Friday, October 31, 2008

Guntersville to Chattanooga via Goosepond

The first photo is Muriel and Shelly in one of the narrow passageways at Rock City. The second photo is heading up the Tennessee River just below Chattanooga. The third is me taking
Carlie ashore one morning while we were anchored on the way to Chattanooga. The fourth photo is a small ferry we saw in Alabama just before we crossed into Tennessee. Dedicate this photo to Ron Mercer.














Sunday we left Guntersille, Al about 8:30 am and cruised 45 miles up the river to Goosepond Colony Marina. Two of the boats did not make it to Goosepond. One hit something leaving the dock and the other had a bad bearing. Both went into Alred Marina which was close by. It sounds as though both got good service at Alred. Freedom’s Turn got their damaged prop removed and repaired and back on the water by Monday. Going There got their shaft pulled, which another marina failed to get done, and they expect to have the bearing replaced and be back on the water tomorrow. We were joined at Goosepond by two other boats from North Carolina. We have not met either of them before but the both know C Life. We all left Goosepond together this mouring and ran 50 miles up the river to an anchorage just above Nickajack Dam. It is a nice, well protected anchorage with plenty of room for all seven boats. We will move on to Chattanooga tomorrow.
The leaves have become noticeably more colorful this week. The mountains along the river are taller and rise more directly from the river. The channel is usually quite narrow with islands along the sides but with large areas of shallow water outside the islands. We stopped today to turn around in the river and take a picture of a small ferry which loads on one side of the river from a one lane gravel road and crosses to a similar one lane gravel road on the other side of the river. This was right at the Alabama, Tennessee line. We are in Tennessee again tonight. We have about 40 miles to go tomorrow to get to Chattanooga and no more locks.
We woke Wednesday morning to 32 degrees and thick fog. We watched a flock of wild turkeys in a clearing on shore. When I tried to wipe the dew off the dingy to take Carlie ashore it would not wipe, it was ice. As soon as the sun hit the water the fog dissipated and we were able to get under way about 8:45. We traveled the last 40 miles to Chattanooga in glorious sunshine and beautiful vista of the Tennessee valley as the trees take on fall colors. Soon after we arrived in Chattanooga and got the boat tied up Muriel and Shelly and I walked into downtown to look around and ride the free electric bus. Chattanooga has put a lot into making the downtown and its waterfront tourist friendly. When we arrived back at the marina the group was going into to eat dinner. So we all in town and ate barbeque. On Thursday we went to the Tennessee Aquarium which is right on the river front. We spent the entire day there and enjoyed it very much. After drinks with everyone we ate on the boat. On Friday morning we picked-up a rent car and drove to the incline railroad and rode it to the top. It is the steepest railroad in the world at 72.8% grade. We toured the battlefield at the top and enjoyed the view of the river from high on the bluff. We say two of the boats we came up the river with headed back down stream.
When we left the incline we drove to Rock City. This is something we have seen advertised for years but never knew much about. Several people had told us it was well worth visiting and we now have to agree with them. It is an amazing park which wanders around through rock canyons and over rock, across two suspension bridges, past several overlooks, and above, in front of and below a water fall. At one point you walk through a long passage way through the rocks, really a cave, where each side room is a scene from a different fairy tale. We had intended to go to Ruby Falls next but agreed that would be pushing an enjoyable day too far. We headed back into town and turned the in the car. When we got back to the dock everyone else was here and ready for the Halloween party. Each boat had been given a small pumpkin by Bella Luna to create a jack-o-lantern. We carved ours and some of the boats carved them, others drew them. One boat did the great loop ensign on theirs. We all shared drinks and snacks on the dock and shared trick or treats from each boat to each boat. The owner of Annie came down the dock and agreed to play his calliope for us. We saw his boat in Florence, Al. where he now lives. The boat is an amazing 50 foot coaster style boat which he built himself. Muriel and I stayed aboard a while and visited with Ron and his wife Carol. It took 16 years and untold dollars to complete the boat. She created several stained glass windows which grace the boat. The workmanship throughout the boat is amazing. Inlayed floors, tables created just for the boat, a huge coffee table which is actually a tool box with about 15 drawers all filled with Ron’s tools. It is a beautiful piece of furniture.
Chattanooga will be the site of the nation’s second largest rowing competition beginning tomorrow. There will be 980 boats in the races. There will be single, double, quad and eight man, and woman, competition. They will be mostly collegiate teams with a few rowing clubs represented. The city expects 10,000 people to attend along the river front. We will be leaving about 8:30 in the morning and will be escorted out of the competition area be the Coast Guard.
In all, we have enjoyed Chattanooga.

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