Florence AL 10-28-08

We had really hoped to proceed further up the Tennessee River, at least to Joe Wheeler State Park, but to go 20 miles also meant doing 2 more locks up and then coming back down 2 days later. We opted instead to tour Florence.

I decided to do a walking tour of the area while Bob borrowed the marina courtesy car and did errands. I had seen an intriguing booklet entitled “Museums of Florence” and I set off to see them all.

I toured the Pope’s Tavern Museum which was used as a stagecoach stop, inn, tavern, and hospital and was occupied by both sides during the Civil War. It is filled with memorabilia from that period. Jo, my tour guide and former history teacher, told me many stories about the previous residents and also tested my knowledge—I think I got a B.

Florence is the birthplace of blues great, W.C. Handy, who wrote “Memphis Blues” and “St. Louis Blues.” His rebuild log cabin home is now a museum dedicated to his music. It is also a repository for African American artifacts from the 19th century. My tour guide, Selina, shared stories about his life and how he came to write the blues.

I have always wanted to see a Frank Lloyd Wright home. The City of Florence purchased the Wright-designed Rosenbaum home in 1999, rehabbed it due to extensive termite damage, and it is now available for tours. This house is an example of his Usonian design, was built in 1939 and has features that were so ahead of the times (heated floors, using local natural materials, having the inside and outside spaces flow seamlessly). It is truly a work of art.

My only regret is that I did not get to the Coon Dog Cemetery and Helen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia. There is so much to see in America.

Shiloh 10-27-08

We decided to rent a car today and tour the Shiloh Battlefield with Gary and Rose from “Rose’s Pick.” We stopped at the Visitor Center first to view the 25 minute film which explains what occurred here on April 6-7, 1862 and puts it within the context of the Civil War.

The Union Army under Gen. Ulysses Grant wanted to continue to sever the railroad linkages for the Confederate Army, and Generals Albert Johnson and P. G. Beauregard and their troops were determined to hold them and hoped to smash the Union Army at Shiloh and Corinth.

In a daring early morning raid on Sunday, April 6th, the Confederates stormed out of the woods and surprised a large contingent of the the 40,000 Union soldiers camped here. Fierce fighting ensued around the Shiloh (“place of peace”) Church and the Confederate Army of 44,000 gained ground and forced the Union soldiers into a thick forested area, the Hornets’ Nest, which gave them some advantage, but they were then bombarded by massive Confederate artillery.

Overnight, Union reinforcements under General Buell landed at Pittsburg Landing and on April 7th, with a combined strength of 54,000, hammered hard at the depleted ranks of General Beauregard. The Confederates continued to mount desperate counterattacks back to the Shiloh Church but were forced to retreat to Corinth. The Battle of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing ended but it had cost both sides a combined total of 23,746 men killed, wounded or missing and was one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.

It was ironic to see this sight on a clear quiet day and recall the carnage that happened here. The park has 14 battlefield sites which duplicate the positions and skirmishes that occurred here. Blue signs denote the Union side; Red, the Confederate side. Each battle is configured with cannons pointed towards their adversary’s position and the orderliness of this belies the horror of that day.

The park is well done and thought provoking and makes history come alive.

Pickwick to Florence AL (TR) 49 miles

We had a calm but chilly night at anchor with overnight temp of 45 degrees but 52 degrees in the cabin. At 6am, we had a long discussion about who was going to get up out of a warm bed and fire up the generator so that we could put the heater on. Bob lost.
With the heater, solar heat and the oven on for an Amsterdam Apple Pancake, it was toasty in no time.

Mealtime is pretty important while cruising. Before starting the Loop, I collected a year’s worth of recipes from "Cooking Light "magazine, organized them into categories, and stocked up with non-perishable items to make them. I keep a master list of all the supplies I need and restock when we run low. I have to be much more efficient as we have such a small galley and fridge space but it has worked well so far. I also have two small nautical cookbooks, "The One Pan Galley Gourmet" and "From the Galleys of Women Aboard" and these supplement quite nicely.

The Tennessee River opens up to Pickwick Lake. It is a resort, camping and vacation home area with many beautiful homes along the high shores. There were more boaters out on this nice Sunday and we cruised by a sailboat race. As is always the case, 10 minutes later the wind died.

