Florence, Alabama to Wheeler Dam

September 26-28, 2012

We got a leisurely start out of Grand Harbor because we only had 40 miles to go and no dams. Cbay started ahead of us.  Native Son stayed behind to deal with prop issues for the umpteenth time. Everyone who tries to fix their problem seems to make it worse.  We are crossing our fingers for them this time!  Ah, boats!

As we pulled away from the marina, we once again found ourselves at the intersection of three states – Tennessee on the left, Alabama ahead, and Mississippi on the right. This is entrance to the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway that leads down to Mobile, and we will return to this spot in late October after our trip to Chattanooga and following the Looper Rendezvous.

But for now we were traveling up Lake Pickwick towards Florence, Alabama. The passing scenery was very pretty – heavily wooded lakeside with no industry, relatively little residential development and no barge traffic. Very little boat traffic of any kind actually, except for the ubiquitous bass boats. Just my opinion, but bass boat fishing strikes me as a boring pastime. The guys (and a few women) stand up in these boats for seemingly hours on end hoping to catch a fish, and suddenly take off at great speed (and those boats do go very fast), to cast their lines in another spot where they must believe the fish will be biting in the next 60 seconds.  We have seen one person actually bring in a fish and it caused a lot of excitement, so I think I’m right that it doesn’t happen very often.

 

When we arrived at the Florence Harbor Marina, Cbay was there waiting to catch our lines. Rusty had offered to help us with a couple of boat projects, so we borrowed the marina car and went to Home Depot for supplies. Florence is the biggest town we’ve been in since Chicago, and once again I found myself feeling sort of unnerved by strip malls and busy traffic.  It’s much more peaceful on the water!  Back at the boat, and armed with all manner of new cords, cables and connectors from Home Depot, Craig spent some time reattaching the main grounding cable for the boat while Rusty figured out how to connect our TV to dockside cable.  Thank you, Rusty!  It was kind of disappointing to discover that the only thing the marina cable was able pick up was Judge Judy, but at least we know it works.

The next morning I went into town for a much needed haircut while Craig ran other errands with the use of the marina courtesy car. On the way back we drove through old downtown Florence, which has several attractive shops and restaurants. It is also the site of Northern Alabama University, which has a very pretty campus, and amazingly, a very well-done lion habitat with waterfall, stream and caves – and two fully grown lions, Leo and Una! – right on campus. The habitat is very nice, probably better than many zoos, but we couldn’t help thinking that this looked like an opportunity for a fraternity prank that could turn out very, very badly!

One of the things we have really enjoyed about traveling the Loop is that it gives us opportunities to visit places and have experiences that we never would have anticipated. For example, that afternoon we visited the Helen Keller birthplace and home, a destination that certainly had never been on our radar. We had a very interesting tour of the home and grounds – including the famous pump where Anne Sullivan helped Helen to understand her first word, “water.”  She went on to become a  highly educated and very influential woman, and a tireless advocate for the blind and hearing impaired. Craig’s dad was involved with the Lions Club for years, so we were interested to learn that it was a speech by Helen Keller at their 1925 International Convention that prompted the Lions to adopt blindness as a signature cause, a commitment that continues today.

Returning to the marina, we had one last opportunity to stop for groceries.  We decided to pass!

The next morning we continued upriver towards our next destination, Joe Wheeler State Park, near Rogersville, Alabama. Almost immediately beyond the Florence Harbor, we locked through the Wilson Lock, the highest lock on the Tennessee River – 93 feet. For a long time, it was the highest lift lock in the world.  It is still the highest lock on the Loop.  Entering the lock is like driving into a canyon.

For the next 15 miles, we cruised up Wilson Lake.  Unlike most of the other lakes on the Tennessee, the shoreline of Wilson Lake is fairly well populated with private homes.  The reason for this is that Wilson Dam, the oldest on the river, was built before the creation of the TVA, and large numbers of private homeowners already owned waterfront property.  As other dams were built, the TVA retained control over almost all the newly created shoreline, which is why there is little private development on most of the lakes.

Our second lock of the day, Wheeler Lock, opens into Wheeler Lake, where we would spend the next couple of days at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina, the site of the Looper Rendezvous in late October. We were the only transient boaters there when we arrived. We had dinner on board and and a good bottle of wine to celebrate the one-year anniversary of buying our boat, which happened last year on September 28.  Happy anniversary, Blue Heron – you’ve taken us a long way in the past year!

We also toasted daughter Karen, who on September 28 completed her last day of working at the University of Oklahoma before moving to Indianapolis to take an exciting job with the NCAA. We are so excited for this great opportunity for her, and so happy for us that she will be only an hour and a half from us in Cincinnati – once we return to Cincy, that is!  Congratulations, Karen!

