Thursday October 2

Thursday, October 2, we ran hard and found a perfect anchorage just 27 miles south of our next night stop at Aqua Marina.  The Pickwick Lock and Dam was letting out water so our 9 ft anchorage was down to 1.4”below our props in the morning.  The anchor was practically on a sand bar and we had to work back and forth in reverse to free the anchor.  We turned upstream and were only running 5.4 kts at 1200 RPM’s.   We got underway at 6:20  to get into the marina at 10:30.  Weather came in at 12:30 with heavy rains and wind.  Friday, we rented a car and went to the Shiloh National Cemetery and Park.  If you are ever here, this is a must! What a gut check!!!  I just can’t describe the National Park and the total brutality of this battle!  Saturday, we went to Corinth, MS and viewed more Civil War History.  We spent the PM on the docks with other Loopers.  We are off in the AM - 450 miles to Mobile, AL.  We will be off the grid for the next 3 to 4 days!  Slow internet, so you will have to wait on pictures!

Looping!

After the weekend time with friends, we decided to stay one more day at Green Turtle Bay Marina. We took Cody for a long walk, and took the courtesy van to Walmart in Benton, KY about 20 minutes away,   We spent a good deal of the day talking with about 18 other Loopers in the Marina. Folks we had hung on the wall a couple of days earlier came in and we met the boat in the slip next to us. Great folks in a newer 53' Selene Trawler.  We pulled anchor early and caught a beautiful sunrise on Barkley Lake.  One mile or so down the channel we cut across Barkley Channel to Kentucky Lake, which is the Tennessee River. The lake is huge - imagine Lake Pepin 50% wider and 90  + miles long.  Somewhere along the way, I decided to adjust the radar pilot functions!  Oops, I changed the languages to Russian and somehow did a master rest and just like the auto pilot is not working. Oh well, live and learn - $%^#! We turned off the main at mile 88 and into a  channel 1.5 miles long and anchored for the evening.  Our new friends in the Selene pulled in a bit later and we joined them for cocktails on their boat.

6:45 a.m. I took Cody to shore in the Dingy.  We went to start the boat and both batteries did not kick in. We ran generator and the battery charger for a bit and got them fired up !  Houston, we have an issue.  We had planned to have a short run today (Oct 1), but with battery, a storm due to hit at 2 PM Thursday, we ran hard for 90 miles.  We should be at the marine by 11 a.m. and they will have batteries for us on Friday morning.  Such is boating..... Say a little prayer we can get the batteries going in the AM!

Good night!

pics for Sept. 29, 30, amd Oct. 1st

A few days of Chill'n

Saturday morning we pulled anchor at 6:30 - Yes, O dark thirty!  We made our way up the Ohio River then turned up the Cumberland River and through the massive lock at the entrance to Barkley Lake, Kentucky.  This was a lift of over 50 feet.  We pulled into the Marina at Green Turtle Bay for two nights, but think we will stay for 3.  Don and Jane Woods drove down from Nashville Saturday evening and we barbequed steaks, had a few pops and they spent the night. Thanks to them, we have fresh veggies and more beer!  We had a great visit with them.

Sunday, after a load of laundry, Cliff and Deb Wilkins also came down from Nashville bearing gifts of fruit and we went out for lunch.  We can't thank you guys enough for taking the long drive to come see us!  You are true friends.

You will have to see this to believe it, but Brigitte bought a Christmas tree for the boat today.  You will have to wait to see it on a post in December.  Will post in a few days.

Pics for the last few days

Day 9 Friday

   I will try to catch up a bit as the Internet has been spotty, or we got in too late!  We have been making very good time averaging 6.5 knots over water but 11-13 knots over land with the current.  We have had great weather knock on wood!, NO WIND!  Locks, have all have been very timely, except a few with an hour plus wait.  Wed.  we blew an impeller on the Generator so called ahead to a marina near Grafton Illinois and had a Tec put in my spare!  I watched him do the job so next time I will do the work. Took less than an hour!  We spent the night at the Alton Marina, it is just south of where the Illinois River joins the Miss..  We are now on the official Great Loop Route and have started to meet  Loopers in all shapes and sizes. Thursday we spent the night tied on the back wall of a lock off channel on the Kaskaskia River. We met 5 other boat doing the same. This was mile mark 117.  From about mile 156 there are no marinas until you reach the   Tennessee River off the Ohio!  I total distance of 177 miles. Today was a big day for us.   Ever thing was big.  The river is very wide down here,  The barges are big!  5 X 6’s and 4 by 7’s compared to north of St Louis where they are all 3 x5’s.  We have now gone through every lock on the upper Mississippi River 26 of them on this trip.  There are only 3 more looks on the entire Miss. And they are in New Orleans.  We started our run on the Miss. At Mile marker 812 and today me left the Miss. At mile marker 0 and turned up the Ohio which is also very BiG.  We are anchored for the night behind the Olmstead Lock and Dam at mile marker 694.6.  Tomorrow we will make Green Turtle Marine and Resort  On  Barkley Lake Kentucky,  where we can take a few days off and chill!