Checking Out a New River

Ok, so it isn't really a new river, in fact I am certain that it has been here all along, but it is new to us and we were excited to be discovering new places.  This is the first time in a year that we are covering new and unfamiliar territory and it is fun to be exploring with buddy boats Eagle One and Driftwood.

Our first day on the Upper Black Warrior led us about 45 miles upriver to a quiet anchorage just below the first lock (Seldon Lock).  We anchored in an oxbow of the old river below the dam and put the dinghy down to explore.  Here the lock and dam are not together as we usually find them rather they are separated by an island, or at least it is an island today.  The dam is on the old river section and the lock is on what I think is a man-made cut; creating the cut created the island we were anchored behind.  It was a great anchorage, wide and deep (almost too deep), off of the river and safe from barge traffic.  We wouldn't want to be anchored here when the river was rising though because you can see where all kinds of trees and logs that spill through the dam have come to rest. 

When we came back from our dinghy exploration we discovered two new boats had arrived in our anchorage; travelers from Maine and Michigan who are killing some time so as not to arrive in the Gulf before the magic date that their insurance company will allow.

Fortunately for our little travel party this region has been very dry and the river is low, which means that the current is also very slow and there is almost no debris in the water.  The lack of current is nice because it allows us to make good time while conserving fuel, an important consideration because there is no diesel fuel available above Demopolis.

The next day we were not so lucky with our anchorage and had to content ourselves with anchoring off to the side of the channel and hoping that the tows saw us as they came by in the night.  We do not sleep as well when we are anchored in a situation like this, and we certainly don't go out to play in the dinghy.  And so it was a tired group of mariners who arrived at a marina just above Tuscaloosa the next afternoon. 

Our third day of travel on the river began early, which was fine since no one was sleeping well anyway.  We were rewarded for our early start by getting a great lockage at Oliver Lock just below the city.  When we called on the VHF radio the lockmaster told us he had it ready for us and to just come on in, that's what I call southern hospitality of the best kind.  The other two boats did not leave as early as we did and they travel a bit slower so they ended up with a long wait at both Oliver Lock and Holt Lock which is just 10 miles above Oliver.  The city of Tuscaloosa lies between these two locks 

We had heard that we could tie off to an old lock wall in a city park in downtown Tuscaloosa and were sort of hoping that we could find a restaurant.  Upon seeing the wall we could not figure out how we would get off of the boats and so we elected to go on through Holt Lock and head into the marina that Jim had made arrangements with.

When the gates opened on the high side of Holt Lock we were so rewarded for making this trip.  The river is beautiful up here; deeply forested hills drop right into the water which is clear and deep.  There appears to be very little development and we are looking forward to exploring more. 

Perfect Travel Day

The sky was blue and the temperature was near 80 with hardly a cloud in the sky and no wind.  In short another perfect travel day in a long stretch of beauriful weather that Mother Nature has provided for this trip.  Today the Tenn-Tom Waterway was, I think, the prettiest we have ever seen it.  There has been no rain to speak of in this area for the past six weeks or so and the river was unbelievable clear; no sediment or flotsam.  There was hardly any current and we got a great lock at Howell Heflin, our only lock today.  Actually the locks have been treating us very well all along this trip.

Tonight we are anchored in pretty little Foscue Creek, just downstream from Demopolis.  Tomorrow we start up the Black Warrior River bound for Tuscaloosa and wherever else we find to explore.  More to report as it is revealed to us.

Its been fun, but not fast!

After brunch & a nap last Sunday we sat Monday out because of the rain. Tuesday dawned bright and sunny with perfect temps and low humidity. You couldn’t ask for a better day to travel, and travel we did. Well for 15 miles before we had to pull off and relax for a few hours. This time however the rest stop was not for food, nor was it part of our plan.

From our anchorage in Second Creek we started our day by locking down through Wheeler Lock and traveling the 15 miles to Wilson Lock. When we arrived at Wilson the lockmaster informed us that there was a tow coming and we would have to pull over to the auxiliary wall and wait for him to bring the tow (a double) up. The reality was that the tow had not yet arrived at his lower gate and he could have taken up down and brought the first cut of the tow up; but part of travel on the rivers is living by the lockmasters rules and so we waited for two and a half hours. I used my time well by whooping Larry at a game of Gin.

From Wilson Lock, which is at Florence, AL for those of you who are trying to follow along on a map, we had a delightful run down to our anchorage on Pickwick Lake. The next morning our start was delayed a bit by morning fog but as soon as it burned off we were treated to a second “top ten” kind of day as we began our run down the Tenn-Tom Waterway. I am always a little awed by the waterway; it is an amazing bit of engineering

The first section of the Tenn-Tom is known as the “divide cut” where the earth was cut and hauled away to connect the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River. The Tenn-Tom Waterway was the largest earthmoving project in history, requiring the excavation of nearly 310 million cubic yards of soil, by comparison only 210 million cubic yards were removed from the Panama Canal. The Tenn-Tom is also much longer than the Panama Canal.

Once through the divide cut we arrived at Bay Springs Lake where we had planned a stop to relax and enjoy the beautiful clear water of this natural area. Alas the chilly nights had made the water too cool to be comfortable so we had to content ourselves with exploring by dinghy. One item from our exploration was not especially welcome as we found a sign advertising a future development of some sort; not sure of the details but the sign clearly said “lakeside cottages”, boo-hoo. Most of this land is owned by the Corps of Engineers but apparently they can grant leases or sell some of the land and development follows. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with development but it is just so peaceful and beautiful there and we hate to see it change.

Today we moved on down the waterway to Midway Marina at Fulton, MS and visited with our friends Bill & Donna who live here. Tonight it seems as though a front is blowing through with strong winds from the north and a rapidly falling thermometer. Tomorrow will be a short travel day down to Blue Bluff Recreation Area where there is a free dock for boaters to use when visiting the town of Aberdeen and then on the Columbus, MS, one of our favorite stops.