September 2, 2017
Happy Birthday, Dave! We wake to gray skies and the marina basin filled with debris and muddy waters, but the rain has finally stopped after two days. Hurricane Harvey has certainly made his presence felt. Even though we expect to encounter a lot of debris in the water, we leave Clarkesville at 6:15 am and head down the Cumberland River to continue our journey back to Green Turtle Bay. It is slow going for most of the day as Dave is not able to use the auto pilot as often as he would like. There is too much "stuff" in the river: logs, plastic coolers, lids, cans, bottles, branches, tree trunks, etc. and he must constantly steer the boat in order to avoid all the debris. The water is no longer a pretty green. Instead, it is now a muddy brown. Also the tows and barges are running, presenting us with another challenge as, at times, they tend to push the debris into our path. As always, Dave does a great job. We arrive in Green Turtle Bay by 3:00 pm. After docking, we go to town for provisions, do laundry, and have "docktails" with other Loopers. For dinner, we celebrate Dave's birthday at the Commonwealth Yacht Club. Tomorrow we will head up the Tennessee River to begin our side-trip to Chattanooga.
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| Passing through Clarkesville Notice the muddy, brown water |
Lots of Debris as Dave Keeps a Careful Watch
September 3, 2017-September 5, 2017
As we are departing from GTB on the 3rd, an Asian carp, decides to hitch a ride on "At Last". After pulling out from the slip and heading for the marina's channel, I am about to open the stern door when I, of course, scream, "Dave, get it off the boat!" Poor, Dave, he is trying to captain the ship and his first mate wants nothing to do with the slimy, scaly, bloody fish that has jumped on the stern of the boat. Dave, once again, saves the day and flings the unwanted intruder back into the water. This invasive species really is a problem. Now I understand why the Army Corps of Engineers is working so hard to keep these fish out of Lake Michigan. This one "fellow" left an awful mess on my stanchion covers as well as my deck. Ugh! We have only one lock to do today and our wait is less than an hour at the Kentucky Lock and Dam. We travel 62 miles in about 8 hours and anchor for the night in Harmon Creek, a nice anchorage, where we tuck in amongst several small islands.
Dave Saves Me From the "Bloody" Asian Carp!
We leave the Harmon Creek anchorage at 7:00 am on the 4th which is Labor Day.
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| Leaving Harmon Creek at Sunrise |
On the 5th, we leave just after sunrise, but the weather is rainy. We are making excellent time, so we decide to make a reservation for the night at Pickwick Landing State Park. The park ranger informs us there is plenty of room, but that he will be leaving at 5:00 pm. I tell him we should definitely be there by 3:00 pm. We have one lock to pass through and we have not seen a tow/barge all day, so we are hoping for a fast lockage. Just prior to the Pickwick Landing Lock & Dam, we pass by Shiloh National Park at Pittsburg Landing. This is the site of a bloody Civil War battle in April, 1862 where more than 23,000 men died. Unfortunately, there are no docking facilities here so we are unable to stop and we continue on to the lock. Our destination for the evening is just a few miles on the other side of the lock. It is about 2:30 pm so we believe we have plenty of time to get through the lock. Dave calls the lock master and learns that there is a tow ahead of us which must split its load and we will have to wait about two hours. Dave is directed to tie up at the auxiliary lock to wait. It is cool and rainy, and I am not too happy about being at the auxiliary lock since we cannot see what is happening with the tow.
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| Waiting, Waiting, Waiting |
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| Basil....Growing from the Lock Wall??? I think not, but it sure looks like it! |
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| Pickwick Lake |
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| Entering the Park |
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| Boat Ramp at Pickwick Landing State Park |
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| Sunrise at the Park |
September 6, 2017-September 10, 2017
By 9:30 am, we continue on our journey towards Chattanooga. It is a beautiful day and there is very little boat or barge traffic on the lake. We planning a 50-mile day. About 1:00 pm, Dave spots a fishing boat whose captain is waving his arms to get our attention. Dave approaches the boat and the captain tells us he has hit something and his lower unit is damaged. Dave offers to tow the boat. They are headed to Florence which is also our destination for the night. Bob, Libby and their dog, Minnie, are from Memphis and they had trailered their boat for a day of fishing. Libby and Minnie join Dave and I on the bridge for the ride to Florence, but Bob stays with his boat. I enjoy chatting with Libby and learn that she is also a retired teacher. It is about a 20 mile ride, and after a three-hour ride, we successfully get them back to the boat ramp where they will be able to retrieve their trailer and make their way back to Memphis. They are very grateful that Dave stopped to help them.
