OCTOBER 14 - 21: UP THE TENNESSEE RIVER

October 14:  We left Green Turtle Bay on a beautiful, sunny day and crossed over to Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River via the Barkley Canal.  For the next 40 miles, we will be traveling in an area known as the Land Between the Lakes (LBL).  LBL was created as a recreational and environmental education park.  It is protected from development and is home to wildlife such as bald eagles, deer and wild turkey.  Our destination today is Paris Landing State Park.  The Park features a lodge plus an 18 hole golf course...didn't bring the clubs though!

Just another day on the River!

October 15:  Up the Tennessee:  The Tennessee River is such a treat after some of the more commercial rivers that we have been on.  We have passed several of Tennessee's National Wildlife Refuges.   Thousands of migrating birds stop here.  It is particularly beautiful right now as the trees are starting to show their Fall colors.

The River does flood and the houses lining the banks exhibited appropriate preventive measures.

We anchored early near an island off the main channel in about 18 feet of water.  Happy as clams, we proceeded to relax.  About an hour later, we awoke to the fact that we were dragging our anchor and we were now drifting into the middle of the channel.  Action stations:  we started the engine and up came the anchor.  The Admiral vetoed trying to set the anchor again in the same location.  So off we went to the next closest option which was Mermaid Marina.  The depth at the entrance to the marina at normal pool is about 10 feet.  The river, however, is down 5 feet.  Fortunately for us, another Looper, Fuddy Duddy, with a shallower draft than us went in first and called out the depth to us as we followed in.  Boaters really do help other boaters.  We were soon safely tied up for the night.  The Admiral needed a stiff one after that experience.

October 16:  We headed out after a peaceful nights rest to our next destination:  another anchorage further up the river.   Swallow Island proved to be a much better anchorage with less current, and good wind protection.  Even the Admiral slept well that night.

October 17-19:  Pickwick Lake:  To enter Pickwick Lake we had to first lock through Pickwick Landing Lock and Dam.  The good news was that we did not have a long wait to enter the Lock.  The bad news was that the 55 foot lift in the Lock creates tremendous turbulence and we had a really tough time holding onto our line and fending off the bow of the boat from the Lock wall.  Finally the torture was over and we exited into beautiful Pickwick Lake.

Some spectacular homes along the lake.

Homes nestled in the trees and rocks.

October 18:  Shiloh:  Our home for the next three nights is Grand Harbor Marina.  Grand Harbor Marina is a convenient location from which to visit Shiloh.  We availed ourselves of the marina's courtesy car and drove the 10 miles to the Shiloh National Military Park. The Park is enormous covering 4,000 acres.  The battle on April 6-7, 1862  raged around Shiloh Church and Pittsburg Landing.  The battle was the largest engagement in the Mississippi Valley campaign during the Civil War. Eighty thousand combatants were engaged in the field.  More than 23,000 casualties were sustained.  

On the first day of battle, despite a fierce defense the Union Army under General Grant was pushed back.  The Confederate success was short lived, as Grant received reinforcements and repelled the Confederate Army on the next day (short history-volumes have been written about this battle and its participants).

Union Army grave markers.

The Confederate dead were placed in mass graves.  These are two of several monuments were erected at a later date to honor those Confederate soldiers who died that day.

The National Park Service has done an excellent job in preserving the battlefield artifacts and recording the the battle.  There are 151 monuments, 217 cannon and more than 450 historic tablets that detail the course of the battle.

October 19:  Cold and rainy weather kept us in Grand Harbor for another day.  Time to cook up a storm and make dinners for several nights.

October 20:  An improved weather report helped us make the decision to move on today to Florence, Alabama.

Fellow River Traveller.

 An incentive to stay in the Channel.

October 21:  Leaving Florence:  We woke early in the morning to find ourselves in the middle of a Bass Fishing Tournament surrounded by a 100 boats.

As soon as the early morning fog cleared, the 100 boats declared it safe to venture out in pursuit of the biggest Bass.

We left Florence in the company of 8 other Looper boats.  Our marina was only 2 miles from the Wilson Lock. So we decided to increase our odds of locking through without a long delay by banding together and making it easier on the Lock Master.  The Lock Master asked us to stay together to go through the next Lock as well.