Happy Thanksgiving - First 5 Days

The section of the river we did on Day 1 was below Chattanooga passing Lookout Mountain, going around Moccasin Bend and then through what is referred to as the Grand Canyon of Tennessee.  Perhaps a bit of a stretch, but a beautiful section lined with steep, mountainous banks in full color with fall leaves.  A particular portion of the river in this area is referred to as The Suck.  The area is very narrow and deep – as in 110’ water depths and not much wider.  Stories of the river section before TVA dam construction tell of extreme rapids, whirlpools and sinking’s.  Our ride was nothing like that, but we did get about a 3 mph push from the current!  Below this area and just before Nickajack dam are the remains of Hales Bar Dam.  This is quite a story so to get all the details without paraphrasing just Google that name. Here is a link to our track and photos along the way – www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/896171

Here's what you will find when following the link

Our first night on the loop was spent at an anchorage adjacent to Shellmound Recreation Area.  We went into a small, well protected cove and anchored looking at a large home in one direction and Nickajack Dam in the other.  Morning came with a temperature of about 27 degrees and a good 1/8” of frost on the deck.  We had a slight delay waiting for the lockmaster get an abandoned boat moved from in front of the lock doors and then we were off on our way down stream.

Sunset on the river

For Day 2, after locking, we traveled about 47 miles to another anchorage just above Goose Bay Marina.  I had really wanted to stay at the marina, but their restaurant was closed and we really had no other reason to go there.  This anchorage was identified as a Federal Mooring as it has three large pilings apparently for barges, although I’m not sure how they could have ever been utilized.  This location was very quiet and calm, but full of hydrilla.  We pulled up about ten pounds of the stuff on our anchor which I really should have gotten a picture of – imagine a chia head with bright green dreadlocks!!  Track and photos – www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/896172

One more sample of where the link takes you

The anchorage

Day 3 continued after doing a haircut on the anchor by continuing about 30 miles to   Guntersville Lock.  It was a warmer morning than the previous day.  Sunny and about 37 degrees warming to 60!!  We went through he auxiliary lock at Guntersville as the main had some kind of repair work in progress.  This was actually a good thing as barges were backed up in both directions waiting on a break in the construction work.  After passing through the lock, we decided to alter the plan for the day and travel about 42 miles to Riverwalk Marina in Decatur, Alabama.  This little marina had a good restaurant to visit and was a very inexpensive stop to give us a place to get off the river in a protected location.  Track and photos – www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/896933.

Slip at Riverwalk Marina

Day 4 – This has turned out be a short day since we extended yesterday’s trip so we slept in a bit, had coffee and a muffin while Regina watched Kelly and Ryan.  We pulled out of Riverwalk marina, eased back onto the river and called the Decatur railroad bridge to request an opening.  His response was “it will be a little while” so we started looking and yes, here comes the train.  It was a short train that seemed like would require an equally short wait, but no, one of those pickup trucks with train wheels was following a distance behind.  This guy did something at the bridge while we circled in the channel and we finally got our opening after about a 20 minute wait.  Not too bad all considered!!  We are on Joe Wheeler lake and from Decatur to the dam the lake is pretty wide and not very deep.  The wind was blowing out of the northwest at roughly 10 to 15 mph which roughed up the water enough for us to get a little spray over the bow.  There are lots of industrial buildings in this area so barge traffic increases to match.  We arrived at Joe Wheeler State Park after about 3 hours, backed into a slip and checked in at the lodge.  This will be our Thanksgiving Day location as they serve a huge buffet with all of the traditional fixin’s.  Track and photos - www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/273527/897583.

Slip at Joe Wheeler State Park

A Wheeler sunset

Day 5 – Thanksgiving Day arrived with 27 degrees and sunny.  It will be spent here at the lodge so we are already changing the plan.  Just seemed like the thing to do so we can watch the Macy's parade, eat turkey and watch football.  With luck we will make up the day by skipping Florence.  Wilson lock is under construction for "major repairs", but for this weekend, no work is being done so operations will be on a normal schedule.  We will get an early start to hopefully get ahead of any commercial traffic.  Hope everyone had a great day and we will have more updates to come.