Kenlake to Paris Landing

  Guest Blogger: Kay Wiggins

Daymark with birds nest

Nice Scenery 

Kay Wiggins guest Blogger

 When travelling upriver (even though you may be moving south) you want the green cans on your left and the red nuns on your right and your trawler out of the path of the big barges!  That’s some of the incredible volume of information available from our experienced captain on this voyage!  We were impressed by lovely views like the rock outcroppings and floating homes of both man (authentic houseboat) and bird (nest atop day marker), as well as a US Coastguard barge delivering and installing more water markers.  We surged along at top speed (close to 8 mph), enjoying the spray coming up off the hull of the boat, and were simply delighted to be part of such a fun excursion.  The day was cloudy but not so chilly we couldn’t enjoy being on the upper deck where Frank could pretend to pilot the boat (Look, no hands!) and we could share a picnic lunch with other Loopers.   A heron and Canadian goose watched indifferently as we expertly maneuvered into our slip at the marina.  Tonight, since this is where we catch up with our parked van, we’re all going into Paris (Tennessee) for a nice Chinese dinner and maybe a peek at the Rangers vs Rays game.  Tomorrow the fun begins all over again!  We’re so grateful for this time with good friends and for this once-in-a-lifetime experience with the AGLCA (American Great Loop Cruisers Association).  

Kay and Frank

Frank at the helm, look ma no hands

Coast Guard Bouy Tender

I think the heron is the Alpha Bird

A house boat with the helm behind a picket fence

  

Kenlake Marina

While Carol is away, I have been working on refinishing the brightwork on the boat. Learned a few things, do not apply coats of clear epoxy late in the day. The dew gets into the epoxy if not dry and leaves pock marks in the surface that are very difficult to remove and show as small dots when varnished.

I also have taken the bike out of the dinghy and gone for a ride around the park and to a very small town nearby. I learned how out of shape I am and need to exercise more often, boat yoga helps but more movement is in order.

Today is Sunday and I enjoy worshiping with my home Church via their pod cast. They now also print the bulletins so I/we can follow along sing the songs and participate in the worship. Nice to maintain those important bonds to Church and family.

http://spaceshipchurch.org/

We have been anticipating a weather front with some rain to move through the area, first forecast for last night then early this morning. Well the front is stalled at the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, it began raining about 9:00 this morning and, based on the forecast, I expect it will rain all day and into the evening. Just a light all day soaking, currently 66^O F. I guess I will clean the inside of the boat today.

Kenlake Marina

Kenlake Entrance at Dusk

Carol was picked up by Enterprise Car Rental in the morning and arrived in Cherokee Village, AR about 5:00 to visit with her friends. I stayed in the marina for the day and worked on the boat. I have several items on my upgrade, maintenance and cleanup list that I hope to complete while she is away. This is a quiet marina that I expect will get busy over the weekend.

Green Turtle Bay to Kenlake Marina

  

Office and Gas Dock, restaurant above

We returned rental cars this morning, filled with water and diesel fuel, and pumped out the sewerage before we departed from Green Turtle Bay Marina. We had a great stay this last week with two side trips and much relaxing. The last two days in Nashville were great fun, after a week on land we are ready to get back on the water. 

A short trip today about 20 statute miles, we used the adjoining canal to move from the Cumberland River to Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River. OK, now pay attention, the Kentucky dam raises the water level of the Tennessee River to form Kentucky Lake that extends through Kentucky into Tennessee. The Cumberland Dam raises the water level in the Cumberland River to form Lake Cumberland. For many miles these rivers run parallel and the land between the lakes is a Federal Recreational Area with many inlets and small rivers with lots of cool anchorages. The long awaited arrival at the Tennessee River was well worth the wait, wide expanse of water, beautiful shorelines, interesting bays and rivers and little commercial traffic.

Rock and tree formations

Deep bays and rivers to explore

We are here at Kenlake Marina, a private Marina in a State Park, so Carol can get a car tomorrow, she plans to visit her girlfriends in Arkansas for the weekend and will return on Sunday. I will work on some of the boat upgrades I have been planning. Beautiful day here in Kentucky, low 80’s, sunny, light winds, very pleasant.

Nashville – Music City deserves a side trip

   

Legend's and Tootsie's music, music, music & beer

We took a side trip to Nashville the last couple of days.  Charli and Al joined us to rent a car and drive into the city.  We went straight to Broadway, where there is a 3 or 4 block string of honky-tonks, each with a new music act playing.  The party starts at 4 or 5 in the afternoon – and we have no idea how long it goes on.  We went to “Legends Bar” where there was a band with a phenomenal girl fiddler.  She got up and danced on the bar to do Charlie Daniels,  ‘devil in the house of the rising sun’.    Next door at “Tootsies” there was a male singer, also great music.  We tried a few more and enjoyed every minute.

