Wed, Thurs - Oct. 10 -11, 2018 (Kentucky Lake) - End of the line
Wed, Oct, 10 (63.1 miles)
Hurricane Michael is threatening the Panhandle, and we are beginning to feel some of the residual effects on Kentucky Lake. It's very cloudy, muggy, and the barometer is dropping. We decided to get a early start with the hope of avoiding cruising in the rain. We left Clifton about 8:45 a.m. and headed downstream on Kentucky Lake. Locks and Dams are in our rear-view mirror, so we shouldn't encounter any delays.
Hurricane Michael must have sucked up the front, because the clouds gave way to sunshine and another hot day 80+. Our 63-mile run to Pebble Isle Marina, New Johnsonville, TN (mm 95.6) was delightful. We passed a crew dredging the lake and noted that the bottom of the river was surprisingly sandy.
At mm 130 we came across Lady Finger Bluff. Legend has it that in the pioneer days, a lady chose to leap to her death from this bluff rather than be caught by attacking Indians. We love these stories that supplement our imagination as we take in the historic shoreline of the Tennessee River.
There is a significant Looper presence on the river today, we passed at least a dozen Loopers going upstream. We're not sure if they're waving to acknowledge us or to let us know we're going the wrong way!
We arrived at Pebble Isle around 3:30 p.m., greeted by the proprietor's children working the fuel dock. These family run marinas are quite charming and are very accommodating - we always feel so welcome. After fueling up, we putted over to the dock that was full of Loopers (Time to Breathe, Catalyst, Mary' n Gale, Optimystique, Soulshine, and Blue Moon. We were greeted by each one individually, as we spent the afternoon trading Looper and life stories with perfect strangers. We spent about an hour aboard Blue Moon, a Cutwater (28) identical to Port-A-Gee. Kenny and Sherry Schumacher will soon cross their wake in Pensacola, FL before returning back home in Altamont, IL.
We enjoyed another crockpot production of boneless pork and rice. While eating we tallied the dinners onboard versus restaurants, and remarkably have only eaten out 4 times! Had it not been for the crockpot, that stat would have surely been reversed. After dinner we took advantage of Pebble Isle's shower house and had a restful night despite the winds that were kicking up outside.
Thurs, Oct. 11 (71.8 miles)
WOW - Fall arrived over night! The temperature dropped almost 30 degrees to a chilly 58. All of the Loopers were up bright and early, casting their lines at 7:00 a.m., we followed at 8:30, although in the opposite direction.
The good news is that this was the worst weather of the entire trip! 5 hours of rain and 2' seas sent us thumping along Kentucky Lake. The shoreline was beautiful, but there were no signs of the promised Bald Eagles and Ospreys that inhabit the national wildlife refuge (mms 72 - 69). We did, however, encounter huge barge tows, and of course Loopers that were heading upstream on their journey.
The payoff came at 2:00 p.m. when we arrived at Lighthouse Landing (mm 24) and our friends Marty & Brenda Colburn and Ron and Libby Johnson! This is our last stop as we end our trip down the Tennessee River from Knoxville, TN to Grand Rivers, KY. We covered the remaining 20 miles of the River (from Paducah) on our trip last year. We're looking forward to spending time with the Colburn's and Johnson's before loading Port-A-Gee back on the trailer to go home for the winter. Until next year!
Hurricane Michael is threatening the Panhandle, and we are beginning to feel some of the residual effects on Kentucky Lake. It's very cloudy, muggy, and the barometer is dropping. We decided to get a early start with the hope of avoiding cruising in the rain. We left Clifton about 8:45 a.m. and headed downstream on Kentucky Lake. Locks and Dams are in our rear-view mirror, so we shouldn't encounter any delays.
Hurricane Michael must have sucked up the front, because the clouds gave way to sunshine and another hot day 80+. Our 63-mile run to Pebble Isle Marina, New Johnsonville, TN (mm 95.6) was delightful. We passed a crew dredging the lake and noted that the bottom of the river was surprisingly sandy.
At mm 130 we came across Lady Finger Bluff. Legend has it that in the pioneer days, a lady chose to leap to her death from this bluff rather than be caught by attacking Indians. We love these stories that supplement our imagination as we take in the historic shoreline of the Tennessee River.
There is a significant Looper presence on the river today, we passed at least a dozen Loopers going upstream. We're not sure if they're waving to acknowledge us or to let us know we're going the wrong way!
We arrived at Pebble Isle around 3:30 p.m., greeted by the proprietor's children working the fuel dock. These family run marinas are quite charming and are very accommodating - we always feel so welcome. After fueling up, we putted over to the dock that was full of Loopers (Time to Breathe, Catalyst, Mary' n Gale, Optimystique, Soulshine, and Blue Moon. We were greeted by each one individually, as we spent the afternoon trading Looper and life stories with perfect strangers. We spent about an hour aboard Blue Moon, a Cutwater (28) identical to Port-A-Gee. Kenny and Sherry Schumacher will soon cross their wake in Pensacola, FL before returning back home in Altamont, IL.
We enjoyed another crockpot production of boneless pork and rice. While eating we tallied the dinners onboard versus restaurants, and remarkably have only eaten out 4 times! Had it not been for the crockpot, that stat would have surely been reversed. After dinner we took advantage of Pebble Isle's shower house and had a restful night despite the winds that were kicking up outside.
Thurs, Oct. 11 (71.8 miles)
WOW - Fall arrived over night! The temperature dropped almost 30 degrees to a chilly 58. All of the Loopers were up bright and early, casting their lines at 7:00 a.m., we followed at 8:30, although in the opposite direction.The good news is that this was the worst weather of the entire trip! 5 hours of rain and 2' seas sent us thumping along Kentucky Lake. The shoreline was beautiful, but there were no signs of the promised Bald Eagles and Ospreys that inhabit the national wildlife refuge (mms 72 - 69). We did, however, encounter huge barge tows, and of course Loopers that were heading upstream on their journey.
The payoff came at 2:00 p.m. when we arrived at Lighthouse Landing (mm 24) and our friends Marty & Brenda Colburn and Ron and Libby Johnson! This is our last stop as we end our trip down the Tennessee River from Knoxville, TN to Grand Rivers, KY. We covered the remaining 20 miles of the River (from Paducah) on our trip last year. We're looking forward to spending time with the Colburn's and Johnson's before loading Port-A-Gee back on the trailer to go home for the winter. Until next year!
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