Friday, October 18
Clifton Marina turned out to be a wonderfully quiet dockage, and we woke to Dream Chaser wrapped in soup-thick fog. The fog remained heavy throughout the morning which delayed our departure, so Steve worked on solving the glitches with our TV coverage, Mary baked pumpkin muffins, and we took our daily hike to downtown Clifton.
The town was quiet on this early Friday morning, except for some activity at a corner parking lot. Since the town grocery store had burned down over a year ago, we were happy to find two local elderly men selling fresh produce, honey, and molasses from their pickup truck. During our purchase of fruits, vegetables, and honey, we learned all about molasses and how it is processed. After sampling the sticky, sweet molasses, we completed our three mile hike hauling our “goodies” back to the boat.
About noon, Dream Chaser headed out of the Clifton Marina and into the Tennessee River with a projected five hour cruise to the Pickwick Lock and Dam. This beautiful section of the river was accented by limestone lined banks, an increase of people fishing, a family enjoying a warm fall day at the beach, a lonely cow on the river bank, a few tows with barges, and an increase in housing (large and impressive, average, trailer houses, and creative)
Making the most of one of the last warm
fall days.
Tennessee River Towboat going down river
with 15 barges.
One of the many large, beautiful homes along
the Tennessee River.
This is a more creative choice in housing
along the Tennessee River. Eight ocean
freight containers combined to create a
"home"!
The Dream Chaser's engines hadn’t been opened up to full throttle since we left Bayfield,WI (1,000 gallons of fuel ago), so now that we are ten miles from the Alabama border, Steve figured that it was time. After 30 seconds of full power, there was such a cloud of smoke behind the boat, it was obvious that it was long over due.
This map shows the Tennessee River and mile markers along our route from the Kentucky Dam to the Pickwick Dam. Today, we motored from about MM 150 to MM 200 (just before the Pickwick Lock and Dam)-about 40 miles.
About 13 miles from the Pickwick Lock and Dam, we motored against a two mph current. At MM 196, one mile later, we found a quiet anchorage on the backside of Diamond Island in a channel of what experienced boaters would call “good water” (no stumps and debris). Following dinner, Mary watched a movie, and then Steve watched the 6th game of the Los Angeles vs St. Louis playoff series. With our anchor light on and “Drag Queen” (our anchor alarm) activated, we were rocked to sleep by the gentle current.
Saturday, October 19
Steve was already up and plotting for the day, when Mary woke up. It had been a great night’s sleep anchored behind Diamond Island in spite of the pack of coyotes howling in the night about 2 am.
At 7 am, the sky was cloud covered, and the moon was on its way down behind the tree line. Just as Steve started Dream Chaser’s engines, we were startled by two guys in a high speed fishing boat with at least 200 hp motors zooming by us in the narrow channel. Five minutes later while Mary was pulling the anchor, another equally equipped and very impressive fishing boat broke the quiet as it zoomed by down the channel. We left our anchorage at Diamond Island and with temps in the 50’s, entered the Tennessee River channel. Most of the morning, it was overcast and cool.
At MM 197.8, to our starboard side, the Shiloh National Military Park began covering 4,400 acres of land containing the Shiloh Battlefield. This is the site of the Civil War’s first major combat in the western theater. There are 156 monuments, 217 cannons, and over 650 historic tablets (pointing out troop locations and movements) in the preserved battlefield. This battle resulted in the death of 23,746 soldiers, mostly young men under 30 years old of which many had never experienced war. The film at the visitors center is a must see!
Pictured above is Pittsburg Landing which was actually the name of a small settlement with a bustling steamboat landing. General Grant used this area as the base of operations for the Union offensive using the Tennessee River to move his troops and supplies. This “Battle of Pittsburg Landing” took place on April 6 & 7, 1862. Because of lack of dockage at Shiloh, we planned to acquire a car and drive back from Grand Harbor, our next dockage.
So, Dream Chaser continued to motor along with temps in the high 50’s passing large beautiful houses along the Tennessee River. Looking at a map, you could see that at one point in Pickwick Lake, Dream Chaser went in and out of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee as the borders of these states meet in the lake.
When Dream Chaser arrived at the Pickwick Lock and Dam, we had only about a 30 minute wait and then in we went! As we exited the lock, we entered Pickwick Lake and motored to nearby Pickwick State Park Marina. This is a very pretty area, and the huge dining room of the Pickwick State Park lodge is known for its $8 buffet of regional dishes. Today, the specialty was catfish and pork loin with many other buffet dishes. We were looking forward to lunch since we had only had a banana for breakfast. The lodge was a mile away-so we had our 2 mile hike for the day and a great lunch.
As we motored down Pickwick Lake, we saw some very impressive houses!
Now that 's a retaining wall!
Grand Harbor
Boaters back their boats into their slip,
set up a patio on the wide docks, add trees
and flowers, and many have a golf cart to make
the trips down the long docks easier.