Nashville has a replica of the Parthenon in a pretty park.  It’s in better condition than its original counterpart in Athens, and not quite such a long walk up the hill.

Elvis recorded 262 songs in RCA StudioB 

The next day we headed for the Country Music Hall of Fame – and since none of us is an avid fan we had moderate expectations.  It turned out to be very interesting and a first class museum.  We thoroughly enjoyed the historical commentary, the costumes and instruments, and the many videos of country stars throughout the museum.  Of course the whole background was filled with country music and we spent several hours there.  We left being bigger fans than when we walked in.  We highly recommend this trip to music fans of any kind.

The building itself has neat architecture.  Seen from outdoors, the windows resemble piano keys and the flared curve on the end of the building was taken from the tailfin of a 1950’s Cadillac.

Country Music Museum, Piano Key Windows

In the evening we went to the Grand Ole Opry.  It is a huge new auditorium and eight different country acts are each given a 15 -minute time slot.  The whole show is on live radio so there are commercials while the performers come on and off stage and set up.  I left with a craving to stop at Cracker Barrel on the way home (one of the sponsors and many commercials).   We saw the Gatlin Brothers, Chris Stapleton, Aaron Tipton and Restless Heart among others.

Dennis and Carol at the Grand Ole Opry

Live Radio, Opry Stage, preformmers and session players

Green Turtle Bay Marina

  

Captain and Crew must stand on the fore deck

Offering Champagne to Neptune

Here’s a ceremony you don’t attend every day….. we were invited to a special event for changing the name of a boat.   Most larger boats are registered by the coast guard, and your name is your official identifier so there is a lot of paperwork and a hefty charge to change your name.   In addition to the bureaucracy, the boat owners must appease the gods of the sea – Poseidon and Neptune – so that bad luck doesn’t befall the boat that changes names without their blessing.  There is an actual ceremony for this occasion – just look it up on the internet of course!!

Every day on the boat is a "Perfect Day"

The very formal ceremony involves an offering of champagne to each of the gods of the four winds as well as Poseidon and Neptune.  The boat owner can use up most of a bottle of cheap champagne on these offerings.  It is supposed that the various gods don’t care about the quality of the champagne that is poured overboard.  The many guests invited from neighboring boats did get the better quality champagne, and of course, in honor of the occasion several people dressed up in hats and their best flip-flops.    Gifts were given and a fancy Wal-Mart Chocolate cake marked the event.

The boat that was previously called Entrée, is now known as Perfect Day.

Everyone Gathers for the Ceremony

Land trip to Paducah, KY

     

I thought PA had all the cool named towns

Sept. 21, the first day of fall – and a beautiful Saturday.  The weather was a perfect 65-75 all day and we spent it doing some interesting and relaxing things.  We used the marina car to go to Paducah.  On the way we went through Possum Trot – and decided it was worthy of a photo.  L-R, Dennis, Al and Charli Nauda, from Madeira Beach Fl; and Lori and Bill Hughes, from San Diego – the group that has made the last week or so really enjoyable. 

River Wall, Paducah

Continued on into Paducah, where “River Festival” was in full swing, complete with Dragon Boat Races on the Ohio River.  We felt right at home.  We stopped at a farmers market, and then went to the River Heritage Discovery Center, which was a nice little museum about the history and commerce of this area and the Ohio, Mississippi, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.

Fantastic Quilts

We walked through the center of town where there were nice galleries, restaurants, ice cream shops and many, many lawyers offices….?????  Then we stopped to visit the National Quilt Museum of America.  It was awesome.  The quilts on display are really a higher art form than “quilts”.  It is fiber and textile art that is unbelievable.  It will either inspire me with some ideas, or make me totally intimidated.

When we got back to the Marina, the local yacht club hosted a Shrimp and Crab boil and all the boaters in the marina were invited.  Wow, what a spread – all the crab legs and shrimp and boiled corn and potatoes you could eat, plus the offerings of a huge potluck spread.  We had a fine meal and left in great spirits at the end of a great day. 

Green Turtle Bay at Grand Rivers Kentucky

   

Looper Docktails, 5:00 at the Gazebo

We are spending a week here at the Grand Turtle Bay Marina – we are way ahead of schedule – if there is a schedule - and there seems to be a lot around here to see and do.  The Marina has a couple of loaner cars and so we have managed a trip to town for groceries, a hardware store stop and other errands.  Dennis has done some boat maintenance and we have been catching up on chores.

