Kentucky Lake Bound

 Heading North to get South

Just so you know that not every single day is sunny, our last day in Nashville started out cloudy and eventually progressed to a light sprinkle. Fortunately not a deal breaker. On Monday morning we set out for Clarksville some 58 miles down river and involved passing thru the Cheatum lock again. Funny thing about these rivers.

To get to Nashville on the Cumberland you actually are traveling south and a bit east and upstream. River lingo you are traveling North. Don’t get it but that’s the way it is. When communicating with the Tows I stuck to up bound and down bound. That seemed to keep everybody on the same page. Monday turned out to be a pretty long day as it took us about 2 hours to get thru the lock which made for the arrival at Clarksville at 4:30 pm. We were also aware that the temps overnight were going to drop into the low 30’s. 

When we woke up on Tuesday it was quite cold with a nice 5 mph breeze. I had zipped in the rear enclosure the day before but still needed gloves to hold onto that cold stainless wheel . To our favor it was sunny and the wind was on our more most of the day. We had a planned 50 mile cruise to Bumpus Mills where we anchored in Saline Creek. By about 9 am it was actually fairly warm on the flybridge which made for a nice cruise.

We traveled with our 75 year old friends on Call Me Curly. I can only hope to be as sharp and full of energy as they are when we get that age. When we arrived to the creek my first attempt at the entrance had to be aboarted due to lack of water. As we back off to try again a crackly voice came across the radio, “Cruiser trying to enter Saline Creek come in tight on the green, you should find plenty of water.” Well we did just that and in we went. We found a nice spot and dropped the anchor for the night.

We got another call on the radio and this time it was our friends. They invited us over for dinner and a game of cards. We played a card game called Wizard which was a whole lot of fun. We hopped into our dinghy and Uberdinged back to the boat. 

On Wednesday morning we headed out around 8 am for the next 50 mile leg to Pisgah Bay situated just off Kentucky Lake.

The Tennessee river actually runs thru Kentucky lake all the way to Pickwick dam where we will pick up the Tom-Big-Be. The cruise was not as chilly as the past two days so it was more enjoyable. When we finally entered the canal we would now be heading south for warmer climes. We anchored up about 3:30 pm and got settled for the night or so we thought. I then got a text from Razors Edge which are some folks we have been cruising with on and off. They said they were going to meet us at the anchorage and raft up. Before they arrived I went in the dinghy and explored an old rock quarry. The rock faces were covered in graffiti in kind of a good way. Ashore I found a great trail that went through the woods. It was like a big park with little under brush. When Razors Edge arrived Sue made a great dinner for everybody. After dinner we went over to their boat to watch a funny movie called TED. We laughed our butts off. The moonless night sky was just spectacular. We were quite a ways from any populated area which made for great star gazing. It also made for some serious darkness aboard. The type when you hold your hand up you don’t even know where to look for your hand. 

Next Chapter Goes Honky Tonk

 Side Trip to Nashville

The side trip to Nashville is about 155 miles which meant three travel days for us plus one lock. We wanted to break the trip up into two long days and one short day so we would be in Nashville early Friday. So leaving late on Wednesday meant we would be pushing daylight. We had 70 miles to cover to get to our planned anchorage at a place called the Steam Plant.

We also knew we would have a head current which would slow our forward progress. Fortunately the current was pretty mild so we were able to average 8 mph. And as things would have it we had rain and lightning move in on us for part of the cruise.  We had a bit of luck as the skies cleared near sunset which gave us the much needed extra light.

We dropped the anchor right at 6:20 pm which was the official sunset time for the day. Sue made a great dinner and we called it a day. 

Thursday we weighed anchor at 7:30am and began a very chilly morning cruise to our planned stop at Harpeth Shoals Marina 56 miles up river. The temps rebounded nicely giving us a comfortable sunny day to cruise the beautiful Cumberland river.

The master was at work painting the trees with the wonderful fall colors. The landscape was that of rolling hills right up to the water’s edge. There were many sections that were quite remote and gave us the feeling that we were truly in the heart of Tennessee. We connected with couple Looping from Georgian Bay aboard Call Me Curly. We met them at the lock and went thru together.

We arrived at the Marina about 3:30pm and headed for our slip. As I was backing the boat in I heard this awful metal scraping noise. I yelled to Sue, “What was that?” She yelled back, “I don’t know.” All engines stop! So we were backing into a covered slip, first time by the way. Well I forgot to lower the antennas. Fortunately no harm done due to the flexibility of the antennas.

