Previously, when our blog entry lagged by a week, the story was one of rough times; we had to let time pass to distill the events, leaving a residue of lessons learned. This week, however, has been one of delightful weather, water and wanderings. Truth be told, we have been savoring the moments. This is what we thought river travel would be like!
From Green Turtle Bay Marina/ Kentucky Dam, KY MM32 to the I-40 Bridge MM161near Cuba Landing,TN, the Kentucky Lake created by the TVA spreads its fingers down the valleys of Kentucky and Tennessee. Sparkily bass boats, 21 feet in length, participate in bass tournaments on the lake. These fisherman speed around looking for a promising spot, usually by the mouth of a riverlet. After a few casts without success, they rev-up their engine and speed away to another spot, hoping to catch the trophy bass. So focused on their sport are they, these fisherman rarely have time to wave to the passing slow-moving trawler. After MM161, the Tennessee River of days gone by reveals itself. Here the local fisherman tend to have more utilitarian boats... not so glitzy and not so speedy.... and they do take time to repond with a wave. There is still some barge traffic; that makes for an interesting day. Our “Would you like to see us on the 1 (we move to the right) or on the 2?” (we move to the left) gets us us a melodic, silky southern reply from the Tug Captain. There are many creeks to slip up into or islands to tuck in behind along this route. We have delighted in seeing does with this summer’s fawns sipping river water, blue herons stalk-still, poised and waiting, been surprised by eagles strutting along the shoreline, and been amused by the turkey vultures gathered on the shore, ever hopeful for the arrival of something dead. Seasonal cottages, built up on stilts in case of flooding, line the river’s edge. Marinas are few and far between, but the ones that can handle boats 36 feet and up have made us feel very much at home. Of a more sobering nature were the glimpses of grave markers sighted high on the grassy knoll as we passed by Shiloh’s Civil War National Park. In the town of Savannah, TN, earlier in the day, we had marveled at the stately architecture of an antebellum home. Even though occasional wind gusts blow up and down the river, we rarely have had to consult weather reports. Only as wide as two football fields, the Tennessee River can’t get too frothed up. We cleared the Pickwick Landing Lock and Dam and last night tucked into a delightful hide-away anchorage in Pickwick Lake, TN. The cooler nights and the shorter days are helping to make the foliage become like Maine’s this time of year. This will be the last of our days cruising in west Tennessee waters. Today we cross over into Alabama and lock through to Lake Wilson. By Saturday we plan to join many other Loopers at the AGLCA’s Fall Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville, Alabama. It will be a great time for reflecting on the journey so far, sharing stories with folks we haven’t seen since Canadian waters or Lake Michigan and learning about the journey that still lies ahead. For us, that is about 12 more locks and 1,000 more miles. This is a perfect time to take a short break and catch our breath!
Created By Darcy O Campbell
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