Memphis

Well, we are still sitting for this weekend. Yuk. All our friends left the rendezvous for places afar, but we are still stuck here in Iuka, Mississippi while we get the final fix for our starboard drive shaft. This is the same issue we have had for months, but now we think it is finally fixed. But part of the fix is that after being in the sling while they installed a new shaft on Friday, they have to drop you back into the water to let the boat settle and rest before they can do a proper alignment. So here we sit for the weekend.

Have a car and an open weekend, and what do you do? Hmm, how does Memphis sound? That makes the trifecta of Tennessee complete with prior visits to Chattanooga and Nashville. It is a two hour drive straight west down the Mississippi/Tennessee state line to Memphis. Shelley uses her i-phone to guide us down to Beale Street in downtown. Once again, the sound of music from a block long area of bars greets us, just like Broadway in Nashville, or 6th street in Austin. But this is the capital of BB King and the Blues, and Gibson guitars. It was pretty quiet today, but crowds were gathering at the FedX arena for a Taylor Swift concert. We understand it was a sellout. She travels the country in a very luxurious Motor Coach, along with 15 semi-trailers full of equipment. Unbelievable.

We had fun listening to some blues music and a few beers. Shelley does love her Guinness beer. Then her i-phone takes us to the best barbecue in Memphis. Yelp tells her the highest rated barbecue is out in Germantown, at a place called The Chandlery. Off we go, again following her mapping on the i-Phone. We found it, and conquered their ribs. Ummm. It is different than Texas or KC barbeque, drier with a peppery taste, but really good. We left with very full stomachs for our drive back to the boat.

Tomorrow after our final fix, we should be off by noon and head south down the Tenn-Tom. If all goes as planned, we should be in Mobile by the 7th. Since rarely anything on a boat goes as planned, I will keep the blogs up to date with our progress. Marc

You don't see these colors in Texas!

Red Sky at Morning...Sailor take warning. This was this morning's sky as we prepared to leave Joe Wheeler State Park and the Looper Rendezvous. After 4 days, we were ready to move on. The trees have really popped out in color in the last few days, and it is beautiful in Northern Alabama. We had a 7 hour run today to get us back west to the beginning of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. That is the waterway that will take us south to the Gulf.

We passed back through the Wilson Lock on the Tennessee River where we dropped 94 feet. That is the largest drop east of the Continental Divide of any lock. We traveled with 11 other Looper boats through both the Wheeler and Wilson locks. Everyone is headed out today to new destinations. Some are headed up river to Chattanooga, and many are headed (like us) down river to the Tenn-Tom, with the goal of getting back to the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile, AL.

It is raining this evening, and really cold. Not the best weather, so that is why we are going south. One of the Loopers told me his barometer for where they took their boat. He prefers to live in a T-shirt and shorts. If it is too cold for that, then go 100 miles south. If it is still too cold, keep going another 100 miles south. Then reverse the process in the spring. Keep going north to stay in the comfortable low 80's. Sounds good to me. Marc

Joe Wheeler State Park

Our Looper Rendezvous ends today so there will be a mass migration of boats leaving this state park and headed all directions. There are 57 boats here for the event. Some will stay a few more days, and some will head up river toward Chattanooga. I am guessing most will be like us, and start our way back to the Tenn-Tom Waterway, and head south to the Gulf. That makes a lot of buddy boats to share marinas and anchorages which is mostly a good thing. Could be interesting trying to stuff 10-12 boats into a lock at the same time.

It has been a fun event. It is always fun to meet so many other couples (and a few single-handed boaters) who enjoy boating and have the same mission as we do. Remember that boaters love Happy Hour. It is ironic that they put this largest gathering of Loopers in a location that is a dry county here in Alabama. Good thing everyone stocked up ahead of time.

Half of us are close to our finish, while there are many who are just getting started. I am personally really looking forward to getting the boat to Florida and the Keys. That is a wonderful cruising ground, and both Shelley and I are anxious to explore it.

So we will leave in the morning for the two week journey to Mobile, where we will dock the boat for a couple of months while we go back to Austin for the Holidays. I cannot believe we are going to move from a 44' boat to a 28' RV at the La Hacienda RV resort on Lake Travis. Am I crazy? Yea, I know.