Grand Rivers is a tiny little town, but every building seems determined to attract the tourist business.   Tonight we went to the Badgett Theatre and saw an excellent production of  “Hank Williams: Lost Highway “.  It’s a resident ensemble cast and they did a great job with the story told mostly through Hank Williams songs and music.  The theatre is new and has great sound and lighting.  It will be a big help in making this place a destination.

Its been raining most of the day and is beginning to cool down from all the heat we had on the river. 

Patti's 1880's Settlement

Cumberland Towhead Island to Green Turtle Bay Marina

Cumberland River Landscape

We have been on the loop for two weeks and we have traveled 690 miles.  Some of those were long days – because there aren’t that many places to stop along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.  The Locks take a lot of time and so with many locks we make fewer miles.  Yesterday was an interesting day because we went through two locks that were said to have waiting lines – rumors and websites that showed wait times of 16 hours/48 hours/51 hours and the like.  By planning our approach, calling well in advance and the luck of the draw we waited less than 2 hours at each lock and felt fortunate for that. The Barkley Lock and Dam on the Cumberland River is one of the highest ones we will encounter, at 57’.  It was an awesome sight to be at the bottom of this chamber and rise up 57’ in about 15 minutes.  One person described it as “riding up in an elevator”.

Lower Cumberland River Narrow but deep

Small Kentucky River Town Church

The best news is that after several days at anchorages with no land and no showers, we turned into Green Turtle Bay marina shortly after experiencing the Barkley Lock.  We came around the bend and saw a huge marina, with lots of white buildings, tall sail masts, lighted walkways, a restaurant, a spa, a ships store, a gazebo and it was like driving into Disneyland for grown-ups.    We got cleaned up and relaxed and then found that there were at least 10-15 Looper boats here ---- docktails at the Gazebo at 5:00.

Dwarfed by the 57' lock

Green Turtle Bay Marina

Disneyland for adult boaters

 We went to Patty’s Restaurant in the nearby little town of Grand River.  Dennis and I shared a dinner of a 2 lb Pork Chop with all the accompaniments.  It was plenty for two people, plus a take-home box.  We are planning to stay at this Marina for several days and enjoy some land activities.

Olmstead Dam to Cumberland River Towhead

Yesterday we turned onto the Ohio River, and now we are moving into the Cumberland River.  Today we went through two Ohio Locks and it went smoothly, mainly because with four boats together, the lockmasters don’t seem to make you wait so long. 

My Lovely Deck Hand

We went past Paducah Kentucky, where the American Queen River Boat was docked and we had intended to stop there and see the town but a Dragon Boat race and river festival had taken up all available dock space.  So next week we will get a car and go in to Paducah to see the Quilt Museum and River Heritage Museum.

Two Little Handles Operate the Lock Doors

Found a beautiful anchorage this evening and the guys got out the dinghies.  It seems funny that it was fun to leave our boats – after 3 solid days – only to get on little tiny boats and bomb around on the water.  Dennis took Sue and her golden retriever to the shore for a walk, and then everyone ended up on the ‘Always 5 O’clock’ for drinks and laughs and stories.  So dinner was late and easy.  I think the loop would be fun by ourselves, but in a different way.  It’s been great to have the others to rely on and enjoy.  Everyone has a different sort of expertise, and all contributions are welcome.  Fortunately we travel slowly because sometimes it takes awhile for the whole committee to come to a conclusion on where to anchor etc.

Our companions are Al and Charli, on Always 5 O’clock, Chuck and Sue from Blue Moon, and Bill and Lori on Entrée.   We met all three couples at the pizza party in Chicago and are really happy to be traveling with them.

Cool Dam repair shot

Artsy Lock Shot

 

New Friends, Bill and Lori

Grand Tower Anchorage to Lock and Dam #53, Ohio River

We completed our 218 mile journey on the Mississippi and began swimming upstream on the Ohio, well really motoring upstream. Down the Mississippi we could do 13 mph while up the Ohio that dropped frequently to 6.5 mph. We have shifted from knots to mph because the river system is all in statute miles and I am tired of computing knots X 1.15 to get mph.

Anchored barges in waiting

The junction of the Ohio and Upper Mississippi Rivers is a train yard for barges. Staging barges are permanently anchored in the river and tows are built by attaching them to the anchored barges. There are about 10 stationary barges and tows are always being built. The size of the tows varies by the river and destination. Upper Mississippi tows are generally 3 barges wide and up to 5 long. On the lower Mississippi they are much larger up to 5 wide by 7 long. Lots of tugs in the area moving barges to their designated location.

