We retrace our route back down the river but anchoring in different spots. It's like seeing old friends as we recognize landmarks from our trip up. We are so used to seeing new sights, it's very unusual to see repeats! Here are a few sights I didn't mention in the last post on our way up.
What do you do with an out of date coal operated plant? It is not abandoned, but not used. I wonder what they have planned for it?
This is the overlook for a hydro power plant. The water is too dangerous to tie up below because of the current due to water flows from the power plant, but we wish so much that they had somewhere to tie up below so we could tour the plant. A huge rockfill dam high up on the mountain holds a 528 acre reservoir. During heavy electrical usage (weekdays usually), the water is released from the reservoir to fall 1,160 feet through huge underground pipes to the powerhouse inside the mountain. At night and weekends when the demand is lower, the water is pumped back up the mountain! What a view they must have from the top!
The tunnel to the power plant in the mountain.
An example of how huge the pipes are.
All that remains of a dam built in 1913 as one of the first major dams to be built across a navigable channel in the United States. Hales Dam was plagued with leakage problems from the beginning and was finally replaced by Nickajack Dam in 1968. The building is now used for boat storage!
Here's one I'd mentioned in the last post and now know the story behind it thanks to our friends David & Kim on Overtime. Chattanooga is their home, and they told us this is a portable stage on a barge that is stored here. They move it to Chattanooga for a large music festival every year! This is what Kim sent me: "The stage that you saw is called the "Coca-Cola Stage" and is taken to Chattanooga in early June for a huge music festival called Riverbend. https://riverbendfestival.com/ 650,000 people attend Riverbend and the Coca-Cola Stage is the main stage. The stage is stored where you saw it the rest of the year." Thanks for the info, Kim! We'll miss you.
We are going downstream now so enter the locks from the top and are lowered to the next level. It is always a strange feeling to look down from the top.
As we go down, Bob mans the boat hook to keep our bow off the wall while I keep an eye on the line holding us on the bollard on the wall and our fenders. If they get jammed we must be prepared for quick action. We carry a knife just in case we must cut a line. Thankfully we have never had to use it! This lock is very unusual as the gates look like a huge barrel! Most gates are flat.
It's amazing what can grow even when it's underwater half the time!
It's been foggy in the mornings. We usually wait for it to burn off, but...
...we came out of a lock into this one morning! We turned on our radar, navigation lights (red on the port and green on the starboard), and I stood on the bow peering through the fog looking for obstacles. We were socked in about an hour before we were in the sunshine again. We were so happy to see blue sky!
This is what the morning looked like before we entered the lock! This was our anchorage the night before after we navigated out of the bay through the mil-foil weeds that are trying to choke out the channel. It got very shallow at one point - just under 3 1/2 feet - but we managed to glide over the "thin" spot and had a lovely night in the bay. The channel is well marked with buoys but they really aren't needed as the path through the weeds is so obvious.
The sunrise make the shoreline glow.
The flotsam and jetsam is not too bad on the river, but we must keep alert to avoid the occasional log. Our propellers would not be happy meeting one of these.
We are back in the flatter country now. We miss the beautiful hills.
Hi! We ordered new boat cards today so took a new picture to put on the back, selfie stick success!
Here's a better picture of an elevator down to a boat dock. I'd love to see one in action.
Not very clear, but the elevator "car" is at the top.
These birds made our day. The flock kept growing from around a hundred birds to well over two hundred and stayed with us for over an hour, swooping all around us. I "googled" them and discovered they are whooping cranes! I'd never seen one before. We also see a lot of butterflies, but they are too quick to catch in flight. There are so many colorful ones that fly past us. The fly faster than our engines can take us!
They are quite striking with white bodies and black tipped wings.
A beautiful home.
A harvest moon was very orange. Too bad the color washes out on film.
Our last anchorage before we got to Joe Wheeler. I originally thought the brick building on the right must be a Community Center of some kind as the small house on the left is a manufactured home. Imagine my surprise when I read the sign in the yard "For sale by owner". Granted, the manufactured home is small but my goodness!
Our anchorage at Joe Wheeler for the next several nights before rendezvous. Notice the leaves are starting to turn. We are anchored well protected ready for the rain and wind expected from Hurricane (now Tropical Storm) Nate.
Anchored in Town Creek, Guntersville Lake, Alabama - 10/4
Anchored in Honeycomb Creek, Guntersville Lake, Alabama - 10/5
Anchored in Mallard Creek, Wilson Lake, Alabama - 10/6
Anchored in First Creek, Joe Wheeler State Park, Alabama - 10/7-10/12
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