This is the Tri-corner area where Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee meet so today we were in 3 states. It is also the entrance to the Tenn-Tom Waterway and we saw many Loopers from the Rendezvous heading there to start their trek south to Mobile. We have decided to cruise up the Tennessee River for the next week and then start south.

As we cruised closer to our destination in Florence AL, the river twisted and there were many islands that are now exposed with the winter water level pool down on the river. This part of the Tennessee is stocked with bass and many anglers were trying their luck.

We did not have time to walk into town but did walk along the waterfront park. High winds and lower temps are predicted for Monday and we may stay here, rent a car and see the sights. Florence bills itself as “the gateway to adventures in southern culture.” Stay tuned.

It Could Happen to Any of Us 10-25-08

We Northern State Loopers all thought that it would be warm down here in TN. It is getting colder as the river fog indicates. I suppose we can’t complain when some areas of the country have had the dreaded s… word. This morning was 47 degrees and warmed to 65.

We had another delightful cruise up the Tennessee River from Clifton to Pickwick, a distance of 49 miles and 1 lock—that’s where it got tricky. Bob and I have done 9 prior locks on this trip and 72, on the Trent-Severn and Eire Canals on a previous trip but today’s locking experience was memorable.

4 Looper boats entered the Pickwick Lock at 3:15; 3 chose to tie up to bollards on the starboard side; one, on the port side of the lock. The wind and current entering the lock was strong, and it took a lot of strength to get the lines initially attached to the bollards.

The lock gate closed and we began the 55’ ascent. All of a sudden, the port side boat had a surge of flood current which caused the crew to lose control of their lines. They struggled valiantly, and in a brief moment, were desperately trying to hang on to one line as they were pulled stern first into the middle of the lock. We all watched helplessly as they began to careen out of control towards 2 boats on the starboard side. The captain was able finally to get to the engine and try to get some steerage, and the lockmaster realized the problem and shut down the lock. Luckily, the boat did not crash into the other boats but did hit the wall pretty hard but with no apparent damage. We all breathed a sigh of relief that no one was hurt and no boats were injured.

After exiting the lock, we all headed for the anchorage at Pickwick State Marina. This peaceful place was a welcome sight after this harrowing experience.

Be careful out there.

Cuba Landing to Clifton (Milepost 158) 43 miles 10-24-08

Rain, rain, rain all night but it tapered a bit at 9am when we castoff. We eased our way back into the river channel which is wide at this point with no buoys. The air temp was 52 degrees with a slight river fog.

Even on this gray morning, the scenery was beautiful as we passed through the Tennessee National Migratory Wildlife Refuge. There were more limestone cliffs and coves in this protected landscape. We reduced our speed so we could listen better to the birds calling to each other on shore.

I can understand why boaters call this their homeport. With a houseboat or shallow draft powerboat, one could nose into the coves and be surrounded by nature. We had hoped to anchor at Denson’s Island at Milepost 125 but the weather unfortunately changed our plans.

We spoke with some local boaters yesterday and they tend not to go out often on days like this as “it is toooooo cold.” We did have some barge traffic today but with a wide river, there was plenty of room to pass on the Ones or Twos except at Beech Creek Island where 2 large barges were rounding a corner and there we were. We did see some people fishing on their runabouts for sauger (“cousin to the walleye”) and catfish. It is a pleasure to steer and not have to be on the constant look-out for debris.

With a cabin temp of 60 degrees, I fired up the propane oven to make muffins. Really—it’s only for the warmth. I was busy reading when an ultra load ringtone sounded. I jumped—were my muffins overdone, was it the fire alarm, engine alarm…what? Bob remained calm and started laughing. It seems that yesterday when we women went geocaching, Bob and fellow boater, Gary, decided to play with all their “boat devices.” They had wired up the Digital Selective Calling (DSC) feature on their marine radios. This feature not only allows an alert to go out in distress, but it can also be used to directly hail another boater via the MMSI number. It worked and certainly got my full attention.

We pulled into the Clifton Marina at about 2:30. It is a very narrow opening with adequate draft and you have to make an immediate turn to the transient area. We crossed paths again with “Bucket” and “Steel Weeds.” What was really amazing was meeting up with the owners of the Rhumb Line Bar from Bayfield WI, our former homeport. They are down here doing a BMW motorcycle trip to the Baja, but stopped here with their pop-up trailer to check on land they bought. It was fun to reminisce and toast to our memories.

