray very far from the center line.

fullsizeoutput_2763 — The name of this tow was Tom Huckabee. Seems like it should have been Tom and Huck.

fullsizeoutput_2764 — “Oh suns and skies and clouds of June, And flowers of June together, Ye cannot rival for one hour, October’s bright blue weather.” By Helen Hunt Jackson

fullsizeoutput_2765 — Sunset at the Midway Marina. The word “desolate” comes to mind. Or perhaps “bleak.” However, we actually had a fun evening watching the Astros win over the Dodgers in Game 5 of the World Series.

fullsizeoutput_2768 — Oct. 30: Nice to wake up to the classic eagle in a dead tree. Sadly parted ways with the Wells who are staying in Midway for the next few days awaiting friends from Vancouver to arrive.

fullsizeoutput_2767 — Navigation for the next 400 miles is pretty simple: Just go south.

fullsizeoutput_276a — Oh my! The Loch Ness Monster slithers by.

fullsizeoutput_2772 — Anchored in Blue Bluff Lagoon. Not sure why white bluffs are considered blue, but the surrounding sky and water help out. (BTW, very tricky, narrow channel to get into the anchorage – we saw 4 feet, then anchored in 9 feet).

fullsizeoutput_276f — So on our Placemat of Life, the third picture down on the left was taken in this anchorage. Arrow from the picture nicely points to where we are. Also included, the remnants of the generator’s impeller. Bob replaced that one on Sunday. Apparently it’s “Change the Impeller Week” in Looper’s World.

fullsizeoutput_276c — Oct. 31: Halloween sunrise.

fullsizeoutput_276d — Morning sunlight turned the bluffs to orange.

fullsizeoutput_276e — In today’s lock I noted this boat/business sticker on the floating bollard. Sensation Designer Fishing Team: Seems like an interesting mix of words/concepts.

fullsizeoutput_2770 — Passage to the Columbus Marina went by a pond area filled with Pelicans.

fullsizeoutput_2771 — Nice to see fall flowers still in bloom. Happy Halloween everyone!

Oct. 26-28, 2017 Back to Florence and beyond.

fullsizeoutput_272f — Oct. 26: Decided to head back west to Florence. It was just a short wait to get through the Joe Wheeler Lock.

fullsizeoutput_2730 — Terry fending off with Niagara Falls behind her.

fullsizeoutput_2731 — Along the way we were entertained by ballets of pelicans.

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fullsizeoutput_273b — In the background is the Marriott’s 360 Grille Restaurant.

fullsizeoutput_273c — Top to the gigantic Wilson Lock. Fortunately the lock master let us in at 3:30 (typically, they don’t lock pleasure boats through until after 6pm). So nice to get through in daylight hours.

fullsizeoutput_273d — It was a much smoother ride going down the 90 feet than up.

fullsizeoutput_273e — Light at the end of the tunnel.

fullsizeoutput_273f — A parade of Loopers leave the lock.

DSCN6562 — Back to Florence. The code flags actually spell out Florence.

DSCN6563 — This gentleman has a nightly ritual of setting off a cannon at sunset.

DSCN6566 — Bob got the honors to set it off.

DSCN6567 — Oct. 27: Used the marina courtesy car to pick up a few more groceries and then decided to go into one of the recording studios.

fullsizeoutput_2758 — Such a nondescript, small building! The first album to be recorded here was one by Cher, titled 3615 Jackson Blvd. Originally the building didn’t have the address on it, so a sign was made to simulate the address superimposed on the album cover.

DSCN6569 — Interesting factoid.

DSCN6590 — The original Yamaha grand piano is still the center of the studio.

DSCN6572

fullsizeoutput_275f — Posters of musicians gathered around the piano.

DSCN6570 — So cool to play this piano! It was used in Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” and Bob Seeger’s “Just give me some of that old time Rock and Roll,” to name just a few of many songs.

DSCN6574 — A closet was used for the vocalists. Linda Ronstadt looks like she’s twelve.

DSCN6575 — Most of the furniture is original, particularly this orange couch.

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fullsizeoutput_2751 — David Hood’s bass.

fullsizeoutput_2753 — Paul Simon’s hand written notes were on the music stand next to the bass.

fullsizeoutput_2754 — Poster of Paul Simon in the studio. I noticed David Hood took most of the pictures featured in the studio.

DSCN6588 — The recording machine. And yes, the red phone is just a prop!

fullsizeoutput_2756 — Interesting invoice.

