Clarksville, TN to Bumpis Mills, TN

Date             October 9, 2011

Day               103

Departure      Clarksville, TN Town Dock  8:00 am
Arrival           Bumpis Mills Marina-Bumpis Mills, TN 1:50 pm

Miles                48.6    

Cumulative   2442.4

Up at 6:30 am, just a light mist on the river today.  We were able to get underway a bit earlier than we have been and continued back down the Cumberland River, making our way to the Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River.  We decided to stop at Bumpis Mills Marina and tried to call them on the cellphone-no cell phone service.  The nearest town is 18 miles away!  Tried to reach them on the VHF, no answer.  We slowly headed up  the marked channel and the marina came into view.  The marina is more of a fish camp than a "marina".  The guide book states they can accommodate two or three boats up to 75 feet in length at various locations within the marina.  Good thing we were the only boat coming in and not traveling with the three other loopers we had been traveling with!  An older man and women appeared on the porch of the floating office and indicated that we should pull alongside the office; we did!  Below is a picture taken out the port side, fly bridge window along with some other shots of the marina.    

Office building roof and docks seen from our port flybridge window

Click on this picture 2x to enlarge.  The painted rings on the tree mark the high water mark from May 2011!

The boat launch area was right alongside our starboard side.  Shortly after we arrived, fisherman in their bass boats were coming in from the river in droves.  I commented to one of them and he said there was a fishing tournament today and the weigh-in was at 3pm!  There must have been 30 boats that came into the ramp and hauled out.  Later on, we took the dogs to shore and struck up a conversation with one of the fisherman who was cleaning his catch.  He gave us some fish he had just caught, catfish and crappie.  Crappie is a small whitefish that is popular in this area.  We cooked it up and enjoyed it for dinner.  After all the fishermen and their boats had left, there was not a sole in the parking area, we were the only ones there!  Thankfully, there was a large bright light at the launch area and it was almost a full moon.  Otherwise, it would have been pitch dark!  This has to been the most remote, quaint "marina" we have ever stayed in to date.  All in all it was a most enjoyable, peaceful experience.

Sunset from the aft of m/v Erika Lin at Bumpis Mills

Ashland City, TN to Clarksville, TN (again!)

Date             October 8, 2011

Day               102

Departure      Riverview Restaurant and Marina 8:00 am
Arrival           Clarksville, TN Town Dock  12:00 pm

Miles                32.0    

Cumulative   2393.8

 Set the alarm for 6 am and again arose to fog!

Then, Oh no, they're back!!

Spider webs were back in force.  Since we had to wait out the fog, I had an opportunity to go on another spider patrol.  The problem is that you never see the spiders unless you go out around dusk.  Removing the webs doesn't remove the spiders, so it looks like I will need to not only remove the webs this morning, but go on a second patrol at dusk!
Below is a picture of the rebuilt Riverview Restaurant that I mentioned in the previous day's blog.  They told us that the water was as high as the decks you can see on either side of the building.

Finally, the fog lifted and we cast off our lines at 8:00 am.

Today, we will have to return through the Cheatham Lock.  We traveled through this lock with two other smaller power boats.  Once through, one of the boats called us on the VHF radio, as they were interested in our travels, hoping to do the same trip in a few years.  Bob explained how we arrived in Tennessee and a little more about our trip.  They told us that when the Cumberland flooded in May 2010, the water level was the same on the top of the lock as it was at the bottom.  The water had risen so high that there was no need for the lock!
Here is a reprint of the lock as a reminder how high the lift was.  I just can't imagine all that water all along the banks.  It is just mind boggling!

Here is another example of how high the water had risen.  In the picture below, there is some kind of chair stuck in the tree branch on the left side of the tree.  Click on the picture to enlarge.

After arriving at our destination, we took a walk into downtown Clarksville.  Below is a picture of the Clarksville-Montgomery County Historical Museum.  Built in 1898 as a US Post Office and Customs House, it includes such diverse architectural features as Italianate ornamentation, a Far East influenced slate roof, Romanesque arches and Gothic copper eagles.  It is considered one of Tennessee's most unique buildings.

