Friday, May 10, 2019 - Riverwalk Marina to Anchorage at Short Creek, mm 361

We traveled 56 miles today and went through Guntersville Lock.  No rain today...though it's predicted for tonight.  It was a calm day of travel.

We are anchored now in Short Creek, an area surrounded by TVA land.  If this doesn't get posted tonight you'll know we don't have enough of a signal. ;-)

Maggie, making herself comfortable with a view...

Thursday, May 9, 2019 - Florence Harbor Marina to Riverwalk Marina, Decatur, AL, mm 305

We were out and going up in the Wilson Lock by 7:30 AM!  Lucky us, the lock master had a tow waiting to go up, too, but put us in there first.  We've had the best experience ever on this trip getting through Wilson Lock.  Something to smile about! ;-)

As we entered Wheeler Lock a while later we had light rain greet us.  That was just the beginning of a deluge of water and at times lightning and thunder.  We ended up pulling over in a cove to anchor during the rough part of the storm.  We went through rain for much of the trip to Riverwalk Marina at Decatur, AL. Looks like more rain to come tonight...tomorrow...and maybe the next day.  We'll try to make 40-50 miles daily as we get closer to home.

What a lovely lock wall in the Wheeler Lock!

Catching Up

Monday, April 29, 2019 - Sugar Bay Anchorage to Pebble Isle Marina, mm 96

We traveled 63 miles today from 7:15AM to 3 PM.  The weather was generally pleasant (coats in the morning, shorts in the afternoon).  Not much boat or tow traffic…nice day!Maggie and I took a walk, first thing. We were both ready to hit the dirt again!  Pebble Isle is a nice stop on this part of the river.  Fuel was $2.99 with Boat US discount and there’s a restaurant on site.  I’ll post some pictures tomorrow when we have better reception…

Tuesday, April 30, 2019 - Pebble Isle Marina to Indian Creek Anchorage, mm 168

Left the marina this morning a little after 7…after Mags and I took a little walk. We set out to get as far as we could today, fearing the current will get so strong going up to Pickwick Lock that it will take us a long time.  Our first choice for anchorage was at mm 155 behind an island.  We got there before 3 and decided to go for Indian Creek.  We got here at 5.  Made for a long day on the water, but I think we’ll sleep better knowing we have only 38 miles to go before we get to Pickwick.  The weather today was very pleasant.  Cool-ish in the morning and even in the early afternoon depending on direction of the wind.  We’ll see what time we get through the lock and then decide where to anchor for tomorrow night.  On Thursday we’ll get to Florence Harbor and spend a night or two so we can do “boat chores” (laundry, groceries, etc.)  Zippo on the connectivity here, so it will be a while longer before this gets published. [tight grin}

Wednesday, May 1, 2019 -  Indian Creek to Panther Creek,  mm 218

We left early, as usual, anxious on this day to see how long it would take to get to the Pickwick Lock with the current against us. We got to it around noon and, after a short wait while they brought another pleasure craft down, were out of the lock and settled in at our Panther Creek anchorage.  This was a beautiful cove on the right descending bank of Pickwick Lake.  The only problem we had with it was ZERO signal on the phones.  OK. Lesson learned. You can have a lovely setting, surrounded by a nature preserve (read: no roads, no power poles)...you just may not be able to contact the outside world.

A pretty rough rainstorm hit with a lot of wind.  Despite being jerked in all four directions, the anchor held tight.  It turned out to be a very pleasant evening.

Thursday, May 2, 2019 - Panther Creek to Florence Harbor, mm 256

View from our anchorage this morning:

We had a nice day of travel to Florence Harbor and got there in time to have lunch from the River Bottom Grill.  We decided to stay 2 nights at Florence so we could run around a little with the courtesy car. We dropped off laundry at a wash and fold place and got groceries. The chores done...we looked forward to Friday being a day "off."

When we pulled into our slip we found ourselves next to A Frayed Knot, an Albin Express trawler that we've seen before at Ft. Loudon Marina. We re-acquainted ourselves with Bob and Elaine Stevenson who were getting ready to leave for places down river.  As Bob started out of the slip, though, the throttle stuck at a high rpm and he shot out and over to the dock on the other side of the aisle, slamming into a pontoon boat.  Fortunately, neither boat was really hurt...but they had to stay another night to work out a solution to the problem, which they did.

As we traveled up river this morning the water was calm...

Friday, May 3, 2019 - Florence Harbor

We were sipping our first cup of coffee that morning when Wayne's sister, Linda, called to tell us that Wayne's mother had died early that morning. We immediately made plans to leave the boat at Florence Harbor and rented a car to drive to Athens, TN, that day.  We were there by 3PM, in time to be in on the final plans for coming events.   

Wayne, Maggie, and I drove home that evening and were there for the weekend.  On Monday we drove down for receiving of friends, 5-7.  Our son, David met us down there and then went home with us that night.  The next day we picked up Maggie from the Dog Nanny who'd kept her Monday night and went back to Athens for the funeral at 2 PM.  After going to the cemetery we said goodbye to most of the family and friends that had come and went to Linda's house for a shared meal.  Dave took off after the burial so he could get back to Wake Forest by midnight.

Mrs. Prichard, or Mamaw, as we called her, lived a full life (100 years old in March) and passed away peacefully.  She was an amazing woman, raising two children alone and working until she was 95 (when she retired from Walmart). The receiving of friends brought in quite a crowd!  She was much loved and will be missed...but we all know she's at rest now.