DSCN6593 — In the basement were offices and a “speak easy” lounge (which now sports many covers to albums recorded here). In the sixties – seventies, the building was in a dry county.

fullsizeoutput_2757 — A study in sepia: I’m pretty sure our collective parents owned the same/similar glasses and ashtrays on display in the speak easy lounge.

fullsizeoutput_2759 — We did leave Florence after that tour and enjoyed sunny skies until the last two miles. We ran into a nasty rain squall and got soaked. But the storm passed and on Oct. 28 we left Grand Harbor, TN and traveled about 30+ miles to Bay Springs Marina in Mississippi.

fullsizeoutput_275c — We are now on the Tenn-Tombigbee Waterway. This segment of the trip runs from Counce, TN 470 miles to Mobile, Alabama. There are 10 locks along a system of canals and dam flooded lakes making for “splotches” of anchorages along the way.

fullsizeoutput_275a — So here we are in the upper NE corner of the state of Mississippi. Going down to 32 degrees tonight!

Oct. 23 – 25: Roads trips on the Tennessee

fullsizeoutput_26fb — Oct. 23: Woke up to a rainy, cold day in Rogersville, Alabama. New boater friends of ours lent us their rental car and we took a road trip to nearby Huntsville to visit the Space & Rocket Center. Thanks Jan and Dennis!

fullsizeoutput_26fc — Huntsville is the home of Space Camp. Our daughter Jess went to Space Camp here in 1993 when she was only 10. Per Jess it was the best week of education she ever had. She felt she learned more science in one week than she did in a whole year of traditional schooling. Over the course of the next two years, she saved up $500.00 so she could return in 1995 (that time she did the Aviation Challenge program).

fullsizeoutput_26fd — Space Camp dormitory. Unfortunately regular visitors were not allowed to tour the Space Camp complex.

fullsizeoutput_2746 — Field of rockets.

fullsizeoutput_26f2 — Bob looking at the mock up for the Lunar landing module.

DSCN6294 — Inside were all kinds of simulators. Lots of fun to be had at each one.

fullsizeoutput_26f7 — Terry and Hal landing the LEM on the moon via simulator.

DSCN6317 — Space campers!

fullsizeoutput_26f5 — Lunar landing medallion.

DSCN6319 — Took a guided tour of the huge Saturn building. Lots of info!

DSCN6314 — This part was actually used for testing stress on the thrusters.

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DSCN6322 — Scenes from the Saturn Building. Hard to believe that our cell phones contain more technology than what is on display here. Last picture is the actual Apollo 16 capsule.

fullsizeoutput_26f9 — Next up – model of the planned rocket for transporting people to Mars sometime in the 2030s. I think I’ll pass on that!

fullsizeoutput_26ff — Side exhibit of jewelry depicting the relationship of the sun to the planets – in gem stones!

fullsizeoutput_26fe — So this necklace – if worn in zero gravity – depicts the Milky Way.

Exiting the Space Center. Great day.

DSCN6356 — Oct. 24 turned out to be another gray day. Moved on to Decatur, Alabama. Not much of a marina but we did have fun watching the beginning of the world series with Terry and Hal. Since they’re from Houston they were rooting for the Astros. On Oct. 25 we rented a car and drove to Chattanooga to visit the Tennessee Aquarium. Had we gone to Chattanooga by boat, this is where we would have docked.

Inside the aquarium one of the first fish displayed was a mandarin fish. Definitely on my bucket list to see in reality.

Sea dragons designed by Dr. Seuss.

fullsizeoutput_2747 — They had sea horses in just about every color of the rainbow.

fullsizeoutput_2748 — Piranha – Ouch!

fullsizeoutput_271f — Who knew? Fresh water spotted rays.

fullsizeoutput_270b — Mossy frogs.

fullsizeoutput_2720 — Lemurs duking it out.

fullsizeoutput_2742 — Fun in the shark tank.

fullsizeoutput_274a — Bob being engulfed by a giant crab.

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fullsizeoutput_2727 — Jelly fish exhibit was amazing. Last photo is of walnut jelly fish. They look like alien ghosts rising up to go back to the mother ship.

fullsizeoutput_2721 — To my delight they had a butterfly garden. We happened to be there when the docent was allowing tourists to release newly emerged butterflies.

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The outside of the Blue Morpho is very detailed…

fullsizeoutput_2724 — Finally one of them opened its wings to display the iridescent blue.

fullsizeoutput_2726 — New butterfly to me, even the docent didn’t know its name.

fullsizeoutput_271e — Part two of visiting Chattanooga was taking the high speed catamaran out into the Tennessee River Gorge, billed as the 4th largest gorge east of the Mississippi.