Tugs to shuttle barges

We departed Chicago on September 5^th, completed the Illinois River on September 11^th, and the Mississippi River today. Several long days of travel and on the Mississippi only a few places to stop creating two back to back 80+ mile days. This pace should ease in the next couple of days.

And you think you have problems!!

Lock and Dam Construction

Bridges from a different angle

Not many safe places to stop on the river system due to low water conditions fairly common in the fall. Many of the islands are not surrounded by water and the anchorages have silted in. Higher water will change all that. So many phone calls seeking local recent knowledge and then an hour of searching for an adequate spot. But here we are anchored on the Kentucky side of the river across from the new lock construction project about a mile from the old lock and dam. Wait times have been extraordinary on the Ohio, we have two locks here 23 miles apart a boat that recently traversed down bound waited 16 hours at lock 53 and 9 hours at lock 52. We hope to move through lock 52 early tomorrow morning.

Sights and Scene

Rainy this morning overcast all day temperature in the high 60’s low 70’s a good travel day. 

Hoppies to Grand Tower Island

    

Oil or chemical barges loaded 3 X 3

Strong current at times pushing the boat 4 mph faster than normal cruise speed, some areas of turbulence with strong eddy currents and of course the large tows. We have seen 5 X 5 tows that is 5 barges wide X 5 barges long and understand the limit is 5 X 7. When they push upstream they create a large wash behind the tug and it is best to stay clear. The tug captains are generally courteous and will tell us how to proceed as we encounter them. I stand in awe of their capability in directing these barge tows through the river. Barges can be 50 feet wide and 290 feet long a 5 X 7 tow would be 250 feet wide X 2030 feet long. However, in those areas requiring locks the locks limit the size of the tows to 110 feet wide by 1200 feet long, tows can be split at the lock and some of the barges locked through then the balance of the barges and the tug a fascinating process.

Wing Dam

Our first anchorage on this leg of the trip. We are learning about wing dams, piles of rock perpendicular to the river that reduce erosion to the banks and direct the water flow to the main channel. The army corps have built hundreds of these structures, “wing dams” along the river. Well some silt in completely at this water level some are exposed and a few telltale signs indicate if it is a possible anchorage. Vertical walls are good, sandy beaches bad, look for eddy currents off the point, look for sandbars inside of the structure, and then poke your nose into the downstream area below the wing dam to see if it is deep enough. We are looking for a spot that could hold 4 boats if possible or at least 2, deep enough, protected from both the current and the wake of the enormous tows on the river with a clean enough bottom to hold the anchor. Well here we are at Grand Tower Island our first anchorage, all four boats maybe a bit closer than we would like but certainly safe. 

Always 5 O'clock at anchor behind the Wing Dam

Maggie going ashore after anchoring with Bill and Sue

Alton IL to Hoppies Marina

    

The arch

Today was the like taking your first drivers -ed course by driving the Chicago freeways to O’Hare airport.  We left Alton IL, a charming town and a beautiful marina and made good time through two early locks.  These were the fastest locks we have been in and created turbulent water for the downward ride.

Barges everywhere

Soon we were in traffic, barges by the hundred.  Tow boats pushed 12 or 20 or 35 giant barges in front of them, and sometimes we met them coming and going.  As a group of four small boats traveling together we were able to organize ourselves and pass them with a minimum of terror.  The choices are passing “on the one whistle” or on the “two whistle”.  It’s all done by radio communication with the barge captain.

Consider ……. “This is Mckeljfnakfja kalkaaiia tow downbound, plezzzurecraft you kin pass me ona two whistle”.    ????????????   

Barges, construction barges & cranes

Now say that with radio static, a couple of engines in the background, a bridge overhead with trucks – and in a southern drawl.     Oh, and by the way, the water is churning from every direction because the Missouri River just joined the Mississippi.  Just another fun and relaxing day.   We came past the St. Louis Arch about mid-day and got a moment of tourism in the midst of the mayhem.

Hoppies Marina

We arrived at Hoppies Marina, a legend of a place made of 4 sunken barges and operated since 1934 by one family.  Fern Hoppie is the matriarch and holds a briefing each afternoon where we learned some Civil War history, some family history and a lot about what to expect going downstream.   Just up the hill is the tiny town of Kimmswick, Missouri.  We went to the Blue Owl for lunch- awesome good – and then spent a little time wandering in the charming little shops. 

Blue Owl Restuarant, serves 300 people on a week day only open for lunch

We are learning to collect every drop of information passed along by the Loopers just ahead of us on the route so that we can make wise decisions for the days to come.