Thursday, April 18, 2019 - Island Cove Marina to Erwin Marine Riverfront mm. 464

So, life is truly an adventure...and traveling by boat offers a whole lot of adventure, by Jove.

We had planned to go to Hales Bar Marina for tonight because we wanted to be tied up to a dock during the winds they are predicting.  We left Island Cove by 8 AM heading for a lock through in the Chicamauga Lock.  

Wayne realized, just as we were getting ready to enter the lock, that the engine was overheating.  We decided to go on down to Chattanooga...watching the temp carefully...and we were able to get to the Bluff docks downtown.  

Erwin Marine, the group that manages all the downtown docks, has started using an online service, Dockwa, to make reservations.  I tried to complete the registration on my Android and could get to the  "make this happen" button...but the button wouldn't work.  OK.  I got the iPad out and tried on it.  Still had problems completing the reservation.  No need to worry, really.  If you dock on one of their docks they will see you and send a rep down to check it out.  That's exactly what happened.  Bryan showed up and, with him there, the iPad worked fine.  We had docked near the "safe" exit from the Bluff docks  (the other exit takes you up a dark passage that is often home to the homeless.)  Turns out the door we would need to use was damaged in their flooding earlier this year (18 ft. above normal!) and wasn't usable.  We decided to go down to the dock closer to the Erwin Marine office.

So.  Tied up, we walked Maggie up to the Big River Grille and had a good burger meal before Wayne started tackling the issue of overheated engine.  He needed to take up much of the salon floor to check it out so Maggie and I packed up and headed up to a table and chairs we'd seen on our walk.

The spot Maggie and I landed in was totally deserted when we got there.  I spread out some paints, sketches...tied Maggie up to a table leg...and started relaxing into some art.  This is how the area looked:

 

A couple of minutes later a bus dropped off a group of 2nd and 3rd grade kids from Huntsville, AL!

The kids were really well behaved and many had a turn petting Maggie...or, better yet, says Maggie...letting her lick the food smell from their hands after lunch!

Maggie and I stayed to see the group off...and then I worked on a small painting of a dish Willa made, asparagus with red bud blooms sprinkled atop:

Finally Maggie and I walked back to the boat to see what was going on with Wayne.  He was just wrapping up and putting down the floor when we arrived.  He'd checked all the possibles and came up with one small pebble in the water line....also made sure there were no air bubbles.  Plans are to leave tomorrow morning and go as far as we want to before (probably) anchoring for the night.  

Wednesday, April 17, 2019 - Sale Creek to Island Cove Marina, mm 477

Today was a really easy day.  We took our time leaving Sale Creek and motored down to Island Cove Marina before noon.  We haven't done much at all this afternoon.  It's pleasantly warm with a breeze...perfect weather for sitting on the back deck or taking a short nap (or both at once!)  Maggie is thrilled to be near land again.  We've already had 2 walks and another will be forthcoming.  

Here are a couple of pictures Wayne took over the past couple of days:

Here we are going down in the Watts Bar Lock

And this shot was taken as we left our anchorage at Little Paint Rock Creek yesterday morning....   Yes, you will see lots more water/sky pics because I can't get enough!

Tuesday, April 15, 2019 - Little Paint Rock Creek to Sale Creek, mm 495

It was chilly when we woke up this morning and stayed that way for several hours.  Maggie had options!

The day warmed up nicely, though, and we had no trouble passing through Watts Bar Lock and getting to Sale Creek anchorage by 5: 74 miles.  Tomorrow we have a short day to Island Cove Marina.  Maggie and I will hit the ground moving!! ;-)

The greens are unbelievable as we go.  This shot shows something of the variation...