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fullsizeoutput_270f — Scenes of the Gorge.

fullsizeoutput_2719 — To dock the boat the Captain brought out his pod controls. So cool to watch him dock while he chatted with the tourists.

fullsizeoutput_271c — Hal and Terry

fullsizeoutput_2729 — Leaving the dock/aquarium area were train tracks depicting the various railroads that ran through Chattanooga. In this final section were the words/music to “Chattanooga Choo Choo” which of course we had to sing.

fullsizeoutput_272c — Driving back (a two hour drive) we went a bit out of our way to go up to Signal Point. During the Civil War, the Union soldiers used signal flags to communicate to troops across the Tennessee River. Chattanooga is to the left.

fullsizeoutput_272d — Sunset over the Gorge.

fullsizeoutput_270c — Artist’s rendition of another vantage point of the river from the Tennessee Aquarium. Back at the Marina we watched the Astros get their first ever win in the World Series.

Oct. 19-22, 2017 Florence, Alabama

fullsizeoutput_26b8 — Oct. 19: Headed to Florence, Alabama. Seeing many power plants of the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority).

fullsizeoutput_26bd — Turning in to the Florence Marina. The Marina offered a courtesy car so we were able to do some grocery shopping in the afternoon.

fullsizeoutput_26be — Oct. 20: The Showboat American Queen arrived sometime during the night to take on passengers for a Fall foliage cruise to Chattanooga.

fullsizeoutput_26bf — Our Alaskan friends Skip and Karen Binkley keep their boat at the Florence Marina for the summer months. They picked us up and brought us over to their condominium. On the way we stopped at an overlook to the Wilson Lock. This lock has been a source of concern for us since it is closed from 6am to 6pm for repairs, which means we have to enter in the dark… to be continued!

fullsizeoutput_26d1 — Skip and Karen live in the top left condo overlooking the Tennessee River. They’ll head south on their boat for Florida next week.

fullsizeoutput_26c0 — Looking down from their condo is a cool railroad bridge that was also a car bridge.

DSCN6194 — Placard explains some of the history of the bridge.

fullsizeoutput_26cc — Took a nice walk to the end of the bridge on the car portion.

fullsizeoutput_26cf — Skip and Bob looking over the end of the bridge (the final segment has been removed). American Queen is in the background.

fullsizeoutput_26cd — Looking down from the bridge is a tree decorated with men and women’s underwear (and mardi gras beads).

fullsizeoutput_26cb — Our tour continued with a trip to the 3 small towns (Sheffield, Tuscumbia and Muscle Shoals) on the south side of the Tennessee River. Who knew? Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia.

fullsizeoutput_26c4 — Waterfalls in the community park in Tuscumbia.

fullsizeoutput_26c6 — Went to lunch at Champy’s which specializes in “Blues, brews and birds (fried chicken).”

fullsizeoutput_26c8 — Something else on the long list of things I didn’t know: many famous artists (i.e. Rolling Stones, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge, Paul Simon, etc.) came to Muscle Shoals to be recorded. The Recording Studios from the outside looked like plain brown cinder block buildings.

fullsizeoutput_26d2 — Back at the marina the American Queen heads toward the Wilson Lock. The coordinator of the Looper Organization worked out a plan for 13 “Loopers” to come down the Wilson lock since the chamber was being opened for the American Queen before 6pm.

fullsizeoutput_26d4 — The steam coming off the top stern of the boat is from the Calliope – an organ like instrument that uses steam boat whistles. The calliopiest played a rousing version of The Piano Man and then God Bless America as the boat headed out.

fullsizeoutput_26d7 — Next up: The Binkleys took us to the Marriot’s Grille 360 which is one of those cool revolving restaurants.

fullsizeoutput_26d5 — From the top we could see the parade of looper boats heading toward the marina after having exited the lock.

fullsizeoutput_26d6 — Sunset from the restaurant. Apparently the Earth has three moons.

fullsizeoutput_26d8 — We were able to see the American Queen rise up in the lock – a lift of 97 feet! We didn’t think the boat was going to fit under the bridge, but she did.

fullsizeoutput_26da — Oct.21: Our tour continued the next day with a visit to a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home (Usorian) in the town of Florence. This building was in shambles in the 1990s but the town of Florence purchased it, restored it and made it into a museum.

fullsizeoutput_26d9 — Front door. If you’re over 6 feet tall, this house may not be for you.

fullsizeoutput_26db — Lunch today was way out of town, the Rattlesnake Saloon – built into a cave. Karen, Skip and Bob pose for a picture.

fullsizeoutput_26e0 — There was a bit of a walk down to the restaurant so they offered a pick up truck “taxi.” We choose to walk.

fullsizeoutput_26e2 — Back near the marina was another Indian Mound – 43 feet tall.

DSCN6243 — Looking up – 70 steps.

DSCN6244 — Placard explains the Mound.