But we are looking forward to catching up with the Wurth family, Erin, Mark and Gayle, and all our friends in Austin. Plus everyone is coming to Austin for Christmas. That will be a great week. But there is some high adventure still ahead before we get to Mobile, and that is the Tenn-Tom.

This project completed in the late 1960's, moved more earth than the Panama Canal. It is quite a tribute to human engineering, and I am excited to navigate our way through it. So my next post will be from somewhere in Mississippi or Alabama as we wind our way south to the ocean. YeeHaa!!

Fall on the Tennessee

I have neglected to update our blog for a week because we have been off the boat touring Tennessee by rental car. Since we moved south out of Lake Kentucky we entered the next beautiful lake on the Tennessee River, Lake Pickwick. We locked up through a 60' lock into the lake, and spent several days at Aqua Yacht Harbor. There we had some service work done to the boat, plus used their courtesy car to tour Shiloh National Battlefield. 24,000 lives were lost over a two day battle in the trees and open fields of southern Tennessee near the Shiloh Church. The Tennessee River actually played a major role in this battle as the Union army was routed the first day by the Confederates. But Union reserves arrived by boat at Pittsburg Landing near the battlefield, and overwhelmed the Confederate army on day 2. We took Rock Chalk right down the river past Pittsburg Landing. It is hard to imagine the carnage that took place in those two days, with soldiers shooting at each other from 100 ft. away from each other. If you get a chance, you should visit these Civil War battlefields. Very humbling.

Just a few miles past the dam that makes Pickwick Lake, the river becomes the border between Alabama and Mississippi. It then turns east and starts a 100 mile trek across northern Alabama before it turns northeast and crosses back into Tennessee. That is where we are now. We have the boat at Joe Wheeler State Park and Marina where there will be a Looper Rendezvous starting tomorrow. But last Monday we rented a car and took a 4 day loop through places in Tennessee that we had not yet seen by boat. We spent an afternoon at the Rocket and Space Museum in Huntsville, Al. This is the place that Werner Von Braun built the first rockets that took man to the moon in the 50's and 60's. The Saturn V rocket lies on its side inside this museum and one can only be in awe of its massive size, and what it took to lift the Apollo capsule to the Moon. All the US rockets that have been developed over the last 50 years were built at this facility.

From there we drove over to Chattanooga for several days. It is a beautiful town on the banks of the Tennessee River. We could have taken Rock Chalk up the river 150 miles, and through two more locks and lakes, but we ran out of enough time to get there and then back to this park for the Rendezvous. There is an aquarium on the banks of the river which is as good as any facility we have seen up or down the country. Chattanooga has done a very nice job with its revitalized downtown and river bank. From there it is just a two hour drive up to Nashville. Shelley and I spent a rainy day bar hopping from one live music bar to the next on Broadway in downtown Nashville. We listened to some great music with some very talented artists that have not quite made it to the Grand Ole Oprey. But they are good. We spent the evening at a Blues bar for a nice change from country. All in all Nashville is a great place to spend some time and enjoy the music.

The nights are cold now, with temperatures down in the high 30's. There is a freeze warning tonight for northern Alabama. The trees are in full colors, and each morning there is a beautiful fog/mist as the water is so much warmer than the air. The air is very dry so the star gazing is crystal clear at night. We have been using our heater each night but it still gets pretty cool inside the boat. Good sleeping.

After the Rendezvous we will head back west to the Tombigbee Waterway which starts in Lake Pickwick and head south to warmer water and air in Mobile, Alabama. That will take 6-8 days and another 13 locks to reach sea level. We are currently at 650 ft. above sea level so we have a long ways to go downhill. We are 75% through the Loop and this next section(From the Tennessee to Mobile Bay, then across to Florida) ought to be very interesting. More later. Marc

Pickwick Lake

It's fall in Alabama. The trees are just starting to turn, its in the 40's at night, but low 80's in the day. It really is very nice. We are still on the Tennessee River. We left the first major lake, Lake Kentucky, after 205 miles from the Ohio traveling south. We are now in Pickwick Lake which is smaller, only about 40 miles. Think of Table Rock Lake, but straighter. These lakes come from the Tennessee River which flows much straighter here than the crooked switchbacks of the Ozarks. So the lake is pretty, but you still have to stay in the navigable channel.

