Thursday June 22, 2017 -- RAIN, RAIN, RAIN ! !

Starting last night and going all day today, the remnants of TS Cindy brought a steady rain to Chattanooga. Thankfully though, we didn't get any damaging weather this far North, and it looks like the bulk of the rain will be over in time for us to begin our return trip to Guntersville in the morning as planned.

Last week, when I checked on tickets for the aquarium, I found that Glenda and I could buy a one year membership that's good for unlimited visits for us and any five children, for a full year. The amazing thing was that the membership was less than we would spend on two visits with two grandchildren each time. There are also discounts for the iMax movies, special tours, etc. that come with a membersip. (It's also fully tax deductible!) 

The aquarium was amazing! We went to the River Journey building first, and started at the Seahorse Exibit. I could have stayed right there for hours. The complexity of God's work in the creation of these animals is mind-boggling. They are such a combination of beauty, delicate features, magical appearance and unimaginable design. 

Before we could explore the rest of the River Journey building, an escalator malfunction forced us to move to the main Ocean Journey building while repairs were done. Our first stop there was the penguin exhibit. We learned that these chubby little guys in tuxedos, who don't really look like they should be able to swim, are FANTASTIC swimmers. In fact, they can swim 4 times faster than humans!

All of the exhibits at the aquarium are great, but the Seahorses, Butterflies, and various levels of the River Journey were my favorites. At the River Journey (which we returned to after lunch) you take a LONG escalator ride to the top floor, which opens up to let you walk through the forest of the Appalachain Mountains, where the water flow to the oceans begins. As you descend down sloping walkways, you follow the path of water from the mountains to the rivers, lakes, deltas and estuaries, while looking at all the fish and animals that inhabit that part of the water's journey.

The aquarium visit was planned to keep the children entertained for our full day in Chattanooga, and while I know they enjoyed it too, I think maybe I enjoyed it more than they did!  I could kick myself for not taking the good camera so I could give you a better idea of what we saw, but since it was raining this morning, I left it on the boat. But, with a season pass and 11 grandchildren, I'm sure we will be back!

Assuming the weather is OK tomorrow, we will head back through the Gorge to Nickajack dam sometime before noon. We will probably stay at the TVA pier again, just North of the dam at the TVA campground there. (On an earlier post, I think I mistakenly referred to it as a Corps of Engineers campground). 

Hopefully the eagles will cooperate for our return trip through the mountains.😉

Glenda says:

Wet! Wet! Wet!  I woke up early this morning to the sound of rain.  The aquarium didnt open until 10 so I fixed me some coffee and let everybody else sleep.  Once everyone was ready we collected our umbrellas and walked the half of block or so to the aquarium.  We especially enjoyed the butterfly exhibit.

Dani tried for a long time to get a butterfly to land on her finger. Just as she was about to give up,..... this happened!

These butterflies were BRIGHT blue on the top of thier wings. Thier colors suprised your when theyopened thier wings!

Dani wanted to experience it all.

 

Stingray petting area.

We enjoyed the morning.  Then ate lunch at Pucketts, just a short walk from the aquarium.  I was beginning to feel a little soggy but not too bad.  We went back to the aquarium after lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon.  Surprisingly we got out of the gift shop without spending any money.  Just took a quick photo op.

We came back to the boat to rest a little but the rain began to slow and finally stopped.  We decided to make the mile walk to publix and get supplies for the trip back to Guntersville.  Of course when we came out it was raining.  So it was a soggy walk back.  Just another one of those little adventures.  

Since they were already wet Tom and Dakota emptied the dinghy.

Dani says:

I changed to the bottom bunk and it helped me sleep better because there was no window.  I was excited to go to the aquarium.  I really liked the touch pools.  I touched a snake and it felt really rough not like a regular snake.  I liked the butterflies but it felt weird when it was on my head.  At pucketts I had chicken tenders and French fries.  I ate all my lunch and part of Dakota's fries.  I was hungry!  I had fun splashing in puddles when we walked over to publix.  On the way back my foot started hurting so it wasnt as much fun.  GG said it was 2 mile round trip.  Now I'm tired.  