DSCN6246 — Looking down.

fullsizeoutput_26e1 — The museum was very interesting. They had several displays of arrowheads. No wonder I didn’t find any the other day – they’re all in this museum!

fullsizeoutput_26e4 — Monet’s Water Lilies heron.

fullsizeoutput_26e6 — Sunset scene on the way back over to the Binkley’s for a wonderful dinner at their condo. Thank you Skip and Karen for a very interesting two days of touring!

fullsizeoutput_26e7 — Oct. 22: So to get through the gigantic Wilson Lock, we had to get up at 4:45 am, travel 30 minutes and enter by 5:15am. It was an amazing cavern to enter!

fullsizeoutput_26e8 — At the bottom of the lock the depth was 15.7 feet.

fullsizeoutput_26e9 — At the top, about 20 minutes later – the depth was 119 feet! Can’t even wrap my head around filling a 600 by 110 foot chamber with 97 feet of water. Must be billions of gallons!

DSCN6275 — At the top, the front “wall” descends (instead of two doors opening).

fullsizeoutput_26eb — A half hour later we were treated to an amazing sunrise.

fullsizeoutput_26ec — And then the winds whipped up – crazy! Roughest waters we’ve had in weeks. And bonus, our port engine overheated which made for a little bit of drama as the smoke detectors went off. We shut down the engines and quickly determined it was the port engine. We were able to continue on to Rogersville to the Joe Wheeler State Park Marina on just the starboard engine.

Impeller — Docked by 9:30 am. Felt like it was 5pm! Took all afternoon to remove the old chewed up impeller and replace it with a new one (we carry spares). I’m holding the chewed up impeller. Took forever to dig out the bits of rubber which I’m holding in my other hand. And once again… it’s a boat!

Oct 15-19, An intersection of states: Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

DSCN6023 — Oct. 15: Left our anchorage early to get to the next marina before predicted downpours. It was a rather cold and gloomy passage, but we were at dock before the rains hit.

fullsizeoutput_2679 — Noticed a scruffy looking coyote on the way.

fullsizeoutput_2677 — Oct. 16: A much prettier day, still a bit cold but brilliant sunshine. The boat inside the boat house to the right is also a Jefferson 42. The lady who ran the Clifton Marina (Amy) was a one-woman show: She took our lines, fed us delicious cheeseburgers for lunch, pumped fuel and watered all the plants.

DSCN6032 — Guess this pontoon boat hasn’t been out in a while.

DSCN6037 — Cold wind on the nose but sunny!

DSCN6040 — These houses take river flooding rather seriously.

fullsizeoutput_267b — Or you could just build your mansion further from the shore.

fullsizeoutput_2678 — Caught up with C’est le Bon at an anchorage behind Wolf Island, somewhere in Tennessee. Hal very nicely ferried us back and forth to join them for the evening. There was quite the two knot current to row against.

fullsizeoutput_2674 — Halloween sunset.

fullsizeoutput_2691 — October 17: 15 minutes before I took this picture we were completely fogged in and C’est le Bon wasn’t visible.

fullsizeoutput_2692 — Terry and Hal heading out as the morning “sea smoke” burns off.

fullsizeoutput_2693 — Quite the contraption.

fullsizeoutput_2694 — Going by Pittsburgh Landing, site of the landing of General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio. He arrived here on the night of April 6-7, 1862, to reinforce General Grant.

fullsizeoutput_2695 — Later in the day we visited Pittsburgh Landing by car.

fullsizeoutput_2686 — Looks like these two houses are connected by a walkway with an elevator at the mid point.

fullsizeoutput_2687 — Approaching Pickwick Lock and Dam. The closer we got, the slower we went. At nearly 1800 RPMs, we were only doing 5.2 knots (usually we do closer to 8).

fullsizeoutput_2696 — Current running by the green can is almost 3 knots.

fullsizeoutput_2697 — Heron guarding the lock.

fullsizeoutput_2688 — Attention! Left Face! (except of course for a few individuals).

fullsizeoutput_268a — Heron moving on to his next post.

fullsizeoutput_2698 — After miles and miles of trees we came upon some lofty homes.

fullsizeoutput_268b — Note the marine railway to get down to the docks.

DSCN6090 — A different look.

fullsizeoutput_268d — C’est le bon turning off the Tennessee at the top of the Tenn-Tombigbee Waterway System. We are essentially at a “T” intersection of Tennessee to the north, Mississippi to the southwest and Alabama to the southeast.

fullsizeoutput_268e — Our destination for the day was this beautiful Grand Harbor Marina. The docks were in Mississippi but their condos were in Counce, TN. Another one woman show here with Neeley doing everything from cooking, line handling, fueling and cleaning. The marina provides transients with a courtesy van which we used for 4 hours in the afternoon.

