Day 27 - October 10, 2012: On to Chattanooga!

The trip in was most unique as the Tennessee River winds through a deep river gorge sometimes referred to as the Grand Canyon of Tennessee. It gets very narrow and there are mountain peaks of up to 2,000 feet. You know you are going slowly when the Southern Belle asks you to allow a "slow pass."

Rising hillsides

Mountain Ridges

Southern Belle

Anne is very excited to visit Chattanooga and is planning all the great things we will be doing over the next few days. She came here a couple of times in her youth and has a close friend in Hermosa Beach who was raised here.

An aerial view of Chattanooga shows the waterfront and city. We are between the two center bridges on the water front dock called "Bluff Floating Dock" run for the city by MarineMax . This is a prime location as we are close to the downtown, and this weekend the city has a River Rock Festival and there will be rowing contests on the river in front of us.

Aerial view of Chattanooga from the north

Great Laker (1st boat) on the Bluff Dock

On the walking bridge overlooking the river

Day 26, October 9, 2012: Guntersville to Little Cedar Creek

This was a great day of cruising, the kind you dream of when envisioning the Great Loop.

As we entered Guntersville Lake, I noticed that the shores are littered with boat houses! Every home has one and they run from simple boxy structures to elaborate buildings that are architecturally matched to the homes. The water level here must be stable or investing in these wouldn't make sense. No need here for elaborate boat lifts or cradles on rails up the hillside.

Hundreds of boat houses

Simple Structures

More elaborate

Very beautifully done!

Lake Guntersville on the Tennessee River is very wide and serves as an introduction to the Tennessee River Gorge and the Cumberland Plateau. In prehistoric times, the Tennessee didn't flow here. But a massive geological uplift forced the river to change course. This left high mountains and plateaus rich for farming. The Sequatchie Valley is one of the world's two rift valleys and was formed by the earth's surface literally splitting apart. The valley is more than 125 miles long but never more than five miles wide. We entered this area with anticipation.

Rising wooded hills

     

A 1200 foot plateau

The TVA's Widow's Creek power plant and the 1,000 foot stack is one of the tallest structures in the Tennessee Valley region. Sometimes a thing viewed by some as ugly can be quite beautiful.

                                                TVA Widow's Creek Power Plant

The South Pittsburg highway bridge is particularly interesting because it is suspended by an arch. The navigation span is 730 feet which is the largest of any bridge on the Tennessee. Engineers can be very creative.

South Pittsburg highway bridge

We passed through the Nickajack Dam and Lock and found a splendid anchorage tucked in at Cedar Creek. The views were wonderful and we had one of the best salmon dinners ever.  I give thanks and credit to Anne for our healthy meals. Fall colors are beginning to show and we hope to see them emerge in full over the next couple of weeks.

Cedar Creek anchorage on Nickajack Lake

Great end to a great day!

Day 25 - October 8, 2012: Decatur and Guntersville

Continuing up Wheeler Lake, we passed through Decatur. This is one of the larger towns and I expected something grander. It turns out, at least from the water, Decatur is a highly industrialized area. For several miles all we saw were large scale heavy production facilities like refineries, ship yards, manufacturing and grain storage and shipping yards. Oh yes, and there was just one home on the water!

Industry

More industry

Even more industry

Wheeler Lake is largely surrounded by Federal or State protected lands and the shoreline is relatively flat and covered by heavily wooded forests.  Wildlife abounds and we see many migrating birds. We arrived at Guntersville to stay in a marina for the night after two nights on the hook. Laundry is calling.

Remember "Persistent," the baby frog I thought I had left for a new life in the bay? It turns out Persistent had a sibling along for the ride clinging to the hull. This one I named "Clever" since it got into the salon while we were tying up and crawled into a gap between two cabinet doors. Clever will get a new home in this marina tomorrow before we leave. I guess I'm guilty of unintentionally separating a family...

Tomorrow we continue towards Chattanooga.

Day 24 - October 7, 2012: Start of the trip to Chattanooga

We are departing the Great Loop for a side trip up the Tennessee River to Chattanooga and will stop during the return for the much anticipated AGLCA Rendezvous at Wheeler State Park. This side trip is upstream through four locks and four different lakes (all created by the dams), and will cover over 500 miles. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a government owned corporation created in 1933 which built most of the dams in addition to power plants in this valley.

Traveling through Pickwick Lake we reached the Wilson Lock and Dam which is one of the most significant structures on the river. Completed in 1924, the dam is 137 ft high and 4,541 ft long, cost $41 M. The dam and one of the two locks, with a lift of 94 ft, was heralded at that time as the largest in the world and is still rated sixth largest. Every year over 3,700 vessels pass through this lock and today Great Laker was one of them.