Getting close inside a bubble in one of the fish tanks.

Dani in the shark cage.

Dakota says:

Well thankfully we didn't have to wake up at a certain time today except to go to the aquarium which was AMAZING. The whole experience was awesome but the thing that stood out the most to me was the turtle exhibit. Turtles are so cool and how they used to be biger than my arms legth and a half. And how there are so many different types of turtles and tortisises. 

Desribed as a "Masterpiece of living architecture", yet some would say they were formed by a series of random mistakes (??)  God's work is evident everywhere!

Also the butterfly exhibit was super cool because there were so many of them and some would even land on my hand. As we were walking one landed on a guys head and he didn't notice untill they were leaving. There were so many things to enjoy there but before we went to see the otters at the other building we stopped for lunch at pucketts and i got a burger which for some reason was the best burger ive eaten in a while (exept for when papa makes burgers). Sadly we have to leave tomorrow but there is still time for another adventure. Untill tomorrow.

Wednesday June 21, 2017. Nickajack to Chattanooga.

Here is the link to our track for today:

http://tinyurl.com/y97fcfpc

We covered about 39 miles in a little over 6 hours today. 

Last night was quiet at the TVA pier, with only a couple of fishing boats arriving at the ramp after dark, and only a couple more that launched just before daylight. The weather was cool and we all slept pretty well.

The next 40 miles would take us through some of the most georgous scenery anywhere. The "Gorge", also known as the Grand Canyon of the East, winds between Racoon Mt., Signal Mt., and Lookout Mt. before ending in downtown Chattanooga. 

We threw off the lines at 6:15 this morning, after Glenda took a picture of the doe deer wading in the water across the slough from us.

A short distance upriver we passed the old Hales Bar dam and power plant. This was the first dam to be built across the Tennessee River, but after years of expensive maintenance casts due to leaks in the foundation, it was replaced by the Nickajack Lock and Dam. At the old Hales Bar site, there is now a marina which is home to the annual "Gathering" meeting of amateur boat builders on the third weekend of September.

The old Hales Bar Power Plant.

As we passed Oatley Island, I spotted something black and white in the trees. Four years ago we got some great photos of two adult eagles and three juveniles at thier nest on this small island, and I was excited about seeing them here again. Sadly, it turned out to be an osprey - not the eagle I'd hoped for. In fact, we did not see a single eagle all day. I believe this is he first trip I've made through the Gorge without seeing one. We did however, see lots of ospreys and of course the beautiful mountans!

We saw lots of kayakers, paddleboarders, and families out fishing.l

Racoon Mt. in sight!

Racoon Mt. has a 528 acre manmade reservoir on top of it, that is used to produce power by the TVA during times of high demand. The lake's dam is 230 feet tall!

The Racoon Mt. Resovoir overflow valve (to the right) dumps into the river at the base of the mountain. Signal Mt. is on the left.

Lookout Mt. comes into view as we approach Chattanooga.

Riverboat out for a short lunchtime tour. 

Our dock is just ahead, between the bridges.

Everyone helps at docking time! The girls have learned a lot about boating in two short days!

From the Bluff Dock to street level on the north side, you climb 142 steps!

Lots of interesting art work to see at the riverfront.

From the Walnut Street bridge, with Genesis in the background. 

A 10 year old on a carousel:

A14 year old on a carousel:

After crossing the river on the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge, the girls cooled off at the splash park.

Part of the amphibious vehicle fleet of tour boat/trucks.