DSCN6101 — So we took the van to visit Shiloh National Military Park. On the way we stopped at The Outpost Restaurant for lunch. Noticed this random painted rock, first one I’ve seen since we left Lake Michigan.

fullsizeoutput_26b5 — After you check in at the visitor center you take a car tour of the battle grounds. What I didn’t learn in school was that there was an Indian Village located here. All that is left today are grass covered mounds of building foundations.

fullsizeoutput_26b4 — This placard explains the Shiloh Indian Mounds.

fullsizeoutput_269b — Not much to look at, but we did hike around several mounds along a mile long trail.

fullsizeoutput_2680 — Looking out at Pittsburgh Landing which we passed by earlier today.

fullsizeoutput_269e — Further comments on the peoples of long ago.

fullsizeoutput_269f — Back in the car we went by dozens of memorials.

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DSCN6125 — So sad that 24,000 men lost their lives here.

fullsizeoutput_26a1 — Julia and Matt, friends of Terri and Hal’s, visiting for a week from Vancouver.

fullsizeoutput_26a4 — Bob and Hal

fullsizeoutput_26a7 — Shiloh Meeting House, a log Methodist church which became the namesake (ironically) of the battle.

fullsizeoutput_26a9 — Back at the marina we enjoyed a swirl of colors at sunset.

fullsizeoutput_26aa — Oct 18: Heading on to an anchorage. If I were queen, I would spend less on the rock walled waterfront and more on the house. Cool palm trees anyway.

fullsizeoutput_26b6 — Turning in to Rock Piles Anchorage, back on the Tennessee (we’ll return to the Tenn-Tombigbee in about 2 weeks).

fullsizeoutput_26b7 — One of the rock piles conveniently posts the mile marker.

fullsizeoutput_26ad — Spent an idyllic afternoon sailing, swimming and paddle boarding.

Looking back at our rafted boats. I scrounged the shoreline for alleged arrow heads. No go, but I did find someone’s cell phone.

Oct 19: Woke up to 43 degrees outside, 55 degrees inside. But, should warm up to the 70s.

fullsizeoutput_268f — Spooky morning – for the past few days the pattern has been clear nights, lots of dew and fog in the morning, then clearing to brilliant blue skies.

fullsizeoutput_26ae — Didn’t take long for the fog to disappear.

fullsizeoutput_26b2 — Headed to Florence, Alabama where we will stay put for the next 3 – 4 days. These pelicans seem to be following us as we “snowbirds” make our way south.

Oct. 9-14, 2017 From the Cumberland River to the Tennessee via Kentucky.

fullsizeoutput_2650 — Oct. 9: Left Commodore Yacht Club, Nashville having spent a very enjoyable long weekend visiting relatives. We also had fun evenings at the YC’s “party room” visiting with fellow Loopers, especially our friends Brian and Linda aboard Vahevala. Hope to catch up with them again about a month from now.

fullsizeoutput_2651 — We were told Alan Jackson had a home nearby Nashville on the Cumberland River. We decided this property fit the bill – this house was rather large (there was more to it on the other side), had attached guest quarters along with detached smaller guest homes, an air field for a few planes, horse barn with large pastures, etc, etc.

fullsizeoutput_2652 — Going by a barge making facility. It would have been fun to see one slide into the water.

fullsizeoutput_2653 — The cliffs of the Cumberland.

fullsizeoutput_2654 — Only one lock to deal with today. We are constantly amazed at how the barges just fit into the locks with only a few inches to spare on each side.

fullsizeoutput_2655 — Had the river to ourselves for most of the day. Hot day – 87 degrees!

fullsizeoutput_2656 — Returned to Clarksville for the night – enjoyed an odd partial sunset

Cvile — So when we went to bed, this is what our red track looked like, you can see we are retracing our steps from our side trip to Nashville (and again, boat icon is on land because our chart needs updating). But sometimes things go bump in the night….

scribble — The Furuno Nav Station alarm went off for a few seconds. By the time Bob got up to check on things, the alarm was off – but our track had gone haywire! Looks like little Clarky scribbled on the screen. We were under a tin roof at the marina and maybe our tracking sensor got lost?? Anyway, our trip odometer had advanced 16 miles while we were tied nicely to the dock. Yet another mystery!

fullsizeoutput_2657 — Oct. 10: So long Clarksville, we’ll meet you at the station!

fullsizeoutput_2658 — Opposite weather today. Sunlight between rain squalls made for interesting lighting.

fullsizeoutput_2659 — Several white egrets grace the shoreline.

fullsizeoutput_265a — Not sure why this patch of sand was so attractive to these pelicans ….

fullsizeoutput_265c — when there were plenty of other sand patches nearby.

fullsizeoutput_265d — I took this same picture about a week ago, but this time after a few days of rain from Nate, the sand bar around it is now underwater.

fullsizeoutput_265e — We traveled 95 miles today and docked at Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. Never thought of Kentucky as a place to go boating! Fall decorations abounded throughout the marina. Met up with some Loopers we hadn’t seen since we were in Joliet, Ill about a month ago.

fullsizeoutput_265f — Oct. 11: The weather has been like a yo-yo. So hot for the past few days and then cold and gloomy. We wondered what was inside this “borg.”

fullsizeoutput_2660 — Just south of Green Turtle Bay there is a small canal connecting Barkley Lake to Kentucky Lake. These two lakes boast the largest surface area of man made lakes east of the Rockies. We are now on the Tennessee River and will stay on it for 450+ miles as we make our way toward Chattanooga. (Eventually we will back track about 200 miles of this River to get back onto the Loop). Along the way we have seen many cozy coves between cliffs and sandy beaches for anchorages.