Next, Joe Wheeler State Park to Ditto Landing near Huntsville, Alabama.

(Real-time update: On October 15, still in Guntersville, AL.  Moving on tomorrow to Ditto Landing, round two.)

Pickwick, Tennessee and Shiloh Battlefield

September 24-25, 2012

Pickwick Lock was our first lock in over two weeks, and our first on the Tennessee River. As most of us learned in school, the Tennessee Valley Authority was created in the 1930s as part of the New Deal, and one of the TVA’s first projects was the construction of dams on the Tennessee River.  In a part of the country hit especially hard by the Great Depression, the project created tens of thousands of jobs, brought electricity to an entire region and helped prevent devastating seasonal floods.  On the other hand, entire towns were destroyed and families displaced when the dams put much of the valley under water. We noticed on our navigational charts an unusual number of cemeteries on the hills bordering the river. We wondered whether it was the custom years ago to establish cemeteries on top of hills, or whether old cemeteries had been removed to higher ground before the valleys were flooded.  We learned that in most cases, it was the latter.

A probably unintended by-product of the TVA project was the creation of a series of beautiful lakes that are enjoyed today by thousands of fishermen and pleasure boaters. Cruising from Pickwick to Chattanooga or even to Knoxville has become a popular side trip for Great Loopers. Over the next several weeks, Blue Heron would cruise up to Chattanooga and back to Pickwick before starting south down the Tombigbee Waterway.

As we neared the end of Kentucky Lake and approached the Pickwick Dam, we experienced some turbulence in the water and a strong current pushing against us, approximately four knots. We later learned from the TVA staff at the dam that all six generators at the dam were operating that day.

We emerged from Pickwick Lock into Pickwick Lake, a pretty and popular area. The dam, the lock and the lake took their names from the nearby community which in the late 1880s was named after Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers. Today there are a lot of large homes lining the lakefront.

Just a few miles into the lake and around the corner in Yellow Creek, we pulled into Grand Harbor marina where we would stay for a couple of days.  It’s in an interesting location.  At the dock, we are in Tennessee.  Just across the creek is Mississippi, and the hills on the far end are in Alabama.

Soon after we arrived, we were followed by Native Son and Cbay. We were happy to join in the celebration as Cbay crossed her wake and Rusty and Jan became the newest Gold Loopers.  We have witnessed so many wake crossings in the last month or so that we’re beginning to worry there may be no one left when we finish next spring!

 

That evening, Rusty celebrated with an enormous Mexican hot pot of some sort. He liked it!

The next day Craig and I borrowed the marina car and spent several hours visiting the Shiloh National Military Park, site of the Battle of Shiloh that took place 150 years ago on April 6-7, 1862. We have commented several times on this trip that we seem to be following war trails, beginning with the Revolutionary War and continuing with the War of 1812, through the Chesapeake, up the Hudson, into Canada and even to Mackinac Island. Now we are clearly in Civil War territory.

Shiloh is probably the most dramatic and moving of the battle sites we’ve visited. Today it is a lovely, peaceful spot with hills and valleys, forests and fields and altogether feels more suited to a picnic or bike ride than the bloody battleground it once was. It was one of the early major battles of the war. The Confederates “won” the first day, but the Union army prevailed on the second day, forcing the Confederates into a retreat. It was the bloodiest battle in American history at the time – over 100,000 combatants and nearly 24,000 casualties in two days of fierce fighting.  Americans killing Americans.

You can tell from the respective burial grounds who controlled the territory at the end.  Union troops are buried in a formal military cemetery. Confederate troops are buried in three or four mass graves.

The Military Park is also home to the Shiloh Indian Mounds National Historic Landmark. About 800 years ago, this was the site of a village of Native American mound builders.  The mounds are thought to be platforms for important village buildings and a burial ground. Several of the mounds are still visible today.  What a lot of history this stretch of the river has seen!

Shiloh is an important piece of our country’s history, and we would highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in this part of the world.

After a somber afternoon at Shiloh, we finished off the day with a fun dinner at Freddy T’s with Rusty and Jan from Cbay and Rich and Merry K from Native Son, along with their visiting friends.

Next, continuing on up the Tennessee River.

(Real-time update: On October 14, we are still in Guntersville, AL, in the heart of SEC football country. We went to a Presbyterian church here this morning and part of the morning announcements included everyone shouting out yesterday’s scores of their favorite teams.)

Kentucky Lake, Kentucky and Tennessee

September 19-24, 2012

All told, we will spend over five weeks cruising the beautiful Tennessee River. The first part of that consisted of a leisurely trip down the 184 mile-long Kentucky Lake.  Kentucky Lake is formed by the Kentucky Dam, which is located just 22 miles from the point where the Tennessee meets the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky.  Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River run parallel to each other for about 40 miles.  They are separated by the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area. If you have never been to this area, you are really missing one of the beautiful spots of this part of the country.  We are already planning our return trip from Cincinnati after our Loop is over.