Glenda says:

Got up bright amd early this morning and was rewarded with seeing a  large doe stepping carefully in the water near the bank.  She was beautiful.  Dakota and I sat out front most of the morning talking about how beautiful heaven must be since there is still so much beauty in our fallen world.  We also talked about how fun it would be to live in a hobbit house but that's another story.  The mountains in this area are amazing.  I got my 10,000 steps in today even though I spent the first half of the day riding on the boat.  We tied up the boat after arriving in Chattanooga and headed to Moes bbq.  It was delicious but just between us...the girls and I are tired of bbq.  Chattanooga is a beautiful city with lots to do.  The girls enjoyed splasing a little at the splash pad in the city park.  Tomorrow they will probably get wetter since everywhere we go we will have to walk in the rain.  

Dani says:

I couldn't quite get up this morning so I fell asleep in the pilot house. When I did finally did get up I saw a rock that kinda looked like the turtle from "The Neverending Story". When we were about to turn in to the dock I saw a DUCK BOAT! It was so cool I was so surprised when I saw it go out of the water! While we were walking around we saw the stairs from a picture of my sister and cousin sitting on them. I was very disappointed when I saw that the water from it in the picture was not there. But the day got better,we went to the moon pie factory where I found out that there was a strawberry moon pie! After that I played in a little stream at the Tennessee aquarium. Before we headed back to the boat we walked across the bridge to the park where we rode on the carousel. We did that before we went to the fountains where animal statues squirted water out at us. After that we went back to the boat and ate a pbj for dinner. For dessert I had a strawberry moon pie that my Papa bought for me.

And of course we had to make a stop at the Moon Pie Store!

Dakota says:

 Well today was a slow day to start with. Had breakfast and watched some birds. At about lunch time we still weren't at Chattanooga so we ate something small. Once we arived we turned on the air conditioning and went to find some lunch. Usually there are stairs that have water running down them but for some reason there was no water.  Dani was disappointed. After lunch at once again moes bbq, we walked to the moon pie store and bought some stuff. Then we came back and changed clothes to go play in the animal fountains. After that we headed back and i took another nap and I'm pretty sure I'm still half asleep.  Having a wonderful time wish you were here.   Untill tomorrow.  

Tuesday June 20, 2017 - Headed to Chattanooga

Yesterday we drove to Guntersville with our grand-daughters Dakota and Dani, and loaded the boat for a trip to Chattanooga.

The girl's brother, Dallas, had helped me change the oil in Genesis last Saturday in preperation for this trip.

Here is the link to our track for today:

            

http://tinyurl.com/ycpvp3t2

We pulled away from the Guntersville Marina at 6:35 this morning. Our goal  for the day was to make it through the lock at Nickajack, about 67 miles upsream, then anchor out a few miles up from the lock.

There were lots of fishers out this morning.

It was a cool morning, and we made good time for most of the day. There were lots of fishermen out this morning, but otherwise we almost had the river to ourselves. We passed only one tow boat with barges, and one sport fisher boat, all day long. The weather could not have been any better!

Dakota got some good shots with her new camera, such as these ospreys.

"Wasington" was the only tow we passed all day!  He blew his horn for Dani.

The Widow Creek Steam Plant.

Glenda took the wheel and gave Dani and I some time to enjoy the weather from the deck.

During the last few hours before we got to Nickajack the current increased and slowed our speed from the 7+ mph we'd been doing to just under 6. I increased the engine speed a little and got back to about 6.3, which kept us on our original goal of making it to Nickajack by 4:30 central time. (We are apparently right on the eastern-central time zone border - our cell phone are conflicted over it 😀.

We may have set a personal record for eagle sightings in a day - NINE!  There were a couple more that we couldn't get close enough to to identify for sure.

Here are the ladies waving goodbye to Alabama and hello to Tennessee as we crossed the border.

The girls helped me get the fenders and lines ready for our trip of 57 feet straight up in the Nickajack lock.

Entering Nickajack lock.

