While crossing a set of RR tracks near home I see the pictured locomotive parked on a siding not far from the crossing. Do these railroad guys spend that much time away from home that they would have to have such a warning posted on the front of the locomotive or do they just have a warped sense of humor?

12/7/08

It's been pretty quiet here at Columbus Marina. Friday night being the busiest. Five boats came in after dark with the last two arriving after 10 p.m. None stayed too long. They started leaving at 5:20 a.m. Saturday and were all underway by 8 o'clock. That wouldn't work in Pam's world! No boats came in either Saturday or Sunday.

We spent Saturday and Sunday cleaning and getting the boat in shape to sit for a month.

I thought I'd give a little recap of our travels to date:

1303.8 miles travelled

166.4 engine hours

155 generator hours

7.7 mph average

1.1 mpg

35.2 average miles per day travelled

28 locks passed through

1218.6 gallons of fuel purchased

Monday morning we'll pump out. Drain the water system and head home to the cold!

12/2/08 to 12/5/08 Grand Harbor to Columbus, Ms.

You know you're in the South when the commercial playing on the radio ends with the narrator saying "Tell em Pork Chop sent ya". I think I hear banjos in the distance!

Tuesday dawned with sunny skies and 24 degrees. A great boating day!

We travelled with River Gypsy, a 40' Sea Ray Sundancer from Scotsboro, Alabama. Our first lock was the Whitten Lock which dropped us 80'. Quite impressive as you can see by the picture.

We did 2 more locks before completing a nice day of travel arriving at Midway Marina around 3:30 p.m.

One little bit of excitement came as we neared the Rankin Lock. Our third of the day. If you have ever travelled on Tourist with us you know that I scan the channels on the VHF to monitor commercial traffic as well as lock chatter. (Pam says I'm just nosey!) While scanning I picked up a conversation between the Rankin Lock and the Chippewa, a commercial tow who we had just spotted ahead of us much closer to the lock. They were talking about us locking through with the towboat since he was only 85' wide and the chamber is 110'. When a lull in the conversation came I jumped in and spoke for both boats saying that we would be willing to lock with the tow if it was OK with them. It was, and after the Chippewa got secured in the lock River Gypsy went in followed by us. We went past the tow to the front of the chamber where we rafted off of River Gypsy. We had a smooth ride down and exited without incident. Except for just missing being hit by the lock gate opening. It missed our bow by two feet!

While at Midway we went to dinner with the folks from River Gypsy at Pizza Hut. It was kids eat free night...need I say more! We also went to Wally World while in town. Is that living the high life or what!?!

We had hoped to see Gary and Erlene from the Wildcat who used to boat out of Midtown and now keep their boat at Midway. Unfortunately they were back in Illinois but expected back any day.

The time came to continue our travels and after slipping the dock lines and heading South I got a call from Gary on the VHF. They had gotten in late at night and heard me talking to the lock and recognized the name Tourist. We had a short visit before we had to get set up for the lock. Hopefully next time we can see them.

It's days like this that I like being Captain. Cold, windy, and raining. Pam put on her foulies and PFD and went out on deck to loop the bollard. What a trooper! We spent the night at anchor and on Friday we continued on to Columbus. http://www.columbusmarina.com/ Tourist is now safely tucked into a 60' covered slip between a Viking sportfisherman and a vintage Chris Craft Roamer. We'll get her ready to sit for a month and head back to the real cold!

Stay tuned in for a special about two veterans travelling with us...

11/28/08 to 12/1/08 Clfton, Tn. to Grand Harbor Marina (Counce, Tn.)

Friday morning we pulled out of Clifton Marina and continued North on the Tennessee River. Our day presented 2 options for distance to travel. One was to go all the way to Grand Harbor. The other to anchor half way, before Pickwick Lock and Grand Harbor. Since we have time to kill we chose option #2. We anchored outside the channel at Diamond Island which was just downriver from Shiloh Battlefield. We were amazed to see several fish surfacing and then rolling back under water all around the boat. They had yellow bellys and were about 2' long. No swimming tonight!

Saturday we travelled past Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh Battlefield) which was the Union headquarters during the battle and also the landing area for steamboats bringing in Union reinforcements. At 12:15.m. we arrived at Pickwick Lock just behind a towboat. We tied off to the long wall of the lock after the Harley Hall pushed into the 1100' chamber. Harley locked through and they lowered the water back down 55' for our lockage. You can see by the picture the force at which the water comes out of the chamber. It sends out a series of waves a mile back down river. We locked through and continued around the corner to look for the junction of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. We left the Tennessee and entered the Tenn-Tom @ 3 p.m. arriving at Grand Harbor Marina @ 3:05. Grand Harbor is a 1st class Marina with friendly staff and connected to Grand Harbor Resort. You can check them out @ http://www.gograndharbor.com/.

