Tuesday, April 23, 2019 - Ross Branch anchorage to Clifton City Marina, mm 158.5

We left Ross Branch anchorage today at about 7:45 AM after a peaceful night "on the hook." Pickwick Lock was exciting!  We had a wind coming in from behind the boat that caused us to have to backup and go after the pin a second time before we succeeded.  But the really exciting part came when the lock doors opened onto "turbulent water."  I'll say!!! We had been forewarned by the lock master who said they were "putting through a lot of water.  I'll say!!

Maggie spotted an appealing piece of trash in the lock.  Thank goodness she seems to understand it wouldn't be a good idea to jump out of the boat and into the water.




We had planned to go to Indian Creek anchorage for the night, but were making such good time (10-11 mph) that we couldn't resist going further.  We settled on the Clifton City Marina, Clifton, TN.  We have fond memories of this marina because we celebrated (a bit prematurely) crossing our wake on the first Loop trip with our travel partners then, Ellen and Roy.  Our real crossing of the wake came when we passed the Yellow Creek entrance to the Tenn-Tom on the next day, but Ellen and Roy would be heading back home to Florida down Yellow Creek.

We took on fuel and then tied up for the evening.  Maggie and I got out for a walk on some of the town streets.  We saw some beautiful homes, like the one below...

We don't really have plans for tomorrow's destination except that we want to anchor out for the next couple of nights before we hit the Kentucky Dam Marina for a night or two.

Monday, April 22, 2019 - Riverwalk Marina to Ross Branch anchorage, mm 230

Monday, April 22, 2019 - Riverwalk Marina to Ross Branch anchorage, mm 230

We didn’t really mean to go for 75 miles today…it just happened.

We left Riverwalk Marina in Decatur, AL, at 7:15 AM.  Passage under the Southern Railway Bridge was easy and then we were off for our destination: Florence Harbor, Florence, AL.  Back up plan, in case Wilson Lock was hard to get through, was to anchor for the night above Wilson Lock.

It was a beautiful day for travel…and one of those days that required having several different layers of clothing up on the bridge to allow for the direction of the wind..angle of the sun…you get it.  Wheeler Lake was calm and the trip through Wheeler Lock required zero wait time.  Next on the list was Wilson Lock and it’s often been a challenge for us because of numerous tows or uncooperative lock masters.  The passage through Wilson couldn’t have been easier!.  Breathing a sigh of relief we called Florence Harbor to secure dockage for the night.  It was only about 1 PM so we had plans for laundry, a few groceries, and maybe even a walk through town.  This is when our plans were abruptly changed and we had to create Plan C.

The marina is closed until Tuesday, April 23…tomorrow.  Now, we could have tied up in the harbor and paid the next day for our overnight…but we probably wouldn’t have access to the laundry or courtesy car.  The next possible stop for us was Ross Branch at mm 230.  That was 3.5 or 4 hours down the river: arrival time around 4 or 5.  Ross Branch it was.  We arrived here around 4 and are anchored in a very peaceful setting. 

Speaking of peaceful, we’ve only encountered 3 tows on this trip so far and all have been easily passed with a one whistle pass. 

We’re not sure where we’ll end up tomorrow.  We’ll pass the entrance to the Teen-Tom, for sure, but beyond that, who knows?  We have zero phone signal so no WiFi.  It will be a peaceful evening…and probably an early bedtime.  ;-)  And, oh, this posting will happen tomorrow.  ;-)