The first night we anchored out in Duncan Bay, one of the many quiet coves that line the shores of the lake. Duncan Bay is an eagle refuge, but we didn’t see a single eagle.  We did see a handsome osprey and several herons, egrets and kingfishers, and enjoyed a very peaceful evening.

 

The next night we anchored in Clay Bay, and throughout the evening and next morning, watched an eagle who flew in and out of a tree right above our boat. Guess he lost his directions to the eagle sanctuary!  We watched the sunset from our sundeck and later were amazed by the zillions of stars in the black sky.

The day before we left Green Turtle Bay, I took Joey to a vet to have some itchy, emerging hot spots looked at.  He got a shot of something with prednisone in it, which made quick work of the itching, but as prednisone does, also resulted in increased drinking and frequent potty stops.  This may not have been the best time for us to be anchoring out.  Craig got lots of exercise taking the dogs to shore!

OK, we’ve had our walk.  Where’s our driver to take us back to the boat?

After two nights anchoring out, our next stop was the marina at Paris Landing State Park (Tennessee), along with Loopers Cbay and Native Son – and hundreds of Boss Hoss motorcyclists gathered for their national rally.  I had never heard of Boss Hoss bikes before, but boy are they monsters – expensive, too, and imaginatively designed and decorated.

My favorite was this Looney Tunes paint job – $40,000 worth, we were told!

More to my liking, there was a bird rescue group in the lobby of the park’s main lodge where we had dinner that night.  We visited with well-behaved and very docile birds including a Barred Owl who had been hit by a car and now is devoted to his elderly handler, and an American Kestrel and two young Screech Owls, all of which had been found away from their nests as chicks and were raised by the rescue group.

The next day we continued through miles of beautiful scenery, much of it national wildlife refuges. We saw lots of cypress trees like these growing in the water. And more white pelicans.

 

This was a bridge to nowhere. It’s actually an abandoned railroad bridge.

Just beyond the bridge is a former grain storage facility dating back to the days before the Kentucky Dam.  Our cruising guidebook says that the building was so sturdy that attempts to destroy it failed, so it was just left there.

 

The next night we stayed at Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN.  The marina’s logo is a heron, so a couple of baseball caps were required purchases.  This part of the river was the scene of a noteworthy battle in the Civil War, when Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest successfully ambushed and sank over 30 Union ships – the only time in history that cavalry troops defeated a naval force.

The next day the lake narrowed down to river proportions, but technically it is still a lake.  Kentucky Lake is deemed to run from Kentucky Dam in the north, all the way south to the Pickwick Dam near the Alabama and Mississippi borders, making it one of the largest manmade lakes in the United States, and the largest east of the Mississippi River. But it sure looks like a river at its southern end. We also started seeing some of the limestone bluffs for which the Tennessee River is famous.

  

 

Here we are crossing under Interstate 40, which runs from North Carolina to California, through Knoxville, Memphis and Oklahoma City.

One reason this river is so pretty is that there is almost no industry, very few barges, and not even many residential areas.  The houses we did see were all built on stilts if they were anywhere near water level.  I guess despite the dams, this part of the Tennessee must flood from time to time.

Our last night on Kentucky Lake we stayed in Clifton, TN, where we reconnected with Cbay and Native Son. Rusty borrowed the marina courtesy car and the six of us went out to dinner.  Afterwards, we drove into downtown Clifton to take a look.  The town’s claim to fame is that in 1843, when it was still a busy port, it lost its bid to become the capital of Tennessee by only one vote.  Today it has fewer than 1,000 residents, but is an attractive small town.

The next morning we woke to heavy fog, which delayed our planned early start.  But it lifted by 9:00 a.m. and we headed off for another beautiful, warm, sunny day on the water. In Savannah, TN, we passed Cherry Mansion, the private home of a Union sympathizer that was used by Gen. Grant as his headquarters at the time of the battle of Shiloh. It was also used as a hospital during and after the battle, for both Union and Confederate troops.

Just a few miles upriver, we passed the Shiloh Battlefield, which we would visit in depth a few days later.  This is Pittsburg Landing, where Union General Buell and his reinforcements arrived by paddlewheelers (!) and helped turn the tide of the battle.

By the end of the day, we had completed our travels on Kentucky Lake, gone through the Pickwick Lock and entered Pickwick Lake, at the juncture of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. We loved Kentucky Lake.  It was beautiful, start to finish, and our weather was ideal all the way – a great leg of our trip.

Next, Pickwick and Shiloh.

(Real-time update: on October 12, we are at the Lake Guntersville Yacht Club, in Guntersville, AL.)