The above shot shows how the river has worn through many million of years of limestone. There are some beautiful spots that we have traveled through. The other photo is Shelley on the front of the boat as we entered Pickwick Lock and Dam. This lock took us up 66 ft. Note the big truck/trailer on the bridge just above the lock. That gives you an idea of how deep a canyon the lock is and how huge they are.

The marina we have been at for the last several days (Aqua Yacht Harbor in Iuka, Mississippi) is at the junction of three states....Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama. We are now on a line nearly equal to the Red River border between Texas and Oklahoma. That is a long way south from our days in Canada. But we have traveled south with the good weather, which has been wonderful so far. Knock on wood.

I want to travel east on the Tennessee River through northern Alabama as far as we can get over the next 10 days. We Have a Looper Rendezvous in late October on Lake Wheeler, so we want to see as much of the river and lakes as possible. After that we head south. Time to start thinking about running from winter and get to the Gulf.

Bob and Jean got back to Austin, safe and sound. But Bob was really tired from all the big fishing we did on Lake Kentucky. I know...its exhausting catching all those fish. Somehow we survived.

Shelley continues to read about how the world is falling apart as we tour the Great Loop. So one of my next missions will be to fill the keel of the boat with gold. I know, we only have three bedrooms and two heads on the boat, so it may get cozy if you all want/need to come live with us after the economy collapses. But bring your guns and fishing rods. We'll be fine. Marc

Other Photos of the Tennessee

Each time I blog the internet connection determines how many photos I can post along with our current update. Typically I can only download 3-4 and even then it takes 10-15 minutes for those to go through. So here are a few more I thought you all would like to see.

Upper right photo is a tow and barge setup that is very typical on the rivers. This one was 5 deep and 5 wide being pushed by one of these massive tows. We just passed him on the "two". When two vessels are going the same direction, a "two" pass is my starboard to his port. You call the tow captain to ask which side he wants to see you on, and they are very accommodating.

Bob and I did have fun. I actually caught a pretty nice bass, but we turned him back. So messy to clean one fish. It was great to have Bob and Jean meet us in "Paris".

It is Sunday morning, and KU posted another monumental loss, as did Texas. It is a sad time in Mudville. We are moving on today to Pickwick Dam and Lock at mile 205 on the Tennessee River. This is supposed to be one of the prettiest lakes in the country. I believe the lock takes us up about 60'. We are staying for a few days at Aqua Yacht Harbor, in Yellow Creek on the lake. Yellow creek is actually the beginning of the Tombigbee Canal, but we are not headed down that canal yet. We can't. My insurance will not let me go south of 31 degrees until Nov. 1. Plus we are attending the Loopers Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler Lake (two more Locks and Dams east up the river) on Oct. 23-26. Then we will head south to Mobile.

The trees are turning and its just beautiful. Hope you are all well. Marc

The Tennessee River and Lake Kentucky

Bob and Jean Speckman, Shelley's folks for those of you who do not know them, drove their RV to Paris, Tennessee to meet us at Paris Landing State Park on Lake Kentucky. It was great to see them and spend 3 days with them. There is a RV park next to the marina, so it worked out as a great place to meet.

Finally, I got a chance to go fishing. Bob brought his fishing gear and we went in search of some big bass. Well, we had fun anyway, and Shelley told us that if we caught any she would not eat them anyway. But that did not stop us from having a great time floating around in the tender to Rock Chalk and trying to catch something.

Then we played golf the next day on a very nice course at the state park. Shelley and I had not played since Dec. 31st at Flintrock, but we still had a great time. Bob will typically shoot his age (and 83 or 84) and I was something more than that. Shelley loves to play with her Daddy, and beat him on the front nine, but I think Bob won the back. I hope that when I am 83, I am driving a boat or an RV around the country and shooting my age in golf. Pretty Impressive.

Bob could not do it without Jean however. She is his navigator, and stays on him like a duck on a june bug when they are driving. She knows how to set up that RV. What a perfect match.

I apologize for not doing one of my blogs earlier, but we have found good internet connections very rare on the Tennessee. Both phone and internet have been spotty which makes downloading photos almost impossible. But we are in Clifton, TN tonight, and this marina is right in town, with good connections. Voila!

It is Saturday, and KU is behind OSU 56-7 at half. Oh be still my heart, we are terrible. Texas lost big to OU, and Florida is losing big to LSU. That is about as bad as it gets. However, my Mother, bless her little heart, is smiling in Heaven, as K-State is beating the hell out of Missouri, and is 5-0 on the year. She is so proud. That alone (Missouri losing) makes my day.