Glenda says:

Yea! Back on the water.   This time traveling with almost 11 Dani and almost 15 Dakota.  After a comfortable night with AC at the marina, we got away about 6:30.  Dani chattered like a magpie.  It is so fun to share the joy of a child.  The weather has been perfect. Dani helped with lunch and washed all the dishes.  She is embracing every part of boating life.  We watched for animals and enjoyed the journey.  Dani played in the water at corp of engineers campground where we stopped for the night.   Her older sister was not up for the fun.  They did convince me to let them try out the dinghy.  By God's grace alone we made it back to the boat.  No just kidding, they both did really well.  So thankful to be able spend time with them.

Glenda and the girls took a legthy dinghy ride from the dock.

Sunset tonight above Nickajack dam.

Dani says:

Lunch today was AWESOME! We had fried rice with chicken and cantaloupe. For dessert GG,Papa,and I had strawberry cake that I had made for Father's Day,Dakota had strawberries.

Weather today has been AMAZING! And I hope that it will be like this tomorrow.  I helped papa keep the boat from hitting the sides while we were in the lock.  I was not scared at all except when the horn blew telling us we could enter the lock.  I played in the water when we stopped and collected little clams.  

Dakota says:

Unlike everyone else my day started at 5:15am because i like to take showers in the morning, but papa said that he would not wait for me if I took to lond at the marina shower. Luckaly I made it and started the day cleen. The morning was a little chilly, but we stayed on the top deck for most of the morning. For breakfast Dani, papa, and I had cereal and gg had a gronola bar. Aperently mine was the only one that had a bug in it. Ya gross, anyway after that intook some good pictures of osprey and even egales. I took a pretty good nap after that and didnt wake up untill dani said it was time for lunch which was chicken and rice. After lunch I took some more pictures and practiced with my camera I got for Christmas (thx mom). Then like a typical teenager I took another nap. Soon we made it to the lock which was awesome. There were herons fishing in the lock while i helped gg with the dinghy to make sure it didnt hit the side. Once we left the lock we stoped at a campground for the night. Dani and gg went to swim and me and papa had to find a charger for his camera. Dinner was sandwiches and chips which i was looking forward to all day. Cant wait for tomorrow and the rest of the week! Untill tomorrow.

Dani says:

In relate to the bug in cereal I had a bug in mine too.

Monday, May 29, 2017

Here is the link for our track today, minus the first 3 miles, as I forgot to turn the app on:

            http://tinyurl.com/ycagrmeq

There was lots of activity at Ingalls Landing well into the night last night!

This was day 7 of our trip, and when we left the dock this morning there were only two unknowns that could affect our schedule. One was the Norfork Southern Railroad lift bridge just a mile away and the other was the Guntersville lock. If we didn't have big delays at those two spots, we should make the 55 miles to Guntersville by early afternoon.

After a short wait for the train to pass, the bridge was raised for us to pass under.

The wait at the RR bridge was only about 15 minutes as a southbound train crossed over. Then the bridge lifted about 40 feet and we followed a towboat under. After we cleared Decatur, the scenery turned rural and beautiful again. The super industrial sites were gone, and we began to see colorful rock ledges and walls on the riverbanks, and hills ahead upriver. By the time we got around Huntsville the hills had grown into mountains, and the rock ledges had become sheer rock cliffs.

First we saw hills ......

Then mountains .....

And finally we cruised at the foot of the mountains !

At the Guntersville lock our timing was perfect. I called them when we were about 15 minutes away and the operator said he was just about to lock up another boat, and he would wait on me. As I got to the lock wall, the gates opened and we followed a pontoon boat in. About 20 minutes later we were out of the lock and had only 10 miles between us and our destination at the Guntersville City dock.

A threatening storm cloud diverted my attention and I completly forgot to look for the famous bat cave just above the lock. It's home to thousands of bats that can be seen leaving every evening. We saw it several years ago from our little tugboat, and I had been looking forward to seeing it again.

Thankfully, this one passed north of us.