Spring 2019 Trip to Clarksville, TN

Monday, April 15, 2019 - Fort Loudon Marina to Anchorage at Little Paint Rock Creek, mm 576

Well, this has taken some time…but we’re finally on our way for a little cruise this spring.  We started out with the idea of going back down to the Panhandle.  Those plans were dashed when we realized that the Tenn-Tom Waterway (which runs from the Tennessee River to the Mobile Bay) is silted over in a spot and the waterway is closed to all traffic right now.  The Army Corps of Engineers anticipated starting to clear a 150 foot passage on April 1 and thought it would take at least 3 weeks.  THEN we pictured all the barges/towboats that were lined up to go through and decided to opt out of that mess.
After much talk and scanning of charts we decided to go to Clarksville, TN, instead.  We’ll go down the Tennessee River to a “cut through” near the Kentucky Dam, and that will take us to the Cumberland River.  Upstream on the Cumberland about 125 miles we’ll come to Clarksville, TN, and visit for a day or two.
We’d planned to leave, then, on April 6 or 7.  That was before Wayne realized we needed to replace all the batteries in the boat.  That done, we set the departure date for today, April 15.
But wait!  There’s more!  We got down to the boat on Sunday the 14th so we could be ready first thing Monday morning to lock through the Fort  Loudon Lock.  Wayne was running through his check list and tested the bow thrusters…which weren’t working!  After roaming around in the engine “room” (can’t really call it a room since there’s no chance of standing upright in it) for a while he uncovered the problem: we needed a new bus bar.  Don’t even ask what that’s for…I do well to remember the name of the thing.  All I know is…we won’t be leaving without it.
This morning Wayne went to West Marine and bought a new one…and installed it.  By noon we were in the lock and headed downstream.  It was a little chilly this morning, like in the 40’s with a pretty bold wind.  We made good time, though, due to going downstream, and anchored at about 4 PM.
The wind has died down and it’s very pleasant at 5:30.  We’ve had the river to ourselves today…only the occasional small, fast boat.  Tomorrow we’ll get in a full day of cruising.

Maggie and Wayne taking in the afternoon sun....

Home is within sight!

Wednesday, May 9, 2018 -

Left Little Cedar anchorage at 6:15 AM and traveled up and through Chicamauga Lock.  Anchored at MM 491, Eldridge Slough.  Nice and breezy...and we're hoping for some sun relief soon.

Thursday, May 10, 2018 -

At last we are on Eastern Time!  We left this morning at 7 AM and had a pleasant day of travel.  Storms were predicted for parts of our trip...but we only got some light rain.

CRAZY thing happened as we were going up through Watts Bar Lock.  We had just started the ascent when three F-16 fighters passed over us at 500 feet!  We were standing on our back deck with Maggie when it happened...and neither of us could tell, at first, what was going on!  I thought the lock must be caving in!  The noise was so loud and it just reverberated in that concrete chamber! 

When we got up near the top the lock master was there to talk about it.  We asked if it happened often and he said, "Not often enough for me to be used to it!"  He had seen the three planes...and the only reason we know what they were and how close they were to the ground is because Wayne called the Air National Guard about it. 

The guy he talked to said he would try to find out more about them and called back with the info we have based on radar records.  They probably DO know where they came from but are reluctant to get all mucked up with another agency...or their own.  Quite an experience.  It's the kind of thing that could bring on a heart attack!!

The rest of the trip went smoothly and we're anchored now in Little Paint Rock Creek at MM 576.  We should be home tomorrow afternoon after a stop at Ft. Loudon Marina for fuel.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Well, we did indeed make it home today.  Jay picked us up at Concord Marina that afternoon.  We were tired, but glad to be back.  Spent the weekend recovering.

This was a good trip: just long enough, generally good weather...nice.   Till next time....safe travels!

Florence, AL to Little Cedar Mountain anchorage

Sunday, May 6, 2018 -

Left Florence around 7:30 AM having called Wilson lock.  The lock master said she had a tow in the chamber coming down now.  We told her it would be at least 45 min. before we could be there and she said that would be fine.  Yeah.  About an hour after we got there, the doors finally opened.  Obviously the tow wasn't completely inside the chamber when we talked. 

We shook it off ;-) and went on up to Joe Wheeler Lock where it was a quick in and out.  The to State Park Marina for fuel ($2.89/gal.) and water.  Joe Wheeler State Park was looking great!  People all over...beautiful weekend day.