Temps were only in the 50s today along with gusty winds.

fullsizeoutput_2661 — Our anchorage for the night was called Standing Rock Creek. We finally caught up to C’est le Bon, friends Terry and Hal. We last saw them in Milwaukee Sept 1. Since then, they flew home to Houston for 2 weeks. When they got to Chicago they had their mast shipped to Mobile, Alabama. Meanwhile we had gone home for nearly 2 weeks, so it worked out for us to meet up again.

fullsizeoutput_2662 — During the night we were inundated with ugly bugs (looked somewhat like large brown mosquitos). In the morning (Oct 12) we discovered they left blobs of sticky poop on just about every surface of the boat. After we docked at marina for the night, it took about 3 hours to scrape off the gooey sticky mess. Bob was not a happy camper. The dock master at Pebble Isle Marina looked at the mess and said in his charming southern drawl “You’ve got enough tar there to build a road.” (or two!).

fullsizeoutput_2663 — A house with a bridge to nowhere, just before heading into Pebble Isle Marina.

DSCN5982 — Oct. 13: Stayed 2 nights in Pebble Isle Marina. Per Billy (dock master) this boat went around the world but was later abandoned in the marina. The owner had passed away and eventually the marina took it over, painted it and repurposed it as a sign. Looks like a sailing submarine!

fullsizeoutput_2668 — The night before we ate in the Grey Heron Grill where Billy made the best ribs ever. Every morning he makes a few dozen or so cinnamon buns for the boaters. Nice perk for docking here!

DSCN5993 — He uses the yellow golf cart to deliver the buns to boaters on the outer docks.

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fullsizeoutput_266b — Creepy creatures in the water at the marina!!! Per Google, these are colonies of freshwater bryozoan Pectinatella magnifica. (Magnifica? Really?). They somehow filter particles of glick from the water for their food, so in a way, they are actually helpful in cleaning up the water. That being said, the water around here was pea soup ugly. Once I learned they were harmless, I launched the paddle board to explore the back bay.

eagles — I happened upon two eagles and was trying to get a better picture (this is rather blurry – sorry!) when I went aground! (Water was too brown to see the bottom). In my effort not to fall face forward into the yucky water I did step off the paddle board and my right foot sank into a foot of mud. (All I could think about was those stupid TV westerns we grew up with where invariably somebody gets stuck in quicksand and drowns!). Took some doing to get my foot and sandal out of the muck. But, I didn’t drop my phone! And yes, I took a shower immediately upon returning to the boat.

fullsizeoutput_264b — New Loopers had arrived. This boater apparently likes Halloween!

fullsizeoutput_264d — Oct. 14: Leaving Pebble Isle the channel goes between two barely submerged bridge supports for a road from the 1940s when the area was flooded to create Kentucky Lake.

fullsizeoutput_266d — Going around the bend and back into the Tennessee. The temps bounced back and we enjoyed a lovely travel day in the 80s.

fullsizeoutput_2665 — Going by one of the many TVA plants, looks like a space station for Alpha Centuri.

fullsizeoutput_264f — Lighthouse on a cliff. Interesting home!

DSCN6014 — Cute little cypress tree on our way into an anchorage.

DSCN6016 — We are getting used to these incredibly narrow inlets to the anchorages.

fullsizeoutput_266f — The water in this anchorage (Lick Creek) looked cleaner so I went out for an uneventful paddle board ride.

fullsizeoutput_266e — From a distance it looks like there is plenty of room for several boats.

DSCN6019 — But actually we were surrounded by all these sticks – they either mark fishing traps of some sort or dead heads. Fortunately we had the place to ourselves.

DSCN6022 — Quiet night with a bit of an afterglow of the sunset.

Oct. 7-8, 2017: Nashville!

fullsizeoutput_2617 — Oct. 7: My cousin Anne drove from Jamestown, TN (about 2.5 hours away) to visit us. We haven’t seen each other in about 13 years. Wow! How does that much time slip away? We were born 3 months apart and now we have granddaughters born 3 months apart.

fullsizeoutput_2623 — Thanks Anne for this very yummy edible bouquet!

fullsizeoutput_261a — We drove down to nearby Franklin to check out this town and have lunch..

fullsizeoutput_261b — Apparently Gray’s Pharmacy is a cool restaurant but the wait time was over an hour so we had lunch at a nearby pizza parlor.