Anne is doing her part to keep the stern off the slimy walls, or is she practicing shooting pool?

Approaching the larger lock at Wilson Dam

At the bottom of a 94 ft lift!

At the top 15 minutes later!

Anne doing her part

You depart this lock into Wilson Lake and then 15 miles later the Wheeler Lock takes you up into Wheeler lake. These locks can take from 30 minutes to several hours depending on the amount of traffic. Commercial tows have priority, of course. We were extremely lucky to get through both in an hour each. We have read of boats delayed up to 18 hours!

The anchorage for the night is in Melton Bluff on Wheeler Lake. It is small, well protected from wind and waves and we are the only boat here.

Melton Bluff on Wheeler Lake

This green tree frog jumped aboard a couple of days ago and was camped out on the window casing. I chased him back into the water tonight and discovered he had climbed back up the side of the boat. I guess he has adopted us and wants to come along?

I'll call him "Persistent"

Day 23 - October 6, 2012: Tennessee River to Pickwick Lake

The morning was grey after rain all night and we started early for the Pickwick Lock and Dam. This lock raised us so we could enter Pickwick Lake which is at the intersection of Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. I wonder how the football fans get along in this area.

The scenes on Pickwick Lake are quite an immediate transformation from the simple homes on Kentucky Lake as it has mega million dollar homes perched on high cliffs reminding us of the homes on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in California. Some even had tile roofs and stucco siding.

Pickwick Lock and Dam (49 Ft)

California style mega homes

Our destination was Grand Harbor Marina which will allow us to obtain a loner car and make a short drive up to Savannah, TN, for some Civil War history. Speaking of loner cars, marinas frequently provide these as a service to transient boaters who are in need of supplies, want to go to town or a restaurant or explore the area. As you would expect they are typically old, tired, and well worn. This one looked like an ice cream truck and was decorated with massive decals alerting everyone where we were from. How embarrassing...

Embarrassing loaner car for transient boaters

In Savannah, we visited the Tennessee River Museum and the Cherry Mansion where in 1862 Gen. Ulysses S. Grant located his headquarters during the Civil War. The home, loaned to Grant by a sympathetic supporter, sits on a hill adjacent to the river. The Battle of Shiloh took place near here and we plan to visit this battlefield on our return through this area.

The Cherry Hill Mansion (front)

The Cherry Hill Mansion (rear facing the river)

Day 22 - October 5, 2012: Tennessee River on to Wolf Island Anchorage

Traveling the Tennessee up till now has been scenic but the shores are mostly trees and rock cliffs. Today we encountered numerous homes of all types. They are as varied as you might imagine, and to some extent depend on the location. Along the lower river edges, there is always the concern about the occasional flooding and thus the homes are built up on posts or block foundations that serve not as living space but garages and boat storage. This lower floor can survive water intrusion and protect the upper lever. I can't say much for the architecture of these but they are probably relatively inexpensive and practical. Trailers are also common in these areas.

Homes on high block foundations

Further south as the river became edged with higher slopes and rock formations, the homes are more traditional. What you gain with safety, you loose with immediate access to the water. This leads to some very interesting steep walks and stairs, and boaters find creative ways to still get a boat into the water.

More traditional homes

Creative boat launch ramp

And of course the fabulous estates with Southern architecture and separate boat houses and private ramps. 

More than grand! 

Here we are tucked in behind Wolf Island with two houseboats and another river sunset.

Wolf Island Sunset

Day 21 - October 4, 2012: Tennessee River to Lick Bay

Before moving on to another anticipated anchorage at Lick Bay, we walked the Johnsonville State Historic Park next to Pebble Isle Marina.

On the way I was excited to run across a truck that had just arrived from the east coast transporting a 1986 37 ft Lord Nelson Victory Tug. Why get excited? This is one of only 76 of this length ever built and is a legend among true full displacement tug lovers. Its classic lines, great interior layout and very efficient fuel efficiency make it a classic.

1986 37 ft Lord Nelson Victory Tug

Classic true tug design

The walk through the park where the Johnsonville Battle took place was interesting and got us some needed exercise.

Tennessee River in Distance

A peek through the trees

We are getting quite accustomed to the idea of anchoring out every day or so, and beginning to feel confident in our anchoring skills. Lick Bay is another one we choose for its seclusion, even though the entrance was a bit narrow and depths as always on the river are uncertain. The heron was fishing near the boat and stayed long enough for this shot at dusk.

Lick Bay on the Tennessee River

Heron fishing

Better than watching TV!