Little Crooked Creek
October 9

Tennessee River

We anchored at the mouth of Little Crooked Creek.  There were several Crappie Dams in the water near us.  The local fishermen put these dams out at low water and when the water rises in the spring, the crappie congregate in them and the fishermen fish there.  

On the way to the anchorage we fueled at Paris Landing Marina.  It was a pretty good fuel stop and only $1.29.9 per gallon, which is the cheapest we have seen in quite a long time.

Little Crooked Creek is not a recommended anchorage.  It is wide open and full of sticks.  The anchor did hold well for us though.  There were 2 boat ramps and one was quite busy with bass boats.  We saw a lot of dead fish, but no live ones.

Denson's Island
October 10

Tow passing Shiloh on Tennessee River

We traveled down the Tennessee River through some areas where the Civil War was fought.  We traveled past Shiloh Battlefield where 26,000 men were killed in 2 days, April 6 - 7, 1862.

The land went from hills to flats that almost look like Louisiana.  There were quite a lot of barges and loading areas.  The interesting thing was the divers.  We probably saw about 30 boats with 2 flags - both the kinds of diver's flags.  They were diving for freshwater pearls.  

We thought of stopping to see the freshwater pearl museum at Birdsong Marina for a little while, but had a fairly long day and a stop would have put us stopping for the night at about dark, so we moved on.  On Pilot Knob they have a Tennessee Folk Life Museum, which would be pretty interesting.

We anchored by 3:00 and watched a movie, Anger Management, which was pretty funny.  We really enjoyed it.

Swallow Bluff Island
October 11

Traveled through some beautiful country where there were some interesting limestone outcroppings.  We saw a lot of campgrounds as well as lots of beautiful homes.  This still seems pretty rural, as there is really no phone service yet.  

The anchorage was just beautiful with a little sand beach and small bluff.  We lost about 2 ft. of water over night.  We are still having to leave a light on in the wheelhouse because we don't have an anchor light right now.  The bulbs have all burned out.  We hope to get another one very soon.

We cooked out and relaxed for the evening.  

Dry Creek - Pickwick Lake
October 12

Pickwick Lock

We were almost the only cruising boat on the water for the day.  We passed a houseboat we had seen yesterday from our anchorage and it was sitting aground at Saltillo Marina.  

We lost our bollard in the Pickwick Lock and had to stop and retie.  We need to figure out a way that it works without holding the boat with our hands.  The bollards are so far apart we can't use 2 lines.  

We were anchoring the boat and Don had the anchor line in one hand and the trip line in the other.  A huge deer fly started biting him on the legs.  He was kicking and dancing all over the place.  I was in the helm as usual and decided I had to go help, so I went out with the fly swatter and killed the fly.  Anyone watching would have thought that Don wasn't working hard enough and I went out with the flyswatter and beat the daylights out of him.  

Dry Creek was one of the most beautiful anchorages we have been in.  We did a little bit of fishing and I was able to finish Amy's Halloween scrub along with the St. Patrick's day pants and scrub that has been haunting me for months.  I set up the sewing machines in the wheelhouse and was able to sew without being in the way.

We had a nasty wind storm on Oct. 14.  Don had the engine running because he was working on filters and I was in the wheelhouse sewing.  We were sitting crossways to the wind and realized that our anchor was dragging.  We pulled it up and went out to reset it.  We reset both anchors and were able to ride out the rest of the storm.  

If we were going to drag, that was the best possible situation.  We were in the wheelhouse and saw it happening and the engine was running.  If we had been inside, it is likely we would not have realized it until we hit bottom.  It was the first time we had dragged anchor during the whole trip.

Dry Creek Anchorage

Florence Harbor Marina
October 15

We decided we needed some town time and wanted to see Helen Keller's home, so went to Florence.  What a nice area it was.  They call it the Shoals area.  It is a great place to keep a boat as you can get to the mountains or the ocean within a short time and it is not badly affected by hurricanes.

The Helen Keller home was wonderful.  The tour guides were very knowledgeable.  I called them Helen Keller Groupies.  I hadn't realized what a remarkable life she had as she grew older.  She lived to be 87 years old and raised millions of dollars to help the blind and deaf people.  Annie Sullivan devoted her whole life to helping Helen reach out to the world.  

On the property was the largest Magnolia I had ever seen.  It was at least 80 ft.  It was about 120 years old.

We had free use of the Marina van and did some shopping as well as touring.  We Margaret and Tom  on Pura Vida in the marina.  We had seen them in Waterford, NY and again at Lock 19 in the Erie Canal.  They are a great couple.

We also met Frank and Sandra on their new 43 ft. Mainship, Perfect Lady.

The odd sight of Caper in a marina.

Nina replica off our stern at Florence Harbor Marina

We washed the boat off for the first time since last year when we took the shrinkwrap off.  It was really filthy.  We cleaned up the back deck and repotted the plants so everything is looking pretty nice.

Don put PVC feet on the ice chests.  Sure helps keep them off the deck so they can be cleaned under.  

We did quite a lot of shopping in Florence and planned to get a trot line.  We decided not to when we found out how nasty the bait smelled.

The Nina was there behind us as a tour boat and we had a constant stream of school kids coming by.  We had a great time, but we were ready to leave by Saturday morning.

Seven Mile Island
October 18

We anchored on the river in a channel behind Seven Mile Island.  It was a beautiful place with lots of birds and fish jumping.  We even have TV and Phone!  Great to have on a Sunday.

Don was able to replace the anchor light and we cleaned the tape from around the door and cleaned the stainless and fiberglass.  Helped the door look much better.

Sunset at Seven Mile Island

Lean White Fishing Machine

We also got the skirt for the sewing machine finished and installed and made a little temporary cover for the sewing machine.

We did go fishing, but no luck at all.  There weren't very many bass fishermen in that area, so I kind of thought there wouldn't be any fish.  

Pickwick Landing State Park Marina
October 21

Had a beautiful run down from Seven Mile Island.  It was just beautiful.  It is great to have the sun at our back.  The colors are getting more beautiful; every day.   This Tennessee River area is just so wonderful to travel.

We fueled the boat when we arrived and while we were talking to people on the dock.  It turned out that one of them was Fred Meyers.   We got the boat settled and had time to take showers before Will and Emily arrived.  We were so excited to see them.

Pickwick Landing Marina is really a nice marina and was only $28 per night.   

Caper's Herb Garden

Ross Branch
October 22

This was the perfect day for travel.  The leaves just keep getting prettier.  going upriver is a little harder in this area because it is into the sun, but looking behind you can really see the leaves.

When we came out of the marina a number of boats came out with us and several were coming from upriver.  It was the largest concentration of cruising boats we had seen.  We got to see Liberty Bell, which is Fred Meyers new American Tug.

The anchorage was quiet and beautiful with a great view of the river.  We just played and had a good time.

Don & Will Fishing Buddies

Tennessee River from our Anchorage in Ross Branch

Caper in Ross Branch