The storm passed us to the north, and we made it to our dockage about 4:00. As we were eating supper, a full rainbow appeared. I joined the other couple dozen people here at the dock in taking pictres until it slowly faded away.

It was quite an ending for our last 7 days on the water!

Glenda says:

We had a nice relatively quiet night at Decatur in Ingalls harbor.  Sometime in the middle of the night a boat came by playing loud music.  Apparently a lot of people do night fishing!  Today was our last day of travel.  The weather cooperated and the views were amazing.  God's greatness is so apparent in the massive cliffs and tree covered mountains we went through today.

God made all this yet He still cares about me!  Today was a good day.  We are settled in at the Guntersville city dock for the night.  I fixed chicken and rice for dinner.  As we were eating I heard a childs excited voice.  I looked out and there in the sky just in case I had some how missed it was the oldest symbol of of Gods grace and mercy, a rainbow!

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Two important notes:

1. The "comments" problem has hopefully been fixed so you can leave a comment without having to register or log in. If you have a problem, let us know, and PLEASE leave comments -we love to read them!

2. I think I finally figured a way to include our daily track on the blog. Click on this link or cut and paste it into your browser and it will take you to our Navionics track record for today. Let me know how it works.

                      http://tinyurl.com/y8j7uxwv

Now for today's post .....

I didn't get much sleep last night, due to the storms that rolled over us, but we managed to get away a little after 8:00, after the radar showed that the last few storms were falling apart.

On the way to Wheeler lock, the scenery is fantastic.

Kayaker enjoying Memorial Day Weekend.

It was a two hour drive to Wheeler Lock and Dam, and then an almost two hour wait before the lock could take us up. After a stop at Wheeler State Park, Glenda drove until we were close to Decatur. The area coming in to Decatur was packed with towboats, barge loading facilities, and other heavy industry  sites. 

Tow boat pushing FIFTEEN BARGES near Decatur!

Lots of heavy industry here.

Only 43 miles today, but with a lack of sleep, a delay at the lock and a stop for lunch and water at the State Park, it feels like a full day. The City dock at Decatur is a great place to spend to night - modern, clean floating docks, plenty of room, and an ice machine!

Genesis at Decatur. Her little diesel hasn't missed a beat in six days.

Tomorrow we should have an easy run of 65 miles or so to Guntersville, assuming we can get under the Southern RR lift bridge and through one lock without too much delay.

Glenda says:

I left off last night with us being safely tucked into a beautiful little cove.  It is a good thing we were! About midnight the captain awakened me with a gruff  "its about to get bad."  I got up and joined him in the pilot house.  He readjusted the anchor and we waited for the 50 mile an hour winds.  The captain had done everthing just right.  There was alot of thunder and lightening and rain but the wind really wasn't too bad.  In the boat on the water you just feel a little close to all the elements.  But God is good and Tom is careful so it was just another storm.

  We cleaned up some water and of course had to bail out the dinghy again. 

Tom said he could have taken a bath in there but it was a little cold.  I have about figured out the art of making coffee in my stove top perculator and it is finally tasting like coffee instead of hot water.  With coffee in hand and the weather looking clear we left achorage about 8:15.  From the time we arrived at the lock to tying up in the lock was almost exactly 2 hours.  I am learning patience.

  Joe wheeler state park was just a few more miles down the river and it was lunchtime so we decided to stop.  They had their Sunday brunch, while it was not as good as the shrimp and grits I had at harvey's it was better than package tuna or another turkey wrap.  I had prime rib and veggies with sweet tea yum yum! We filled up the water tanks ( I forgot to tell you we ran out of water in the middle of my shower last night.😮) It was almost 2 by the time we left joe wheeler.  After 4 more hours of travel through fishermen, boaters and industrial areas we are now tied up at the free dock in Decatur.  Its very busy with local boaters putting boats in and out but hopefully our evening will be pleasnt.

I piloted a lot today and let the captain rest.  He didnt sleep much last night.