Tennessee River Cruise - Days 5 thru 9

Day 5 - Left Chattanooga and locked through the Chickamauga Dam. We are pros at this now!

Headed to our beautiful and secluded anchorage for tonight-Robert's Slough on the Hiwasee River.

The crews of Sweetgrass and Tennessee Rover heading over for docktails onboard My Brown Eyed Girls.

Carol and Bill in front. Jenny and Jerry in back.




Day 6-Sweetgrass leaving anchorage and heading back to the river.

Locked through the Watt's Bar Lock and Dam.

Many farms and views of the Cumberland Plateau here.

Looks like fun!

Stopping for the night at a small family run marina-Terrace View.

Gary talking to Pepe the Pig-one of the resident pets.

Free laundry here! Lots of laundry followed by docktails and dinner on the boat.

Day 7
Pastoral scenes of cattle grazing by the river.

Passing under the I-75 bridge.

The boat in the picture above, Legacy, had our slip in Joe Wheeler before we did. They were also exploring the TN River before starting their loop adventure.


Several bald eagle sightings on the bluffs along this section of the river. Much excited radio chatter between boats as eagles were spotted.


Locked through Fort Loudoun lock and dam and reached our final marina destination-Fort Loudoun Marina. A very large and BUSY marina.

Julie Labhart met with us for docktails and dinner on the deck of Calhouns-a barbeque/rib joint on the water. A great night.


Day 8-a day of "rest"
Staying at Fort Loudoun again tonight, so no traveling between marinas today. Everyone is glad for the break.
A loooong hot shower at the marina today (we have hot showers onboard but with an 11 gal water heater they are FAST showers) followed by a real breakfast onboard.
Then we take a turn in the marina's courtesy van and head off to Knoxville to pick up supplies at a West Marine store and groceries at Trader Joe's.


To complete our journey-we all gather onboard My Brown Eyed Girls for a daytrip up the Little Tennessee River, where we travel as far as we can-22 miles upriver to a beautiful vista of the Smoky Mountains in the distance. We travel FAST this time (20 mph rather than our usual 8) as we want to make the trip there and back before dark.








The Little Tennessee has it's origin in the Smokys and has no significant industry, large towns, or intensive agriculture so it is very clear and cold.

Jerry up on the bow taking photos of the group.

   Evidence of flooded farms before TVA dams created the lakes.

And later....you guessed it....docktails! And shared appetizers out on the dock.
Julie joined us again-another great day.


Day9 - the return journey begins
We say goodbye/farewell/so long to Fort Loudoun Marina and lock down this time, through Fort Loudoun Lock and Dam.
Cruising through the bluffs downriver we spot 18 eagles this morning, including 2 juveniles, and 2 adults who catch fish out of the river in front of us. It was a banner day for eagle sightings!!
Most days on the river start out cold and foggy but we usually end up hot and sweaty by the time we reach our marina for the night.
We drive out in the open. We have a canvas top over us but no enclosure around us. The other 2 boats have enclosed helms-they are not as exposed. This day was the coldest yet and Gary and I had on all the layers we brought with us. I was wearing 2 t-shirts and 2 fleece jackets under my rain jacket. 2 pair gloves. Jeans under my rain pants. Wool hiking socks. By the time we get tied up at our marina-I've changed into shorts and t-shirt.
We return to Terrace View Marina where we plan to spend the next 3 nights under covered slips waiting out expected rains and winds.
Bill and Carol will be leaving the next morning so they can get home in time for election day as they had not yet voted. Election day in their small hometown in TN is quite a social event and they didn't want to miss out. But before they left.....yep-docktails one last time with the whole group.

To be continued...