Quite the Life!
Back on Dream Chaser, we turn onto the Tenn-Tom Waterway and headed for Grand Harbor Marina. This marina is one of the nicest full service marinas we have seen. When the lines were tied and paperwork completed, we borrowed the courtesy car and headed to Shiloh. Earlier in the day, we merely motored by Shiloh, so now we will experience the park. The visit to Shiloh was very moving and definitely worth the visit. Back at the marina, as we handed the courtesy car keys to the next loopers, we were asked to join a group of loopers going out to dinner. So 15 minutes later, we hopped in the van to Freddy T’s, a local restaurant- a fun, wacky place with great food, funky decor, and live local, country music upstairs.
Freddy T's was a fun place, very busy, with
crazy fun decor. Steve was checking out all
old water skis attached to the walls, sections of boats, and just crazy stuff.
The pirate and the hula dancer werestanding on the bar. This is just a sample
of the crazy decor.
Sunday, October 20
As we woke this morning, a mystical fog swirled around us and rose from the water surrounding us. Gradually the swirls disappeared into the sunshine, and activity picked up on the docks with a few larger boats departing. After a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, we planned our course for the week, and then were off in the courtesy car for church at First Baptist in Counce, TN.
Our answer to what we would do for lunch appeared before us in the form of the Broken Spoke Restaurant. A very cool place (rustic with quaint 1940‘s decor), and everything is homemade! We ordered the special, Boston Butt Pork Roast, followed by pieces of pecan pie and strawberry cake. They really know how to cook down here in Tennessee!
The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day as we motored east on Pickwick Lake and entered the state of Alabama. The sky was blue and cloudless. Soooo nice to have warm sunshine even if temps only peaked at 60. Except for a few big boats and half a dozen fishing boats, it was quiet and smooth sailing on Pickwick Lake.
At 3:30 pm we entered the anchorage at Ross Branch or Rock Pile, at MM 229.9. It is a small, tree lined cove with three rock piles that separates it from the main navigational channel of Pickwick Lake. It felt very safe, but even though we anchored into the wind, Dream Chaser moved around due to a shift in wind direction. Because the cove is surrounded by high trees, the wind swirls around changing direction which moves the boat.
While the bay initially appeared quiet, while we sat quietly on the bow of the boat and observed, there was constant activity and noises all around us. Algae or, possibly, duck weed dominated the shallow, undisturbed portions of the bay. There were small ripples on the water, as the boat gently adjusted itself with the wind current. Birds were chirping, cawing, and squawking. Thirty Canadian geese took flight and lined up as they flew over our boat honking in unison like a choir. Crickets hummed or buzzed nonstop. A few ducks floating in the bay behind us flapped their wings. An airplane could be heard overhead, and a truck hummed on a distant highway. Occasionally, a large pleasure craft would motor down the navigational channel of the lake, most likely headed to Grand Harbor for the night. It was simply a beautiful spot to sit and observe God’s creation. This was our first night sleeping on the boat in Alabama!
Monday, October 21
We woke up with Dream Chaser engulfed in fog which started in the night and just grew thicker until morning. It was a strange feeling being in the dark, foggy cove with fog swirling around.
Our plan is to reach Florence, AL today, about 5 hours of motoring, so we pulled anchor about 9 am, with fog still lingering over the water. The fog cleared about 10 am, and the sky turned cloudless, blue, with bright sunshine. The fall colors are not strong yet, but the trees have a bit more color this morning with the bright sunshine.
About 10 am, we passed under the mile long Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge. The Trace is a 444 mile long scenic parkway from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. The Trace was originally an Indian Trail that the French discovered, and then was later used by traders, missionaries, and soldiers over the years. With the Natchez Trace Bridge stretched out behind us, we motor onward.
About 12, noon, we arrived at the Florence Harbor Marina in Florence, AL which is located in an area called The Shoals. The town was named after Florence, Italy and has grown to over 36,000 residents.
After tying the lines and finding the keys to the courtesy car, we headed to Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, AL, the birthplace of Helen Keller. At 19 months old, Helen Keller became blind and deaf. Helen was a half-wild, southern child trapped in a world of quiet and darkness. With guidance from Anne Sullivan, “the Miracle Worker”, Helen began to learn at a rapid rate, excelled in school, and became one of history’s most remarkable women. She dedicated her life to improving the lives of the blind and deafblind around the world. Mary’s passion to become a teacher was fueled by the books she read about Helen Keller, and the difference Anne Sullivan had made in Helen’s life.
Helen Keller's original family home.
Before we returned to the boat, we stopped at the Rosenbaum House, a home design by Frank Lloyd Wright and then to Walmart for provisions.
After dinner, we joined our friends, Meg and Jimmy, on Sanctuary for a evening of conversation and Rummikub.
When might you be in Florida?
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