So I lowered them and finished backing so we could secured Next Chapter in her slip. I managed to sneak in a run and a bike ride to explore the very small town near the Marina. We shared docktales and dinner with the crew of Call Me Curly and closed the night with a bit of TV. 

Friday morning was again very cool with temps in the low 40’s but it was very sunny. Now when you combine cold temps with warm water and little wind you have the perfect receipt for river fog. Well that’s exactly what we had. Fortunately as the sun came up it started to burn it off. We planned to pull off at 8am but delayed till 8:30. Even then we ran into some fog that caused me to spin up the radar.

By 9am we were in the clear. With only 30 miles to Nashville we had a great short cruise. The Cumberland river gets very torturous the closer you get to Nashville. Reportedly there are many country music stars homes along the banks. We reached the municipal dock at 12:30 pm and were ready to hit the ground running. The Municipal dock is right next to Titans Stadium and directly across the river from the end of Broadway.

There is a nice pedestrian bridge that connects the two sides of the river. From the vantage of the boat we can see the giant guitar at Hard Rock Cafe spinning. We can also hear the blaring of the endless live music pouring from every bar, honky tonk and rooftop. Our first mission, BBQ. So we headed of to Peg Leg Porker, an award winning BBQ joint in the Gultch district. It did not disappoint.

Then it was off to the mash pit of Broadway. If you have never been to Nashville and like country music you are missing quite a spectacle. Broadway is lined with endless multi story bars and restaurants all with live music. We wandered into Whiskey Bent and listened to these two young girls sing their hearts out. The one played the violin and treated the crowd to the best version of Devil Went Down to Georgia that was better than the original.

The other girl sang Independence Day by Tina McBride. They brought the house down. We made our way back to the boat and joined our Looper friends for a planned night to at  the Grand Ole Opry House for the Friday night live show. It was awesome. The Opry House is where country stars are born. Tricia Yearwood opened the show followed by a number of other artist including the Oak Ridge Boys.

Tricia closed the show with a surprise appearance from none other that Garth Brooks. WOW what an experience. We spent the rest of our three days sightseeing, listening to great musicians and exploring the many eating and drinking establishments. The variety is unmatched. There is one thing for sure and that is there is no shortage of incredible talent and in this case musical.

What is the secret sauce that propels one to stardom and the many others to lifetime pursuit of struggle and bare survival. Is it luck? Is it timing? Is it that special internal star quality? I certainly did not find the answer from our time in Nashville but sure enjoyed those truly talented artist trying to get that major break and stand in the “Circle” at the Grand Ole Opry House where country stars are born.

It’s all about a Terapin

 Green Turtle Bay

The cruise on Saturday was a sunny 29 mile windy trip on the Cumberland river that also involved transiting the Barkley lock just short of our destination. It was a pretty chilly trip even tough the the sun was out and the temps were in 60s. We had a wind on the nose which cooled it off quite a bit. Along the way we passed a couple of tows and enjoyed some beautiful scenery.

We arrived at Green Turtle Bay (GTB) about 3:30 pm and were greeted by some locals that had quite the outdoor setup on the dock complete with fridge, furniture, grill, etc… We could not even get the boat settled and they were putting beers in our hands. It progressed to homemade chili and then shots. We had a hard time getting away. GTB is a resort in and of itself.

It is complete with a yacht club restaurant, a breakfast place and the Thirsty Turtle bar. It is situated in an area called the land between the lakes. It is another favorite Looper stop. The area is flanked by Kentucky lake to the west and Barkley lake to the east. The adjoining town is called Grand Rivers that happened to have their fall festival going on that weekend complete with music and parade.

The town is anchored by a place called Patties 1880 Settlement. It is two restaurants, shops, hotel, mini golf, and of course ice cream. In the main restaurant the staff dress in period costumes. It draws over 350,000 people a year. The town itself has a population of only 360 people. Needless to say if the place closed down the town would go with it. Sue and I biked around the area taking in the sights.

