Pickwick Lake

After leaving the Clifton Marina, we continued down the Tennesee River admiring the riverside homes. I really liked this one. It was a peaceful and interesting ride, there are homes of all shapes and sizes to admire. We experienced the first long wait we've had on the trip at the Pickwick Lock and Dam, which is a huge lock and dam, part of the TVA, not an Army Corp lock, so it generates electricity too. By the time we cleared the lock the sun was going down, so we scooted around the corner to the Pickwick State Park and dropped the hook in a cozy little cove just outside of the marina. The Tennesee State Park System runs the marina and the lodge. The next morning we dinghy'd over to the the lodge dock and went on a "hike", which was about a half mile asphalt trail through the woods. Just enough, but no Superior Hiking Trail, that's for sure. This picture is taken from the deck of the lodge, you can see our little dinghy at the dock and see how big the lake is. Returning to the boat we cooked a big breakfast and ate on the back deck, first time for outdoor dining. The weather this week has been sunny, high 60's with some color left on the trees. Simply perfect. After breakfast we went about 5 miles down Pickwick Lake to another deserted cove and spent the night there. There are lots of huge mansions on the Lake, which I figure must be owned by the country western music stars from Nashville. The next day we went another 5 miles down to the Grand Harbor Marina (www.gograndharbor.com), where we are spending our second night. It's a very "upscale" marina, we've enjoyed walking the docks and looking at the boats. We reunited with Marty and Jerry from Monarch and met new friends Mark and Carol, from Afton, MN on Grateful, their 1978 45' Chris Craft. It was fun to meet someone from MN and we hope to see them again. Both moved on today, while we took the courtesy car to visit Shiloh National Military Park. Alot of the civil war was fought in this part of the country and at Shiloh a 2 day battle killed 24,000. The park is on the site of the battle and a lasting memorial to those who died.

We've also taken a big step in our entertainment options. We bought a Sirius Satellite Radio and got it activated tonight. Now we can listen to those crazy Vikings as they progress to the SuperBowl.

Tomorrow we will start on the TennTom, short for Tennesee Tombigbee Waterway. The TennTom connects the Tennesee River to the Tombigbee River which enters the Gulf in Mobile, AL, but there is 450 miles of river to enjoy before then. The TennTom was man made as a "shortcut" for commercial traffic heading to the Gulf from the Tennesee River. The idea of connecting the two rivers was tossed around for a couple of centuries before it was completed in 1984. Apparently the commercial traffic has never reached the levels hoped for (they still prefer the Mississippi), but recreational boating is flourishing. Most of the loopers are ahead of us and we are getting daily internet updates from them on the conditions downstream. Our plan is to anchor out a couple of nights and then spend a couple days visiting with Steve and Julie, boating friends from MN, who have a winter place along the TennTom.

If you want to know where we are right now, we're where Tennesee, Alabama, and Mississippi meet on the map. The TennTom runs through Mississippi for half of it's length, then crosses over to Alabama. So we're in the south, enjoying lots of southern hospitality and a predicted high of 74 tomorrow. In our fifth week of cruising, we're beyond extended vacation mode and into long term cruiser mode and lovin' it. Sorry not so many pictures this time.