DSCN5834 — Then we drove up to Nashville to Centennial Park where we happened upon a Cultural Fest. This represented the most diversity we have seen since we started the Loop.

fullsizeoutput_25f1 — And, random – the Parthenon??? Didn’t expect to see the Parthenon in Nashville.

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fullsizeoutput_2622 — Bob checking out the 7.5 ton doors to the upper level of the Parthenon.

fullsizeoutput_261f — Anne and me in front of the doors.

fullsizeoutput_25f7 — The Parthenon was a temple to the Goddess Athena (Nick, Nick, Nick, Athena, Athena, Diana – from My Big Fat Greek Wedding).

fullsizeoutput_261e — At 41 feet tall, we looked pretty small at her feet.

DSCN5837 — Detail of her upper body.

fullsizeoutput_261d — Sunken Gardens in Centennial Park (off to the left and not pictured were photo shoots going on for two wedding parties).

DSCN5843 — Anne brought us back to the boat. After she left we checked out the weather. Looks like Hurricane Nate is all set to hit the USA between New Orleans and Mobile, and then head towards Nashville!

fullsizeoutput_2627 — Oct. 8: Our nephew Greg was in Nashville visiting his girlfriend Ali (who goes to Vanderbilt University for her masters degree). They came over to the marina to visit us.

fullsizeoutput_2624 — Checked out this boat – Rhino. Alan Jackson bought this boat and brought her back to life after being in ill repair, apparently this boat sank twice! It’s Rybovich 58 foot sport fishing boat.

fullsizeoutput_2647 — Detail of the bow with the very narrow inlet we’ll go through tomorrow in the background.

DSCN5856 — Greg and Ali drove us into downtown Nashville starting out in Printer’s Alley.

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DSCN5863 — Had a very tasty lunch at the roof top of the Rock Bottom Restaurant.

DSCN5861 — Greg and Ali looking at pictures of Clayton and Sam’s wedding two weeks ago. The Tennessee Titans were on TV in the background.

fullsizeoutput_262c — Looking over at the Nissan Stadium, home of the Titans. Titan game was in Miami today.

fullsizeoutput_262d — AT&T Headquarters. Locally called the Batman Building. From a different perspective the building has two antenna towers making it look bat-like.

fullsizeoutput_2630 — From the Pedestrian Bridge you can see the “town” docks. Had we continued on to Nashville on the Cumberland River, this is where we would have docked.

fullsizeoutput_2634 fullsizeoutput_2637

DSCN5891 — Touristy shots of Nashville.

fullsizeoutput_263a — You ain’t nothing but a hound dog…

fullsizeoutput_263c fullsizeoutput_263d

fullsizeoutput_263f — More touristy shots.

fullsizeoutput_2643 — Several intersections have criss cross walkways, very cool!

fullsizeoutput_2644 — Stopped at Layla’s to listen to a local band (and have another beer). Every restaurant on Broadway had a live band going. Crazy cacophony.

fullsizeoutput_2648 — One of many pedal taverns hosting a bachelorette party. We learned that Nashville is the bachelorette capital of the nation.

fullsizeoutput_2645 — And you can’t beat this bargain – 3 pairs of boots for the price of one! Thanks Greg and Ali for a wonderful day (despite the rain of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Nate).

Oct. 4-6, 2017 Clarksville to Nashville with a side trip to Huntland, TN.

fullsizeoutput_25dc — Oct. 4: Another beautiful day as we wake up in Dry Creek off the Cumberland River. Every day I wake up and just say Thank you.

fullsizeoutput_25dd — Leaving the narrow channel we note the River has dropped 7 inches over night – Yikes. At 5 feet 11 inches, we still have room to spare.

fullsizeoutput_25df — Beautiful cliffs and no signs of humanity for miles.

fullsizeoutput_25e0 — This tow we encountered pulled over to the river bank because another tow was coming along the opposite bank. We were advised to pull over too, so we did.

fullsizeoutput_25e1 — The very narrow inlet into the Clarksville Marina Basin, our destination for the night.

fullsizeoutput_25e2 — The marina was built 5 years ago and was literally scooped out of the side of the Cumberland River. Our Furuno charts need updating since it has us on land! So here’s some trivia: We of course were singing “Take the Last Train to Clarksville” on our way here. Per Google, the song was written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart about a fictitious Clarksville, but it was actually a protest song about a guy heading off to Vietnam – hence the line in the song: “I don’t know if I’m ever coming home.” Who knew? Certainly not me. Per Bobby Hart, he had to “sneak in” this protest because the Monkeys were too “clean cut.”