Later in the afternoon, another looper boat, Love Shack, arrived and we had an impromptu docktail party until dusk, then off to our own boats for dinner.  Guess the spiders will have another opportunity to decorate the boat tonight!

Nashville, TN to Ashland City, TN

Date             October 7, 2011

Day               101

Departure      Nashville Town Dock, Nashville, TN    8:55 am
Arrival           Riverview Restaurant and Marina,
                     Ashland City, TN    1:15 pm

Miles                32.5    

Cumulative   2361.8

Today ends our stay in Nashville and we begin the return trip down the Cumberland River.  This morning was clear and looks like it will be a good travel day.  We said goodbye to Glen and Jill of Last Dance.  They will stay a few more days in the Nashville area to visit relatives.  It has been fun sharing the past few weeks with them, hopefully we will meet up with them again.  As we traveled down the Cumberland, we saw this tree.  Looks like it must be a multi-family dwelling!

The facility in the picture below builds the barges that we see on the rivers.  Here there is one in the water, another completed ready to be launched and a couple more unpainted ones behind the one to be launched.  Looks like when they are ready to launch the completed barge they simply slide it down into the river.  Must be quite an event!!

We completed are days journey around 1 pm and arrived at the Riverside Marina and Restaurant.  What a coincidence, it was also time for lunch!  We had a great lunch, Lynda tried fried okra and Bob tried "bobbers".  Bobbers are cheese, bacon and grits made into balls and then fried.  Both the okra and bobbers were great!  We spoke with a young couple that came walking by after they had finished their meal and learned that the restaurant had been totally destroyed in the flood of May 2010 and had been frequented by country singer Alan Jackson.  The river was on a hill above the river, but the flood had reached all the way up to the restaurant and it had to be rebuilt.  We also learned that in Nashville, the river flood stage was 41 feet, the river crested at 50 feet and had reached all the way up the river bank to the street level.  Take a look at the pictures of us in Nashville from the previous post and you can imagine how much water there must have been, unbelievable!   

Clarksville, TN to Nashville, TN

Date             October 5 and 6, 2011

Day               99 and 100

Departure      Clarksville Town Dock, Clarksville, TN 8:05 am (10/5)
Arrival           Nashville Town Dock, Nashville, TN     5:00 pm

Miles               64.5    

Cumulative   2329.3

Again, up at 6 am to get an early start and again, fogged in!

Duddon Pilot, Last Chance, Last Dance and Erika Lin waiting for the fog to lift (look close you will see a Great Blue Heron on the dock in the lower right corner of the picture!) 

When the fog lifted, a beautiful, clear day emerged.  We are traveling with the three boats above and are going at a leisurely 7 to 8 miles per hour.  Going at this speed we are sipping diesel fuel and able to conserve the diesel we burn.  Last Dance was the "leader of the pack" and the river in front of them was as smooth as glass.

We only had one lock to go through today.  When the lockmaster was contacted, he said the lock was ready and to come on in.  The only boats in the lock were the four of us (Duddon Pilot was next to us and not able to fit in the photo!).

We saw this very strange sght at the tip of an island.  I guess the water is not too deep here!  It must be quite a sight to see when they are playing a game of volleyball in the middle of the river!!

Homes are built on the top of these rock formations.  Some of them have built stairs in the spaces between the rocks to allow them to access their docks on the river (enlarge the photo to see the ramp on the right)

The Nashville skyline.  The building on the far left is locally known as the "Batman Building".  At 617 feet, including the antennas, it's the tallest building in Tennessee.

This bridge was built in 1909 and closed in 1998 because of unsafe conditions.  Rather than tear it down, the city converted it into a pedestrian bridge.  After more than four years and an expenditure of about $15 million, the bridge reopened in August 2003.  With a length of 3,150 feet, it is one of the world's longest pedestrian bridges.  We are docked just before the bridge and directly across from the NFL Titan's football stadium.  Fortunately, no games were scheduled during our stay!

On Thursday morning, we took a walk on the pedestrian bridge.  This is a view of Nashville, Last Dance and our boat from the pedestrian bridge.

Next we walked into downtown Nashville.  There were door to door bars and all along the sidewalks were men and women of all ages singing and playing their guitar in hopes of being discovered.  We discovered this huge guitar on one of the corners. 

