Currently a Landlubber

I haven't posted for many days, as we have temporarily moved off the boat to go back to Austin for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rock Chalk is currently at Turner Marine in the Dog River off of Mobile Bay, Alabama. Turners is doing some work on the boat that Shelley and I wanted to complete. I do not normally like to have someone working on the boat when we are not on board, but in this case, Roger Turner is a very trustworthy guy. Hopefully we will have a good experience when we get back.

We are living in a small cottage in Austin that is a temporary solution to our living needs. It is small but convenient. I am trying to catch up with some work issues, which brings me back into my former world. I am missing the boat and the boat life in a big way. We are also missing all our friends we made along the Great Loop. Once again, we feel like Rock Chalk will be behind the gang as many are trying to cross the Gulf to western Florida before Christmas. We will not make the crossing until the first part of January. But we think we will catch everyone in the Keys.

In the meantime we are really glad to be able to see our children and grandchildren here in Austin, Kansas City, and LA. They are all growing so fast, so spending time with them is great. Next posting will be after Christmas. Have a great Holiday. Marc

Back to the Gulf

It's been quite an experience to travel down the rivers from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile. We have driven through Mobile on I-10 many times, but it looks quite different from the water. It is a very busy port, which was such a contrast from the river. These last few nights have been spent out in the middle of nowhere Alabama. Because of the few places to anchor and almost no marinas, the Loopers tend to end up at the same places.

Above right is a place called Bobby's Fish Camp, basically one 100 ft. dock. So when 11 boats show up, the only choice is to raft together. So we did, and it works fine. But it took 7 days to go from the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake to the Gulf. It really was a beautiful trip. One of the tow captains asked us where we were headed when we were up in the Tennessee, and we told him over the radio we were headed down the Tenn-Tom. "Ah.. the Tombigbee," he said, "its crookeder than a politician" So true.

Now we are back in salt water, and warm temperatures. Put up the sweaters and blankets, and out comes the shorts. That is what I love about boating. Just keep moving until you find better weather. But first we need to come back to Austin for a Holiday break. So we are going to mothball Rock Chalk for a couple of months and leave her here in Mobile to fly home Wednesday. It has been quite a trip since April in Ft Myers, Florida, and we have another 660 miles to cross our wake there. But thus far we have run 4900 miles, 100 locks, 16 states, and two countries in the last 8 months. Whew, time for a breather. Marc

Some call it a Ditch

We have been on the Inland Rivers since Sept. 3rd, and have come 1500 miles, and this has been my favorite part. Many do not like the Tombigbee, but I think it has been beautiful. Most mornings start like this, really foggy. Radar and my Chartplotter let's us safely move in this stuff, but it is not my favorite thing to do. Most mornings we will wait until the fog lifts. After all we are not in a hurry. We have all the time in the world.....right.

Really the fall colors have been brilliant and the weather beautiful. We have had a few cold mornings, but all in all, its been nice. There are 14 locks that lower you from Joe Wheeler State Park at 650 ft. elevation to sea level at Mobile Bay, Alabama. The largest single drop was the Wilson lock at 104'. It drains like a bathtub in minutes. Quite the engineering feat. It's always fun to go to the front of the lock and look over the drop to the river below.

The Loopers are movin south. We have been traveling in packs, sometimes as many as 11 boats in a lock at a time. Naturally we meet at the same marinas each night and its time for cocktails!! Like I said, at the end of this trip, its AA and WeightWatchers.

The cliffs are the White Cliffs at Epes, Alabama. The Tombigbee has cut through these rocks and left miles of beautiful white cliffs exposed above the river. The trees in their fall colors make a beautiful contrast. We saw several pair of Bald Eagles working the river this morning. Breakfast time. They are pretty good at what they do, and beautiful to watch.

Tonight we are in the beautiful city of Demopolis, Alabama. I know....where? Well, if you are a driver of one of these big tows that work the river, you know this place. They stop here for fuel...like 6000 gal. at one stop. They are amazing boats. So this marina is a good place to buy fuel, since they move so much of it. We topped up today and got a pumpout of our black water holding tanks. Now we are ready to finish the trip down to Mobile. We plan to be there Monday. But on a boat, you never know. Remember, we have all the time in the world.......