View From The Bridge of Miss Lauren Grace

I'm sure you haven't noticed but we love the Tennessee River. We are often asked "what was your favorite out of all the places you have visited"? That is a difficult question to answer because we have different favorites for different reasons, but for shear beauty or for ease of cruising the Tennessee is definitely a favorite. Clean, deep water, little current, no tide, no salt and beautiful scenery, what's not to love. Well, OK, maybe we don't love the little spiders that attach themselves to every little corner and line when we are at a dock.

The entire 650 miles of this river from Paducah to Knoxville is pretty, but it is above when you approach the southern end of the Cumberland Plateau near Guntersville lock that the Tennessee really begins to strut her stuff. The mountains begin to rise here and it just gets better as you go along.

I thought you might enjoy a chance to ride along and see the things we see in a typical day, starting with some of the beautiful scenery.


This is Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga.

This is Painted Bluff in Nickajack Lake.

There are neat rock formations like this "bridge" where the rock below has caved in, or has it broken out?!

And "interesting" things like bat caves. I just wonder who the fence is protecting, the boaters or the bats?

The bats I suppose because this is a sanctuary for the endangered gray bat.

There are more signs than you might imagine. The one above is on I24 near Chattanooga we have driven past it so many times on trips to South Carolina & Florida; it was a kick to see it from the water!

This one is a combination of advertising and instruction.

This one below provides important information. This info is noted on our charts as well but the potential for harm is great so the in your face reminder is a good thing.

We see birds of all kinds but I gotta' tell you that it is tough to get good photos of birds with a point 'n shoot. I am usually moving and not close enough for my little 6x zoom to do the job.

I did get reasonably close to this momma Osprey and her chicks last summer.

This Blue Heron was fishing from a little Cypress tree when I snapped this shot but I couldn't capture his beautiful markings.

We see all kinds of bridges, this railroad lift bridge is not exceptional but the scenery sure is spectacular.

The bridge below is on the Little Tennessee (or Tellico Lake) and is notable for the Smokey Mountains in the background

In Chickamauga, Watts Bar, & Tellico Lakes (named for the dams which control the river and provide electricity) we saw silos in the water. They were not destroyed when the lakes were created. As you can see many of these lakes boast significant residential development.

Then there are the navigation aids which keep us in the channel and away from those silos! Here a string of red buoys and a day mark leads us around a turn in the river.

Just one of the many lock & dams that we travel through. This shot is on the low side of Ft. Louden Dam, the last dam on the Tennessee River. At the far left of the frame is the hydro-electric power plant; then you see the actual dam, the gates are closed; at the far right is the lock chamber with the gates open. The little orange pennant is on our bow as we head toward the lock.

On the upper end of the Tennessee there are mountains everywhere. This is Signal Mountain at Chattanooga.








Here you see the Decatur, Alabama waterfront. It is a very industrial area with many grain mills.

There are industrial areas all along the river because of the opportunity for easy and inexpensive transportation. Here a barge is being filled at a big facility that seems to be in the middle of nowhere.

We pass cool city views like the art museum at Chattanooga that perches on the top of the bluff as thought it is about to take flight. Actually this is three different structures all joined together during the recent construction of the modern building on the point of the bluff. I think the architecture is part of the art here.

And also pastoral country scenes like these cows grazing on a sunny hillside.

There are power plants all up and down most rivers. The TVA provided electric to much of this section of the country in the 1900's and so you will see hydro-electric plants, steam plants, and nuclear facilities. Along with the gorgeous scenery we see the stacks of the Kingston Steam Plant where the big fly ash spill occurred last winter. Some how the picture of the Kingston Plant didn't make it to the upload!


I am fascinated with the shape of the cooling towers at most of the nuclear facilities. These are at the huge Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant.

Where they generate power they need a way to carry it to the users so we see high-tension power lines crossing the river. Some, but not all, actually have a tower in the water like you see below. The concrete pylons are there to prevent (we hope) the tower from being hit by boats or barges.

Of course we see BOATS! All kinds of boats. The beautiful stern wheeler the "Delta Queen" has just been permanently moored on the Chattanooga waterfront where she is slated to become a luxury hotel and restaurant. Chattanooga is a city that really makes the most of their riverfront.

This jon boat has a diver down in the water. We know this because of the red flag which has a white band running diagonally across it that is not visible in the photo.

This strange workboat on a powered barge is one of the more unusual vessels we have seen.

Always there are towboats and barges. Just this Spring Larry began keeping a list of the names of towboats we see, since April 20, 2009 he has recorded over 139 different towboats and many of them we have seen more than once.

I like the little pontoon boat because of the big flag they are flying!

At the end of the day we enjoy quiet moments observing the wildlife and watching the sunset in peaceful anchorages. This spot is on Tellico Lake and the water really is that beautiful color.