After leaving Birdsong Marina, (yes, Joe, we managed to tear ourselves away,) we continued south Thursday and Friday toward Lake Pickwick. Thursday’s planned voyage ended up at a nice anchorage called Russ Towhead at mile 155 on the Tennessee. This was actually the third of several possibilities that all appeared to offer a sandy beach for Kona’s benefit, as well good scenery and a safe place to spent the night.
Many mornings have been clear, but quite cool. After the sun sets at night, condensation from the warm water rises like steam into the cool night air. As the sun rises in the morning the warm air and sun light seems to burn off the fog. While we are normally up at dawn which is still before 7 AM, the fog on the water does not clear up until 8:30 or 9:00AM. It is difficult to capture the beauty of this on a regular camera. However, there are a couple of decent shots that will be included when a slide show of the Tennessee River is posted.
It was during the Friday morning fog delay at Russ Towhead that the story of Birdsong Marina was drafted, and later posted to the BLOG. The fog lifted about 9AM Friday, and it was time to leave. The trip along the Tennessee continued to reflect the changing yet repeating types of landscapes along the river. At times one side was rocky and the other flat. Sometimes both sides of the river were flat. Much less frequently both sides were hilly and/or rocky. By mid October, all of the fauna is transitioning to its final colors, but only a few of the leaves have begun to fall. The housing along the shore ranged from mobile or manufactured homes to beautifully architected estates. We have seen only a few tows on the Tennessee thus far. Most of them were pushing 4 barges or less. This is small in comparison to much larger tows on the Illinois or the giants on the Mississippi River. For the first 100 miles on the Tennessee River we experienced little current. However, as we traveled toward Pickwick Lock the current increased. When we left Russ Towhead, Friday morning, current was a steady 1 mph; 50 miles later approaching the Pickwick Lock, Sleeping Bear was struggling against a 3 mph current. Actually, the current was strong enough to keep us pointed upstream with a 5 to 10mph wind at our stern while at anchor at Russ Towhead. Had there been no current, the boat would have faced in the opposite direction.
The plan Friday was to anchor off of Diamond Island, 11 miles south of the Pickwick Lock. There were 3 unsuccessful attempts to get the anchor to hold in what otherwise looked like a great anchorage. It was getting late. It was 3:30PM, and the feeling was that this unsuccessful anchor attempt was an omen. We agreed to push forward for the Lake Pickwick lock and try for one of the several good anchorages that were promised within two miles of the lock. Once again, luck was on our side as we were able to lock thru with minimal waiting time. However, because of the drag from the current it took 2 hours to motor the 11 miles. Adding the time it took to lock up 50 feet, the sun was behind the hillside as we pushed out of the lock. We dropped anchor in a beautiful cove 2 miles north of the lock just as the sun was setting. Thankfully we felt a strong tug on the anchor as it bit into the clay bottom of the cove on the first attempt.
Pickwick Lake is the reservoir created by Pickwick Landing Dam as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The lake stretches from Pickwick Landing Dam to Wilson Dam, about 50 miles. Pickwick Lake is at the north end of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, which provides a water transportation route to the Gulf of Mexico. Wilson dam is at the lake’s northern end. After Wilson Dam the Tennessee River winds its way through Chattanooga and Knoxville on its way up to the Smokey Mountains. Lake Pickwick spans 43100 acres and at its deepest point is 65 feet deep. Lake Pickwick shores touch Tennessee, Alabama and briefly Mississippi. For now Sleeping Bear is still in Tennessee off of Yellow Creek which joins the Tennessee River and is the beginning of the Tombigbee water way. As we look across Yellow Creek to our south we are looking at Mississippi. To the south and east, across the Tennessee River it is Alabama.
Homes along the hilly shoreline for the first 10 miles of Lake Pickwick are magnificent. Just north of the lock is an impressive mansion that we thought surely belonged to someone of national fame. We later learned that the home belonged to the gentleman who owns 3 car dealerships in town. It was also claimed that Alan Jackson’s $5 million offer to purchase the estate was refused. Obviously there are a few people in Tennessee with money.
Tonight, (Saturday) we are in Grand Harbor Marina, Counce Tennessee. We plan to be here for the next several days. One of the marinas courtesy cars is reserved on Monday with plans to visit the Shiloh battlefield memorial.
No comments:
Post a Comment