Wednesday, May 8, 2019  - Florence Harbor

After the dinner last night we loaded up and drove down to Chattanooga to spend the night. This morning we loaded up and got to Florence by 10:30AM.  Stocked up on a few perishables, filled up with water, and we're ready to finish our trip home. We think we'll be back within 2 weeks.  Tomorrow is calling for high winds and storms in the afternoon so we'll get out early and see how far we can get.  More to come....

Taking a break

Sunday, May 5, 2019 - We're home for a few days....back on the boat Wednesday.  On Friday morning Wayne's mother, "Mamaw Prichard," died peacefully at her assisted living home.  We rented a car and came back to help with arrangements and attend the receiving of friends (tomorrow) and the funeral (Tuesday).  We are grateful for the way Mamaw died...and for the 100 years she's lived. 

Sunday, April 28,2019 - Cumberland River to Sugar Bay Anchorage, Tennessee River mm 36

We traveled back down the Cumberland today and over to the Tennessee River. We encountered 3 tows and only one was going our direction, which required our passing them. The day was gloomy and grey until after noon when the sun came out.  Then it was still chilly...but at least sunny!

Tomorrow we mosey on up the river towards home...with a stop for fuel at Pebble Isle Marina.  Tomorrow is predicted to be much warmer. ;-) And, we have a phone signal again!!!

And now for a few photos from yesterday and today.  First is a view as we approached our anchorage last night, entrance on the right. The land square on in the photo is the Fort Donelson National Battlefield.

When I describe the difference in the channels of the Tennessee River and the Cumberland, the charts show a clear example.  The Tennessee River is the large white swath across lower left corner.  The Cumberland is the narrow white line with triangle markers along side to the right of Land Between the Lakes.  Clear as mud yet?  ;-)

Looking out from our anchorage tonight to the main channel of the Tennessee River...

And a shot of the back of the Sugar Bay anchorage....  Nice!

Saturday, April 27, 2019 - Kentucky Dam Marina to anchorage at Hickman Creek, Cumberland River mm 88.

Well.  Today was our first day on the Cumberland River since the small piece we covered back in 2008.  We traveled through the Barkley Canal that connects the Tennessee River to the Cumberland and then up to our anchorage.   Total miles covered around 55.  We traveled at speeds averaging 7.6 mph as we were going against the current.  Based on our travel today, we are altering our plans for this trip.

Tomorrow we are turning around and starting the trip home.  We had planned to stop at Clarksville, TN, and had checked out the marina there to know it had very good reviews.  The only reason we picked Clarksville is that we thought we’d visit a city on the Cumberland before heading home.  We know now that we’d rather spend our time on the Tennessee River.   Mission accomplished: we cruised the Cumberland River for 55 miles and got a feel for it.  We’re looking forward to getting back on the Tennessee. 

The Cumberland River has a very narrow channel compared to the Tennessee.  The surrounding land is no prettier, either, by our estimation.  Today we met about 10 tows.  If we see as many tomorrow as we go back down, we may be running at full throttle for the majority of the trip just trying to pass them!  

Meanwhile, our day yesterday at Kentucky Dam Marina ended with our being asked to partake of eats and drinks with the group of friends who assembled on our dock.  They, apparently, meet every weekend on the dock for the pretty months.  They were a fun group of people and we enjoyed spending time with them.  Look forward to seeing some of them up Knoxville way sometime soon.  ;-)

Wednesday - Friday, April 24-26, 2019 - Clifton Marina to Kentucky Dam Marina, mm 23

Well, we've been in a few remote locations since last we communicated!  When we left Clifton early on Wednesday morning we found out pretty quickly that there were a lot of "dead" spots for our cell reception as we made our way "down" the Tennessee.  It was a pleasant day for traveling, a little cloud cover and 70's.  We chose the Richland Creek anchorage that night, mm 89.  Spent a peaceful night on the hook...much due to the fact that we had no cell connection and no TV reception. ;-)  But...the view of the Tennessee River channel from our anchorage was beautiful...

And later in the evening we began to see weather moving in for the next day.

Thursday we woke to more clouds in the sky and all day it seemed to threaten rain and storms...but we missed the wet stuff.  We definitely saw more tows after Pickwick Lock.  We only had to pass one going in our direction.  All the others were headed up the Tennessee and were given passes according to their preference.  One fellow was going to meet us under a bridge.  I called and asked if he wanted me to wait until he'd gotten through...or shift over to the other side of the channel.  Nope, he said just "keep her coming on the ones."  OK...I did, but held my breath until we were both actually under the bridge and clearly wide apart.

We ended up at the Kentucky Dam Marina, mm 23, for two nights.  Last night we spent in an open slip near the marina store, which was very convenient for handling the laundry. 

I did the laundry while Wayne checked out the cooling system trying to find the cause of a squealing noise as we were backing into the slip.  He ended up changing the impeller, even though it didn't look worn.  The sound went away....so.

This morning we moved to a covered slip.  We then got the loaner car and went into Benton, KY, for breakfast at Jo Jo's Diner.  Delish!  Two eggs, bacon, a huge pancake, and "home cut fries" that were basically round potato slabs about 1/4 inch thick.  From there we sought out the IGA grocery for provisions. (No wine or beer in the IGA so we also found a local beverage store).

This afternoon we've napped,

caught up on blogging :-), and walked around the property.  This is a huge marina, part of a state park.  The marina has about 50 boats for rent from a small pontoon to a large houseboat.  This is the week of the big quilting week in Paducha, KY, a short drive from here.  The marina staff said there are several women here staying on one of the rental houseboats and attending the various show venues.  Sounds like fun!!

Tomorrow we'll go through a small canal that connects the Tennessee River to the Cumberland.  We'll head up the Cumberland as far as Clarksville, TN, spend a night or two, and head back home to Knoxville.