Sunday brought drizzle and temps in the upper 40s'. After a relaxing morning (BS'ing in the Marina with Chip Lucas the harbor master for me and checking e-mails and sleeping in for Pam) we borrowed the courtesy car and headed off to tour Shiloh Battlefield. Just to keep our priorities in order we decided to have lunch before touring. At Chips' suggestion we went to the next road past the entrance to Shiloh and turned right. We followed the road until it ended into a rock parking lot beside the river with an older looking structure set back from the water. We could see no signage but took a leap of faith and went in. What a pleasant surprise! We were at the Catfish Hotel Restaurant. Nothing fancy, but great food and Southern hospitality. You guessed it, we both had catfish. It turns out we got there at the right time because by the time we were finishing the line to get in was stretching out the door. http://www.catfishhotel.com/

With full stomachs we headed back to Shiloh.

The Battle of Shiloh. April 6 & 7th, 1862

Union forces led by Gen. U.S. Grant defeated the Confederate troops led by Gen. Johnston in a bloody 2 day battle that went back and forth with heavy losses for both sides including Gen Johnston who as it turns out was the highest ranking Southern officer to be killed in the Civil War. Because of the heat at the time the dead were buried in mass graves by the Union forces following the battle. The Union dead were later transfered to individual graves in a cemetary on a hill overlooking the Tennessee River near Pittsburg Landing while the Confederates were left in the mass graves which can still be seen today while touring. It gives you an eery feeling to travel over the same ground that claimed so many lives, so long ago.

If touring Shiloh I would reccomend seeing the movie at the visitors center (you have to stop there anyway to pay the $5.00 admission fee) before touring the site. You can get out and walk throughout the tour to see the various memorials and cannons that dot the battlefield areas. Just watch out for the deer! They're everywhere around the grounds.

Monday dawned with a mix of rain & snow and temps in the 30s'. Since we are still in slow motion we decided to spend another night at Grand Harbor where we have internet access and cable tv. Could be a Monday Night Football night!

11/20/08 to 11/27/08 Green Turtle Bay to Clifton, Tn

Yep, we're back in Grand Rivers, Ky. We had to come back to this point to connect with the Tennessee River via a man made canal between the Cumberland and the Tennessee. while at GTB we took the courtesy car to Paducah for lunch and a trip to Wally World. Pam was looking for something to have for Thanksgiving Dinner. I thought KFC would be great but got shot down immediately. KFC is our traditional Christmas day meal at my parents and I thought.....Oh well!

Back to the boat.

We left GTB the next day and travelled a whopping 13.7 miles upstream (upstream is really South)on the Tennessee which at this point is considered as Kentucky Lake. We anchored for the next 2 nights in Duncan Bay, one of the many bays off of Kentucky Lake. While there we saw 3 fishing boats, a deer, ducks, Obama birds, and thought we heard a wolf during the night. More importantly we had the first of I'm sure many Domino tournaments. Results of tourney #1, Pam 17, Rick 250. A rematch is on the horizon!

From Duncan Bay we continued upriver anchoring again at Boswell Landing before continuing on to Pebble Isle Marina at New Johnsonville, Tn. Quimby's states that they have cable tv hookups on the transient dock which attracted us because it was finals night on Dancing With the Stars! They did have tv hook ups but via satelite, not cable. After ripping the built in entertainment center out in an unsuccessful attempt to hook up the sat receiver we gave up and watched a movie. And another thing. We have now entered into the no cell coverage area!

The folks at Pebble Isle were very friendly and provided free coffee and cinnamon rolls each morning. Again Pam insisted I take advantage of this perk!

We left Pebble Isle and travelled 62.7 miles to Clifton, Tn. and the Clifton Marina. It is here that we had Thanksgiving Dinner. A delicious meal of rice with chicken stock, applesauce, and 2 Kentucky miniature turkeys that Pam found back in Paducah. A great meal and just the right amount. I didn't even take a nap after dinner!

While travelling on Kentucky Lake we passed a small red sailboat named BIKA. It turns out the people on board are from Norway and have been trevelling on the boat since 2005. They have been down the coast of Europe to the Azores, acroos the Atlantic to Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Cuba, Bahamas, U.S. East Coast, Erie Canal, Great Lakes, & inland rivers to this point. Oh did I mention the boat is only 26' long! If you Google SV Bika you will find thier web site.

Happy Thanksgiving!! We'll call when back in cell coverage area.