This paddle wheel boat, the Andrew Jackson, went by as I was writing this entry.  I was able to run out and get this shot of both the Andrew Jackson and Erika Lin on the Cumberland River before the paddle wheeler slipped away.

Lake Barkley, KY to Clarksville, TN

Date             October 4, 2011

Day               98

Departure      Lake Barkley State Park Marina, Cadiz, KY 9:05 am

Arrival           Clarksville Town Dock, Clarksville, TN 6:10 pm

Miles               69.6    

Cumulative   2264.8


Up at 6 am for a planned early start, only to find FOG!

So we sit and wait, correct that, we wash the boat to remove the spiders, webs and poop that was deposited on the boat overnight.  Finally, at 9:05 am, the fog had lifted enough for us to head out.

This is Southern Belle as she emerges from the fog that surrounded the marina.
Below are some of the sights we saw today as we traveled along the Cumberland River.

The nest on top of this daymark was enormous!

A patriotic tribute.  Enlarge the picture and notice the flags, carved eagle, Statute of Liberty and Liberty Bell

TVA's Cumberland steam plant.  The enormous red/white striped stacks are 1,000 ft high, but no longer used.  They were replaced by the shorter stacks (only 600 ft high).  Currently, there are no plans to dismantle the tall stacks.

We are seeing more and more of these majestic birds.  Today we spotted at least four along the Cumberland River.

Clarksville, TN waterfront

As the sun sets, we are safely tied to the dock in Clarksville, after a very long day.

Green Turtle Bay to Lake Barkley State Park, KY

Date             October 3, 2011

Day               97

Departure      Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, KY 9:55 am

Arrival           Lake Barkley State Park Marina, Cadiz, KY 2:00 pm 

Miles                29.9    

Cumulative   2195.2

 After an enjoyable, relaxing week at Green Turtle Bay Marina, we are on the move again.  We have some extra time before going to the AGLCA Looper Rendezvous, so we have decided to make a side trip to Nashville, TN.  We are now traveling on Lake Barkley and the Cumberland River.  From the Cumberland River we had an excellent view of The Kentucky State Penitentiary, known as "The Castle on the Cumberland".  This is Kentucky's only maximum-security prison where more than 160 inmates have died in its electric chair.  Below is a picture of the prison

The homes along the river bank are large and beautiful.  Some have their own covered boat dock on the river.

Two fishermen enjoying the day on the lake in front of this lovely home

We arrived at the marina and were assigned our slip.  We have a roof over our heads!  The roof keeps the boat shaded, but the spiders are everywhere!  I don't think I'd like keeping my boat in a covered slip, you would always be cleaning spider webs and spider poop off the boat!  There are also HUGE houseboats here.  Below is an example of both a very large houseboat and the covered boat slip. 

There are four other loop boats here and in late afternoon we all gathered for an afternoon cocktail under the roof.  Tomorrow will be an early morning departure, we have about seventy miles to travel.

Enjoying Green Turtle Bay Marina

Date             October 1, 2011

Day               95

Departure      

Arrival           Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers, KY 

Miles                    

Cumulative   2165.3

We are thoroughly enjoying our "vacation" time, staying put for awhile and not traveling!  In the past few days we have taken the bikes into the town of Grand River, eaten out a couple of nights, washed the boat and Bob changed the transmission fluid.  Last night, we celebrated Spirit Dancer's loop completion and the "crossing of their wake".  We, and three other couples went to Patti's 1880 Settlement.  They send a van to pick you up and are famous for their 2" thick pork chops, along with their homemade pies (17 varieties!).  Needless to say, we all were stuffed when we left.   Today, we have use of the Green Turtle Bay Marina courtesy van and will visit Paducah with Glen and Jill from Last Dance and do some reprovisioning of groceries and beer.  We have to travel to Paducah for the beer as we are currently staying in a "dry" county! 

Could this be the Green Turtle Bay Marina mascot?

Believe it or not, this is a listing of all the stores in the town of Grand River, population 350

Bob and the "Pink Tractor"

Jill and Glen enjoying a game of checkers after a meal at Patti's 1880's Settlement