Towing Bob and Libby
Minnie, too
Dave docks "At Last" at the Florence Municipal Marina. A Tiara 35 is docked in front of us and we notice its gold Looper flag. There is no one on the boat so we go to the office. After checking in, we have an excellent dinner at the marina's restaurant.
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| "At Last" at the Florence Harbor Marina |
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| Gail's Favorite Bird on the Dock in Florence |
Today is September 7th and we leave the dock in Florence at about 8:15 am. The Wilson Lock & Dam is about five miles from the marina. Dave has spoken with the lock master and he tells us to arrive at about 9:30 am. Maryanne and Bill from "Elly Kei" are traveling with us. We arrive at the lock in half an hour, much more quickly than we anticipated. The wait is quite long so we throw the anchor until the lock master calls us to enter the lock at 10:35 am. The Wilson Lock, located in the northwest corner of Alabama, has a maximum lift of 100 feet and it is the highest single lift lock east of the Rockies. This lockage is quite impressive.
Inside the Wilson Lock
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| "Elly Kei" behind us in the lock |
Dave and Gail holding the lines to the bollard
Exiting this lock is quite interesting. Instead of the lock doors opening the gate actually disappears under water and you drive over it to exit.
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| Going! |
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| Going! |
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| GONE! |
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| Heading to the Joe Wheeler Lock |
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| "Elly Kei" wait at Joe Wheeler Lock |
Turbulence!
We enter the lock at 2:45 pm and exit at about 3:20 pm. We are staying at the Joe Wheeler State Park tonight. This park is the annual location of the AGLCA rendez-vous. Each October as many as 250 vessels dock at Joe wheeler's marina and attend the conference in the resort lodge. Dave and I made our reservations a long time ago and although we are almost finished with the Loop, we are really looking forward to it. We choose a slip for the evening and then try to find our way to the lobby of the lodge. The signage is poor, but we eventually locate the lobby. We have dinner with Bill and Maryanne at the restaurant in the lodge. The service is not good and the food is just marginal. We hope that things are better in October when we return for the rendezvous.
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| Joe Wheeler State Park |
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| Joe Wheeler State Park Marina |
We leave the park at 6:50 am.
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| Sunrise at Joe Wheeler |
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| Railroad Lift Bridge |
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| Arriving at the marina |
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| Enjoying docktails on the "Elly Kei" Do you think they're related? |
Nathan leaves "At Last" early on September 9th and we continue our journey towards Chattanooga. We are keeping close tabs on Hurricane Irma. She has been quite destructive in the Carribbean and is on track to strike Florida. Depending on the model you look at, she is either headed for a direct hit on Miami or will go up the west coast and make landfall in Tampa. No matter what, she is a huge system and damage throughout Florida is predicted to be widespread. My sister Janice is securing her house in St. Petersburg and then she is moving to a secure facility to ride out the storm. Before leaving in July, we readied the house in the event of a hurricane, so now we can only hope for the best. Unfortunately, our friends Ann and Jeff who live on St. John in the US Virgin Islands lost their house to the wrath of Irma. We are so sorry for their loss, but are grateful they were stateside when the hurricane struck. So with all this weighing on our minds, we head towards the Guntersville Lock. We only have to wait a half hour and we exit the lock by 10:00 am. We are not traveling with Maryanne and Bill today as they need to stop for fuel and are planning to stay in Scottsboro tonight. We will meet up with them on the river front in Chattanooga on Sunday. We are planning to anchor out tonight. The ride on the lake is absolutely beautiful. There are many gorgeous houses interspersed throughout the mountains. Dave chooses an interesting anchorage, Crow Creek, which is located off Guntersville Lake. There is a narrow channel surrounded by lake grass, but a local fisherman assures us there is ample room for anchoring.