Spent the night at Riverwalk in Decatur, AL...OK, our favorite low rent marina.  $20/night and we're tied up to a dock with shore power on an 85+ degree day!  We tried to locate the Ingall's Harbor Ken and Brenda have seen...but we missed it, somehow.

BIG storm came through before dark.  Black clouds and big winds.  We watched one houseboat try to dock.  They couldn't...and somehow managed to make it back out of the close-quarters marina to the river until the winds died down.  Seeing this...and looking at the devastation that came to this marina with a tornado that passed through a month ago (we talked with a tenant who witnessed the whole thing)...it reminded us that we are in tornado alley!

Monday, May 7, 2018 -

We had a gorgeous day of travel!  Got through Guntersville Lock (using the auxiliary lock and port side tie).  Considered staying at the Guntersville town dock...but it's looking a bit rough already.  And with such a beautiful lake, Guntersville, to be traveling we just couldn't resist finding a woodsy, hill-surrounded anchorage.  We did just that at the Short Creek, MM 361.  Cool, breezy afternoon and a low in the 50's that night.  Perfect!

Tuesday, May 8, 2018 -

Left our anchorage this morning at 6:30 AM (yes, we're still on leisure cruise...we just wake up early!).  Had another beautiful day of travel up to the Nickajack Lock and through to an anchorage at Little Cedar Mountain.  Again it should be in the 50's tonight.  ;-)

Now to catch up on photos:

Maggie May loves to "play" with insects.  She found this dragonfly, who didn't seem to want to get with the program.  So, Maggie takes it in her mouth and throws it up in the air to get it "going."  A few times doing this and the poor dragonfly is fatally mauled.  Maggie gives it one last chance by offering her own version of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation...you see the results.  R.I.P. one dragonfly.

We passed a real milestone while traveling on the canal up to Pickwick: 10,000 miles on this boat...at 8 miles an hour.  You figure it.

That horrible, rainy day we had coming through Lake Pickwick up to Florence, even Maggie didn't want to look outside...

Florence Harbor in the morning...

Results of the tornado that hit Decatur's Riverwalk Marina about a month ago...

And...the big storm that came in when we spent the night there this week...

Guntersville Lake...

From our anchorage at Short Creek...

Aberdeen to Florence, AL

Friday, May 4, 2018 -

Whew!  Left Blue Bluff anchorage at 6:30 AM.  Transited 6 locks and anchored in Bay Springs Lake near the top...same place we anchored as we came down in March.  All the locks went smoothly...until the last one, Whitten.  They were working on the lock and we waited an hour before we could enter.  By then we were joined by a john boat, a 45 ft. cruiser and a 125 ft. motor yacht (in every sense of the word, yacht). 

The "older" man (probably our age) in the john boat was traveling from Mobile Bay to Paducah, KY.  He dropped by the boat to chat when he came up to wait and we talked a bit.  Earlier in the day he had hit a stump and it threw him out of the boat and bounced the top off of his outboard motor!  Thankfully he had a kill switch on and a rather long rope that he used to get back into the boat.  He'd been on the rivers already for 4 days (making a lot better time than us!).  I couldn't help but wonder where he stayed at night...was he wearing the same clothes (ewwww)...what did he eat???  I should have asked him for a boat card and blog address.  [smile]

Saturday, May 5, 2018 -

Another long day on the water.  Left at 6:30 AM as the rain just started.  We traveled until around 1 PM in rain...varying from light rain to pouring rain.  Yucky. 

We traveled from Bay Springs up to the Tennessee River and on to Florence, AL, and Florence Harbor Marina.  We considered going up through the Wilson Lock and anchoring above, but we talked with the lock master and realized they had a big towboat bringing multiple loads through the lock.  It was 3:30 when we got to Florence and it would be at least 5 o'clock before we'd have a chance to lock through. 

We bailed out and decided to just go into Florence Harbor for the afternoon and evening.  Good choice!  I went out for a few fresh items, we walked Maggie...and had take out from the restaurant here.  We met the lock master from Wilson who works 6 PM to 6AM.  He'll be working tomorrow morning, but we'll probably go through a bit later in the morning.  Tomorrow we're settling back into leisurely cruising.  Really.