I also went on a great hike that hit both lakes. Even stumbled across a couple of Armadillos. Our plan was to stay three nights and then begin our trip to Nashville on Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning we readied the boat to leave and started the port engine then the starboard engine. 15 seconds later the starboard engine shut down. Ut Oh! The god thing about Diesel engines is that they are fairly simple in their mechanics. The rule of thumb is they need fuel, compression, and air to operate. Or better put, “suck, squeeze, bang, blow.”  Well first thought was a fuel problem but we had just filled up the day before. After a bit of hunting I found the fuel filter on the engine had air in it. Bad thing for Diesel engines. It’s too bad they wont run on air but that’s just the way it is. Well after an entire day of trying to figure out why that was happening I isolated it to a loose fitting in the fuel line. So I tightened it and after bleeding all the air out of the system the engine started and ran for over 20 minutes. Yeeee Hawwww. And just in time to make Docktails. So we went down and celebrated the repair with our fellow Loopers. We got back to the boat to have dinner.

I wanted to make sure everything was working so I started the engine again. 15 seconds later it shut down. Shit! Boating is a lifestyle of extreme highs and incredible lows. Intestinal fortitude is a prerequisite to doing the cruising lifestyle. Let me tell you it was everything I had not to lose it. So once again this would be a really great spot for a cliff hangar but I wont this time. The next morning I was at it at 6am.

What could it be? So I took the fitting apart again and used some thread sealant on it which was the magic bullet. We were off by 10am bound for Music City or better known as NashVagas. 

                                                       GTB

Hike at Land Between the Lakes

                                                                    Lighted walkway on the dock at GTB

Sunrise at GTB

                                                Cumberland River 

Cumberland River

                                         Dredge Operation. The Army Corp has been closing sections of the rivers to dredge them due to the severe low water conditions

Last Day on the Huck Fin Waterway

 Olmsted Lock

Our ride on Thursday would be a long one with most of it on a following current. This would be our last day on the mighty Mississippi. About 15 miles from our final destination at the lock we would turn up the Ohio river and start the fight against the current. It started out about 2 miles per hour causing us to only make forward progress at 6 mph. That is pretty slow even for us. After a couple of miles the current let up so we were able to make a bit better headway. I must admit I was a little sad to leave the Mississippi. I found it quite peaceful. Makes you ponder how a young boy and his buddy made it down the river in nothing more than a raft even if it was fiction! I would bet back in the day it had been done. 

The cruise was quite beautiful along wide sand banks and very smooth water. It was another totally sunny day. It has been so long since we have seen clouds let alone rain we started to prepare ourselves for the payback when  Mother Nature realizes she has doled out too picture perfect days to us. Oh well we enjoy it while we got it. The anchorage at Olmsted lock was quite nice except for the roll. When we got there the current held us in a very tight pattern. However later in the night for some reason we were getting hit on the side of the boat by these rollers. One such roller actually woke me out of bed at midnight as I found myself hanging onto the bed. Fortunately that was the worst of it. So back to sleep. 

Peduca

In the morning on Friday we left at 7:30 am to hit the lock and make our way to Peduca which was 30 miles up the Ohio river. The river lingo is when going against the current it is up river. Then you have the right and left ascending banks. I know so much lingo. It’s almost like another language. We were looking forward to getting back to civilization and enjoy a dinner ashore.

We arrived nice and early sometime around noon. But unfortunately we did not get off the docks until after 3pm. There was a snafoo with the boats they had scheduled leaving one of the boats we had traveled with without a space to dock. After circling around for over an hour I managed to broker a deal with the city employees to let him stay on the fuel dock. Greg on “This is It” was quite grateful he got in.

Peduca is in Kentucky and is named after a famous Indian chief from the Chickasaw tribe. There is a lot to do in Peduca. They have a flood wall that protects the city from extreme rises in the river. On the inside of the wall they have painted beautiful scenes of local history. They actually stretch two blocks. Peduca also has the National Quilt Museum.

Yes, I reluctantly went with Sue but I am here to tell you it was incredible. These are not your grandmother’s old quilts. These things are works of art. On Broadway there is numerous higher end shops and restaurants. The architecture of the buildings is really quite nice. That evening we met up with a Looper couple we had not seen since the Erie Canal. We went to dinner at a local Cajun restaurant and later to a brewery to listen to some music.

The food was quite exceptional. The temps dropped quite a bit that night making for a chilly evening on the boat. Nothing an extra blanket couldn’t take care of. We really enjoyed the town and actually wished we stayed another day but we were booked the next day at Green Turtle Marina which is a highly desirable place and very hard to get into so off we went. 

                                                                         Yes it really is a quilt

Quilt

Quilt

Quilt

                                               Yep that is how dry it is along the rivers