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| Helpful fisherman |
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| Anchorage in Crow Creek Lots of lake grass |
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| Another beautiful sunrise |
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| Headed back to the lake |
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| Nice scenery |
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| Tennessee Aquarium Ship |
Bridges on the Chattanooga Riverfront
It seems Tennessee will be feeling some of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in the next day or two with lots of rain and high winds forecast. "Elly Kei" soon joins us and the captains make plans for an early departure in the morning.
We awaken to gray and cloudy skies on Monday morning, September 11th. We only have about 14 miles to get to the Yacht Club, but we have the Chickamauga Lock to pass through first. The passage is quick and uneventful and we arrive at CYC by 10:30. Dave and I have visited CYC for three of their Memorial Day parties. Our friends, the Vicks---Todd, Meg, & Emma and Todd's parents....Karen and Tom are all members at this Club. It is a well-run, very nice club with excellent facilities and friendly members. The dock boys help us into our slip. Maryanne and Bill arrive right after us. Dave and I are planning to stay for 3 or 4 weeks. We need to do some boat chores and maintenance, as well as attend to some medical appointments. We are really looking forward to spending time with the Vicks. Todd and his family have recently moved to Chattanooga and Karen and Tom spend weekends on their 85-foot houseboat. As soon as we are docked, the rains begin. We have received word from my sister that she weathered Irma well and her house had no damage. In fact, she never even lost power. Our neighbors in Okeechobee have been very helpful to us. Joanie has taken pictures of our property and Jan will send them to us as soon as she is able. Jan has assured us that there is very little damage to our house or hers. We have lost some roof shingles and a couple of our palm trees, but that is all. We are truly thankful the damage was minimal and we are so lucky to have great neighbors looking out for us. Todd stops by for a quick visit. We will meet him and his family on Wednesday for dinner at the Club. We spend the rest of the evening hunkered down in our boat as the weather is quite stormy....lots of rain and wind.
September 12, 2017
We are up early on Tuesday. It is still rainy and a bit windy and cold. We have a busy day ahead of us. After renting a car, we return to the Club and Dave drives Maryanne and me to Publix for re-provisioning. After shopping, it's back to the boat to collect my laundry. Dave drives me to the laundromat as we have rented a Dodge Ram truck and I can hardly get in and out of it without a step stool....no running boards. Dave wanted to try it out. We are planning to do some RV-ing after our Loop trip is finished and he is looking for a vehicle to pull a camper. I finally finish the laundry by 6:30 pm and then it's back to the boat where I change the bed, put the laundry away and relax for the rest of the evening.
September 13, 2017
We received some photos today showing the damage Hurricane Irma did in our yard. Thankfully, there was very little and Dave has already made arrangements for repairs to the roof. We spend the day cleaning the boat and settling in at CYC.
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| House loses shingles |
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| Lost a few palm trees |
September 14, 2017-September 22, 2017
We have settled in nicely at CYC. We have left the main dock and are now undercover in a slip near Tom and Karen. We have already had lots of fun and are looking forward to more. We have dined at the Club, traveled to Atlanta for help with the drone, visited Lookout Mountain with Ruby Falls and Rock City, taken a ride on the houseboat, played lots of games and watched movies with Emma, and we are trying to walk our 4-5 miles a day. We've visited Todd and Meg's new home in Chattanooga, and just this morning I found my way to the Simply-Mac store in the mall as some how we are locked out of our computer. They will probably have to wipe the drive clean and we will lose everything not on the cloud. Oh well, we should have backed it up! I'll end this post with some pictures from the past week or so!
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| Dinner at MYC with the Vicks and Osbornes |
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| Bill and Maryanne from "Elly Kei " |
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| Todd & Emma |
Getting tips on flying the drone
Rock City
Ruby Falls
Happy Droners
September 22, 2017
Today we heard the best news ever! Nathan passed the bar and will be sworn in to the Alabama bar on October 12th! We are so proud of him. He has worked so hard to accomplish his goals! CONGRATULATIONS!