fullsizeoutput_25e3 — Met some new Loopers at the marina (Kim and Tom aboard Sweet Liberty) and wound up going out to dinner with them at the adjacent restaurant (which was excellent). We were able to sit outside, check on our boat and enjoy the full moon rise.

fullsizeoutput_25e4 — Oct. 5: Leaving the marina we had a better view of this wedding venue.

fullsizeoutput_25e5 — These two homes are well prepared for rises and falls of the Cumberland River. Their houses are on stilts and their mini docks are on an adjustable mini marine railroads.

fullsizeoutput_25e6 — Navigating the rivers is not very challenging since for the most part you simply stay in the middle of the channel. However, many buoys are missing or are off station. In this instance, there’s a green buoy to the left and a red to the right – on the same side of the channel!!! Just goes to show you can’t always believe what you see.

fullsizeoutput_25e7 — More tree lined cliffs for miles and miles.

DSCN5707 — Had to go through one lock today. This is the one of the simpler ways to go up (or down). You simply put one spring line around a floating bollard and cleat it aft. Much simpler than having a bow line and a stern line to deal with. On the way up I noticed a weird green blotch on the bollard…

fullsizeoutput_25be — Turned out to be a tiny green frog holding on for dear life.

fullsizeoutput_25c1 — The only 2 boats we saw today were the new friends we made yesterday behind us and a down bound pleasure craft. No tows to deal with.

fullsizeoutput_25c3 — Our destination for today was Commodore Yacht Club (mile marker 172.5). Wow! The inlet to the marina was pretty narrow!

fullsizeoutput_25c4 — I stopped looking at the depth sounder when it got down to 4 feet (we draw 3.5). But no issue, we made it in fine and the water depth around the docks was over 7 feet. Tied up by 5:30. We are now 10 miles west of Nashville.

DSCN5734 — My brother-in-law Harry happened to be in Tennessee visiting his mother on their family homestead “Gorelawn.” He drove 2+hours to pick us up and take us down to their cattle farm. We stopped briefly at a college about a half hour away from their farm in Huntland, TN to take some full moon pictures.

fullsizeoutput_25c5 — Oct. 6: Harry and Bob on the porch of Gorelawn.

fullsizeoutput_25c6 — Harry and his mother Vivien.

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DSCN5739 — Inside the home, a few of Vivien’s saddle collection.

DSCN5735 — This phone still works! Love it!

DSCN5741 — My sister Denise “inherited” this dog Jasmine from her son David when he went to Germany to complete his doctoral degree. Jasmine was intent on following a squirrel up this tree and was eventually successful in its capture.

fullsizeoutput_25c9 — One of the day’s events was the selling of this bull to another cattle ranch. Vivien arranged the transportation to its new home. It was interesting to watch the gating and ungating of the bull into an awaiting trailer. (BTW, Vivien does use some of the systems developed by Temple Grandin).

fullsizeoutput_25ca — Vivien putting a bridle on Star, one of three Appaloosas she owns.

fullsizeoutput_25cb — Vivien (age 77) exercising Star, a daily event. Her dog Frankie (he has blue eyes) is nearby.

fullsizeoutput_25cd — Pathway leading to the outer pastures.

fullsizeoutput_25ce — That’s one heck of a huge oak tree!

fullsizeoutput_25d3 — Bob and I showing how wide that oak tree is, photo credit: Harry Allen.

fullsizeoutput_25d1 — Same oak tree from the sunny side.

fullsizeoutput_25cf — Harry, Vivien, Bob and I loaded up in one of their farm vehicles to go on a daily ritual of counting the cattle and checking the fences. Here are the “babies.”

fullsizeoutput_25d0 — Vivien counting the pregnant cattle.

fullsizeoutput_25d2 — Stayed for lunch and then had to head back to the boat. Goodbye Gorelawn – such a cool departure from our boating adventure!

fullsizeoutput_25d6 — On the way back to our Marina we stopped at a working Grain Mill.

fullsizeoutput_25d9 — The mill is powered by a 32 foot water wheel, one of the last working water mills in our country.

fullsizeoutput_25d8 — We also toured the Prichard Distillery. So 2 ironic things. 1: We met the owner and he will be in Albany, NY next weekend for the “Taste NY” festival. Not sure why he will be there since that festival typically showcases only NY businesses. ?? 2. After we left that distillery we went by (but didn’t stop at) the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. That distillery is in a dry county, so you can tour the business but not buy the product. Weird! But thank you Harry – in less than 24 hours he drove 8 hours to pick us up, bring us to his family homestead, and drove us back with an additional stop at a grocery store so we could re-provision for the next week. I know the world is going crazy around us but on an individual local level I can’t help but embrace the wonderfulness of humanity.

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