The day ended wonderfully with a spicy meal at Meo Mio’s Cajun Spirits Restaurant. They will pick you up at the marina. This one is not to be missed.

Pebble Isle Marina to Cuba Landing Marina (Milepost 115) 19 miles 10-23-08

We left the dock at 8:30 and surprised a family of deer crossing the channel in front of us. Did they move fast!!

We are in the Tennessee Refuge area which is the winter home for over 200,000 ducks (24 varieties), 19,000 geese as well as semi-tropical birds like the yellowthroat, cuckoo, warbler and tanager as well blue herons, eagles and cormorants. The birds are still on the Mississippi Flyway so we are a bit ahead of them.

With showers predicted today, we decided to go only 20 miles. We had windy conditions and whitecaps on the river so we had to steer down below. It gave us a lot of time to talk about a timetable as a lot of Loopers will be leaving the Rendezvous at Wheeler Park so we may all be trying to congregate in the same marinas and anchorages.

Cuba Landing Marina is nestled in behind a small island and could be an anchorage. You have to make sure not to cut corners getting to the small channel as 2 boats today grounded. We met a lot of local boaters who were most welcoming. The new owners, Josh and Jessica, have done a good job.

We did not get rain this afternoon so Linda on ‘Cynthia Faye” asked us if we wanted to go geocaching. It is a type of scavenger hunt in which you get the location and clues on the “treasure” on the geocaching website, use your GPS to plot the coordinates, get there by car, foot, bike etc., and start looking for the cache. Linda is phenomenal at this, and found 4 out of 4. I was her driver and because I am taller, I got to reach up and grab the cache that she found.

Paris Landing Marina (TR) to Pebble Isle Marina (TR) (30 miles) 10-22-08

Woke up this morning to a 56 degree blue sky day. Since we only have a short distance today, there was time for a long morning walk around Paris Landing State Park. This is an 841 acre park with something for everyone—primitive camping, RV sites, rustic cabins, conference center, hotel and restaurants, pools, amphitheatre etc. The marina rate is $.65 a foot which is very reasonable. They supply 50 amp power and we draw 30 amp but the office supplied us with a pigtail to convert. They have limited shower facilities but with few boaters in the off season, this was not a problem.

Here is a picture of the water level pole. Another way to get the daily river water level is to listen daily to the Coast Guard’s “Notice to Mariners” updates.

We departed at 9 with “Cynthia Faye” and “Rose’s Pick”. Soon after leaving the marina, we picked up an AIS target, “Mimi”, traveling at 14 mph. We hailed the Captain and learned that this 125 motoryacht hails from the St. Croix River in MN and regularly travels down to FL following the warmer weather. Now that’s a great life!

We had a wonderful cruise today on the Tennessee River. We saw remnants of the former river life at Mile 78 with the remains of the Ol’ Louisville & Nashville RR Bridge with ½ its span removed, and a sturdy abandoned dock. The shoreline is rolling green hills meeting a more sandy shore and with the contrast of the blue sky, “Cynthia Faye” looked bristol easing through the water.

We got to Pebble Island Marina and decided to fuel up as they were offering diesel at $3.19 with a Boat US discount. That is a deal compared to what we have seen so far. We looked at our logs and calculated that we have done 1600 miles so far and in the rivers, we have averaged 4.5 mpg vs. 3.7mpg in the Great Lakes

Pebble Isle Marina supplied a courtesy car and we took off for the Civil War museum at Johnsonville. We learned that this area was important to the Confederacy when Maj. Gen. Forrest and his troops destroyed the Northern supply routes for Gen. Sherman on his March to the Sea.

We had a Captain’s Meeting on the dock at 6 and met some new Loopers on “Ebb Tide”. Tomorrow may be stormy with rain and hail and we will have to evaluate in the morning.

Kenlake Marina on KY Lake on Tennessee River in KY to Paris Landing Marina on KY Lake on Tennessee River in TN (24 miles) 10-21-08

We awoke to a gray and cloudy morning with 56 degrees and it was very easy to snuggle in until 7:30. We were practically the only boat in the transient area and I thought that it would be a perfect place for me to practice the dreaded docking. We have a single screw boat with no bow or stern thruster and I have to get over my fear of crashing. Bob is a very good teacher and he took me through the steps of docking and undocking. When I am docking our small 32 foot boat, she seems like an ocean liner. I did better than last time, nobody got hurt and no boats were injured.

