Civil War to Space

Clifton, leaving in Frost and Fog–This morning there are 4 boats leaving from this small marina. There was frost on the boat and the fog was light (or so we thought). We stuck our bow into the river and into the fog. I wanted to return to the marina, but Tim decided to continue at a very slow pace. There were moments where visibility was questionable, but with 2 pair of eyes and the electronic charts we were able to make our way upstream until the fog lifted. What a relief to see blue skies. The 4 boats continued as a “group” until we reached Pickwick Lock & Dam.

Pickwick Lock and Dam–We only waited a few minutes before getting the green light to enter the lock. This lock lifted our boats up 55 feet to the level of Pickwick Lake.

Pickwick Landing SP Marina–Soon after leaving Pickwick Lock we turned right to enter the state park marina. No much going on at this marina and it was very quiet. We stayed 2 nights and spent our time visiting the Civil War battlefield Shiloh and working on boat projects. The day we left, the starting point of a fishing tournament was just outside the marina entrance. I was told there were 200 bass boats (college level) entered. They were scattered on the lake when we departed, but we could see them everywhere.

Shiloh Battlefield–we were picked up by Tour Guide Larry at the marina and given a 3 hour tour of the Shiloh Battlefield. Larry was the most knowledgable guy on any one subject I think I have ever met. He talked 3+ hours non stop, and I am sure he could have gone on for days. He lives this battlefield. He has over 20 relatives in the shiloh cemetery. His family built the Shiloh church the battle was named for. He showed us where his family used to live on what is now park land, a park formed in early 1910’s. He walked us thru the two day battle. The South winning day one due to the North being totally unprepared and disregarding picket reports. The battle could easily have been a South Victory but for some bad weather, a break for looting Northern camps and the death of one of the leading commanders. They ran out of daylight the first day unaware the North had an additional 30,000 troops on the other side of the river to the ferried over during the night.

Here is one of the recommended documentaries of the battle ( I think it ids the one they show in the visitors center. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PK7VCN_q58

Florence Harbor–An uneventful day to this harbor, but a long day of travel. Meet up with some “new” boaters, so had dinner with them. Tried to do laundry…set the machine to wash. But an hour later, nothing. Maybe that is why it is free? Guess we’ll try again at the next marina.

Wilson L&D, Joe Wheeler L&D–Two locks ahead of us today and there is a lot of commercial traffic. Contacted the lock master at Wilson L&D and he said if we are at the lock at 6:30AM he would put us through. Mind you, it is dark at that time of day in October. We were up at 5am, had breakfast, readied the boat for departure (mostly) and headed out of the marina. We had a little mishap just outside the marina channel, but were able to continue to the lock. I sat on the bow of the boat with a spotlight while Tim navigated the channel to the lock. It was very dark!! The dam was a welcome sight with all its lights and the lock was open for us. Wilson Lock lifted our boat up 93 feet. Joe Wheeler Lock & Dam was next (about 15 miles). Again we were fortunate to navigate thru the lock quickly and were lifted another 48 feet and continued on our way upstream on the Tennessee River.

Lucy Branch Marina–Another 15 miles and we arrived at our marina fairly early in the day. They did have 1 working washer & dryer, but I was thankful to get our clothes clean while I soaked in the warm autumn sun rays. We ate at the local bar, which was really a BARge next to the marina. The Mexican food was delivered from a kitchen about a block away and it wasn’t very good. I should have made food on the boat =(.

Ditto Landing Marina–another 50ish miles on the river today to this marina which is near Huntsville, Alabama. It is so nice and warm after the cold week we had last week. I don’t miss Michigan weather at all. We were only planning to stay at this marina for 2 nights so we could visit the space center, but due to a storm system and high winds we extended our stay another night just to be on the safe side. We did have a little excitement on the boat next to us which involved the police and what looked like two adults not getting along. I’m sure being in close quarters while on a boat can make or break a relationship if you don’t work on that relationship. I hope they can mend that broken relationship.

NASA Space Center–We visited the Space Center museum in Huntsville. This place is amazing also. The research and testing that went into getting to space was amazing. The size of these machines and technology that went into them, with out todays computers, is truly mind boggling.