11/13/08 to 11/19/08 Green Turtle Bay to Nashville & Return

After doing laundry, replenishing supplies, and eating at Patty's (famous for their thick pork chops. Pam insisted I eat one!) we moved up the Cumberland River to overnight at Clarksville, Tn. before getting to Nashville on Friday. (Pam now has the Monkees Last Train to Clarksville stuck in her head) We tied up at the Municipal dock right downtown Nashville. Vey convenient. We did city tours, saw the Parthenon, The Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium, barhopped, saw some great musicians trying to hit it big, went into the Widhorse Saloon where they were taping a segment of Gone Country. Gone Country is hosted by John Rich of Big & Rich and is a show that takes celebrities from the past and tries to make them into a country star. Our night in Clarksville was prophetic. Up on the stage right after we got there was Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees! One of Pam's favorite groups from her youth. Needless to say I had to restrain her from rushing the stage! Embarrassment spared. we also went into Coyote Ugly just to see it. We saw it and thats about all I can say about it. Nashville is a fun town with music at all hours of the day and night. One other thing of note while we were in Music City. Saturday while at the boat another boat pulled in behind us. A 63' Burger, the Lady J. After they tied up and got settled the owner explained to us that he had recently purchased the boat from Alan Jackson. We got the nickel tour. What a pretty boat.

After leaving Nashville we spent 2 nights on the hook before returning to GTB.

11/9/08 to 11/12/08 Cape Girardeau to Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, Ky.

Today we continued South on the Mississippi for our last 48.8 miles. We turned North on the Ohio at 11:10 a.m. at Cairo, Il. Cairo is also a very commercial area with barges anchored in mid-stream and tows in both directions. Just before turning off the Mississippi we went under a bridge which had the same work barges anchored around it that were in Dubuque earlier in the year removing the barge that ran into the bridge. They were again doing that same thing here in Cairo.

We continued up the Ohio past the construction site of the Olmstead Lock & Dam which is being built to replace Locks 53 & 52 which are almost worn out from floods and traffic. We cruised through 53 (during the summer when helping to deliver "Sandy Beach" from Forida we went over the wicket dam at 53 due to the higher water level then) and on to 52. I knew we had trouble before talking to the Lockmaster when we passed 4 tows nosed into the bank below the lock. We arrived at 3:30P.M. and finally exited the lock at 6:30. By now it was dark! 52 is just a couple of miles downstream fro Paducah, Ky. and the junction of the Tennessee River. Again, very commercial. With the help of Radar, chartplotter, and spotlight we made our way 10 more miles on th Ohio to anchor behind Towhead Island at the jucntion of the Cumberland River.

The next day shortly after leaving our anchorage we stopped to let 2 deer swim across the channel in front of us. We continued on, through the Barkley Lock (a lift of 57') and into Green Turtle Bay marina for the next 3 nights.

11/27/08

Since we got a late start doing this blog stuff I thought I'd go back in time to when this adventure started and bring it up to date. We cast off the lines at 8:40 a.m. on 11/1/08 and headed South. After a stop in Sabula for fuel at Island City Harbor we continued down river. A slight wait at Lock 13 and a 20 minute wait at the Clinton RR bridge due to mechanical problems with the bridge (normal) allowed us just enough time to get into the LeClaire canal to anchor for the night. 1st day 2 locks, 2 RR bridges and 85 miles.

The next 7 days saw good weather and normal river travel with the usual waits at locks. Along the way we saw several things of interest. While passing Muscatine we noticed the excursion boat Adiamo which is normally spotted in Stillwater, Mn. At lock 24 we locked through with the Pathfinder which is a Corps of Engineers bouy tender. We were told to position behind him in the lock and when it was time to depart he would hold position while we exited the chamber. Only problem was that he didn't get the memo and kicked it in gear just as we were passing by his stern. I don't think he even bothered looking to see if all was clear. We survived and passed him shortly thereafter.

On Friday the 7th we passed through St.Louis. Very commercial with barges everywhere. Our speed went from 9.4 mph to 13.9 mph once we cleard through lock 27. It's nice going downstream! Of course I took a picture of the Arch which I will try to post. That night was spent at Hoppies in Kimswick, Mo. Hoppies is the last fuel stop until Kentucky Lake, a distance of roughly 250 miles. It was a rough night tied to the barges that constitute Hoppies since they are directly on the channel.

The day we left Hoppies we passed the tow Sally Archer pushing 42 barges against the current. Nightfall found us anchored off the chanel below Cape Girardeau, Mo. in the Little River Diversion Canal

Monday, November 24, 2008

Here we are in Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville TN. After being at anchor for three nights in two locations, we decided to come into a marina, so we could watch television.

11/22/08

Currently laying at anchor in Duncan Bay, Kentucky Lake, Tennesse River. Pam has kept a posting via e-mail up to now. To date we have covered just over 1000 miles from East Dubuque to here including our side trip up the Cumberland River to Nashville last week-end. As you can imagine boat traffic is almost non-existant at this time of year. Seems we're about 2 to 3 weeks behind the southern migration of northern boats. Our plan is to arrive in Columbus, Ms. in another 2 weeks where we will leave Tourist for a month to come home for the holidays. As we learn how to do this blog stuff we will try to keep it updated as we float along.