I undocked for the last time at 9:45 and we eased back out through the narrow harbor channel to KY Lake with a slight wind behind us as we proceeded downbound. We crossed the state line into TN at milepost 49.

We could see a huge spray of water behind us as a 70 foot powerboat, “Water Gremlin”, hailed us on Channel 16 courteously alerting us that would slow down and pass us. At the same time, the barge and pusher, “Edwin Kennedy”, upbound was also going to pass. This area has so many recreational boats that we almost forgot about the barge traffic.

We arrived at Paris Landing Marina at 1:45 and once again had to be mindful of the harbor channel buoys. We thought that the harbormaster directed us to the southern pier in the marina, but after docking there, we had to move to the southern side of the transient pier by the marina office. Bob got a lot of extra docking practice!

We joined up with “Rita’s Pick” and “Cynthia Faye” who came in a little later.
The sun came out and it was time for hiking around the park. A perfect day for me is boating and hiking. We were able to find one tree with some Fall color down in a cove.

Green Turtle Bay (Cumberland River) to Kenlake State Park Marina (Tennessee River) 20 miles 10-20-08

It’s a bit harder to get moving after being at a dock for 6 nights but we swept the cobwebs off and departed at about 11 for a short cruise down to Kenlake which is on the Tennessee River side of the Land Between the Lakes area. It is a perfect Fall day with a sunny blue sky and 67 degrees.

We passed coves that we had hiked to the past few days and were tempted to pull in to anchor but the lake level is now set for the winter pool and is 5-6 feet less at 354 feet above sea level. We did not want to go aground like some boats.

Bob Kangas lent us his 1990" Tennessee River Navigation Charts" where he had inscribed that he was on this very section of water on 10/17/90 and sailed the whole distance.

You have to follow the charts very carefully and stick to the magenta line. We called ahead to the Kenlake Marina and were advised to hug the channel buoys into the marina. We docked at about 1:15 and after lunch, we headed off to hike in the park. Since Bob fixed the outboard motor on the dinghy, we took it out for a spin and explored those shallow channels the safe way.

Green Turtle Bay Marina 10-15-08 to 10-20-08

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Green Turtle Bay. Not only did we do the necessary boat repairs, maintenance and reprovisioning, but we had plenty of time daily for walks around GTB and into Grand Rivers. My long walks usually involve finding a bakery and my internal GPS (Get Peggy Sugar) led me to the Sugar and Spice Cookie Shop where German cookies were featured for Oktoberfest and the Lite Side Café which had a huge selection of “healthy” muffins.

Grand Rivers is located in Livingston County which is a “dry county”—no bars or liquor stores at all. They could definitely not do this in Wisconsin! We went to the Commonwealth Yacht Club which has a way around this restriction—patrons bring their own alcohol and put it in the liquor lockers and then set-ups are provided from the Club.

We rented a car for Fri-Sun and explored the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation area. This area is steeped in history. When the Jackson Purchase was made in the 1830’s, the Cherokee were displaced and forced on the Trail of Tears march 1500 miles to the west. KY remained neutral during the Civil War but Tennessee was the last state to join the Confederacy. There was a lot of guerilla warfare in this area.

Do you remember learning about the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) in grade school? The TVA literally shaped the land, water and destiny of this entire area. Due to the perennial flooding in this area and the need for navigatable waters to carry goods, dams were placed on the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers in this area. Whole towns were moved to higher ground while many others were flooded by the dam waters to a height of 359 feet above sea level. From the 1930’3 through the 1960’s, 7,000 families were dispossessed by the Right of Eminent Domain to make way for the Kentucky and Barkley dams. The project was even more ambitious than the building of the Panama Canal.

The Land Between the Lakes Park is also stunningly beautiful. We did 5-8 mile hikes daily through the rolling forested hills. There is a Prairie Bison and Elk area with about 90 animals total but we found our Elk walking across a parking lot. There is not much color change yet and the dry conditions might effect the change this year

There are 200 family cemeteries in the park. Families come back to hold reunions and to tend this sacred ground as a way of maintaining their connection with the land and their ancestors.