Well, we are only 50 miles from the Alabama border. Can you believe that? We will spend the next month fooling around Pickwick Lake, Wilson Lake, and Wheeler Lake, all of which are dams on the Tennessee River. There are some tropical storms and potential hurricanes still lurking around the Gulf of Mexico, so we are not getting any closer to the Gulf for a month. The trees are turning here and it is just beautiful in this chain of lakes along the Tennessee. Who knows, we might even make it to Chattanooga, before we come back to Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama for the Looper Rendezvous at the end of October. Rock Chalk is fast so we can see alot of river if we want. And we want. Marc

Ready to Go

It has been a great week at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, KY. We really needed a chance to catch our breath after the rivers. This is a very relaxing place and the trees are just starting to turn colors here. Shelley and I cleaned the boat from top to bottom, and I had some repair work done here as well. They have courtesy cars available, so we could drive into Paducah, Ky to Wal-Mart and do our grocery shopping.

But mostly we just relaxed and re-grouped. Lots of stories being told about the rivers among the 25 or so other Looper boats that are here. It was high adventure, but still the worse part of the trip for me.

We are leaving today to head south down Kentucky Lake, which is the Tennessee River. Actually we are headed up the river, as it is one of the few rivers in the US that flows north. Lake Kentucky is 200 miles long stretching across this western edge of Kentucky, across Tennessee, and into Alabama. There it turns east as you go upriver, back into Tennessee toward the Appalachain Mountains on the Virginia border.

Our plan is to get as far upriver as we can before we attend a Looper rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama on October 23. Bob and Jean are headed this way in their RV to meet us at Paris Landing State Park for a few days of fishing and golf. It is definitely fall here, with cool nights in the 40's and daytime highs in the 60's and low 70's. Come see us. We are just a few hours east of Memphis. Marc

We Made It

It was a whole chapter in itself, and a difficult one at that. It was also not our favorite part of the Loop, but yet it was fascinating because of that difference. The Rivers: Illinois starting in Chicago, The Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland, and now the Tennessee at the beginning of Lake Kentucky.....these were the rivers that challenged us.

Part of the issue is that most of these rivers were shallow if you wonder outside the main "sailing" channel. They were all muddy water, and fast currents. The Mississippi was really fast after the Missouri joined it north of St. Louis. The Ohio was also running fast still draining this summers rains from the northeast and that was current right on our nose. So in the Mississippi we cruised at 12-13 mph, and in the Ohio we only went around 7.5 mph.

Another fun sport on the rivers is staying out of the way of the big tows. These are massive collections of barges (each one being 50 ft. X 300 ft.) being pushed by a huge tug boat they call tows. The barges are full of the things we need in this world that can be filled into big tanks, or dumped into the barge itself. Many tows on the Mississippi and the Ohio were 6 wide and 6 deep. They are really fun to see coming down the river at you out of the mist or rain. Yikes.

But we made it through the Barkley Lock on the Cumberland River here in western Kentucky. This dam and one even bigger a mile to the west on the Tennessee River were TVA projects from the 30's and they are massive structures. The lock to elevate us from the river up to the lake, was 57'.

Now we are in what is called "The Land Between the Lakes" in western Kentucky and Tennessee. Kentucky Lake (the Tennessee) and Lake Barkley (the Cumberland) run parallel to each other for 60 miles to the south and form a state park that is beautiful. Both lakes remind me of the Ozarks, with lots of coves and creeks off the main branch, but maybe not as curvy as the Ozarks. Lake Kentucky is where we will spend the next month and its pretty much a straight shot south for 200 miles to the next dam. Then there are a series of dams, each with a lock that makes the Tennessee navigable up to Chattanooga and Knoxville, some 600 miles from here. Whew!!!

We have been decompressing from the rivers here at a very nice marina called Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY, cleaning the boat, doing service work, and in general collecting our wits for the next session. Since we traveled the rivers in packs of Looper boats, there are quite a few here doing the same thing...resting and preparing for the next leg. So natuarally at 5:00, break out the lawn chairs and grab a beer or wine, because we all have to get together, drink, and tell stories of how we survived the perils of "The Rivers".