Tennessee
Sloughs, bluffs, and mussels
Leaving Paducah on Sept. 8, we entered the Tennessee River at mile 0.0. We’ve read that the river is wide and offers many good anchorages. We discovered that there is also the bonus of not so many dead carp.
Below is an outline of the locks through which we’ll pass on this portion of the trip (minus the Melton Hill). Interestingly, the river runs from KY through TN, MS, AL, and then back into TN before coming to the Knoxville area, our temporary destination. That is, our travels after Pickwick Lock consist of a side trip not part of the traditional Great Loop, as we are headed to the Knoxville area to visit Den’s Mom as well as his sister and her family. Loopers normally traverse the Pickwick Lock then head to the Tenn-Tom River. We will pass the Tenn-Tom on our way toward Knoxville, but will continue on and return to it after visiting in Knoxville.
On Sept. 8, our group of boats traveling together had a choice of going through Barkley Lock (on the Cumberland River) or through the Kentucky Lock (on the Tennessee River) to reach our goal of Turtle Bay Marina. The Barkley (not noted on map) is currently closed from 6:00am to 6:00pm for maintenance and, thus, is very busy before and after those times. The Kentucky Lock though not closed for maintenance is the choice of most commercial traffic and is quite busy. Further, the Lockmasters at this particular lock have been known to have less patience when dealing with pleasure boat traffic.
We ended up choosing the Kentucky Lock and calling in the morning to determine when we should plan our arrival at the lock. Based on their answer, we delayed our departure one hour. On the way to the lock, we saw my new boat!
The Kentucky Lock was probably the most difficult locking experience we’ve had thus far. First, though we were all set up to tie up on port, at the last minute, we received instructions that we had to switch to starboard, so we had to adjust fenders and lines accordingly very quickly. One fender refused to cooperate even after taking a screwdriver to the adjuster, so that part of the boat ended up bumping against the wall for awhile before Dennis could “persuade” it to cooperate. There was a great deal of turbulence, and we had difficulty getting the boat near the bollard and then a line around the bollard. At one point in all of this, the line became wrapped around my ankle, which was a little scary. After securing the line, we had to keep fending off the wall at the bow because the turbulence would continuously push the bow into the wall; there were no pins on the wall to attach another line toward stern to help keep the bow off the wall. The 50 foot rise seemed to take its time. Kim on “Til You Can’t” could see our struggle and sent us these pictures as mementos!
By the time we got to Green Turtle Bay on Sept. 8, we were ready for some down time to regroup. We were joined by “Patti Anne,” “Delta Blues,” “Bo-lin,” and “Til You Can’t.” “Stinger” had preceded us there. Den was able to get a thorough wash done on the boat, paying a good deal of attention to the stern given how the diesel fumes seem to coat that area. I was able to attend to the inside of the boat, reprovision, and do laundry. We both enjoyed the swimming pool! A large group of us went to a great restaurant called “Patti’s” which served bread baked in flower pots. This is how many Loopers (representing three different boats) it takes to figure out how to adjust the seats in the courtesy van. If a young mom had been there, she’d have done it within seconds.
We stayed at Green Turtle Bay until Wed., Sept. 11, at which point we left with Kim and Chuck from “Til You Can’t,” as we are both going to do the side trip to the Knoxville area. Kim and Chuck are from Knoxville so wish to go home for a visit. Our other buddy boat friends were on the dock waving goodbye in the morning.
We left the Cumberland River portion of the trip for Kentucky Lake. Kentucky Lake and several other lakes on (and really part of) the Tennessee River were formed when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) flooded the area. So, the river has multiple lakes within its length. We passed a house built on a railroad bridge that had a span removed …
… and an abandoned dock that must have have been in service prior to the flooding done by TVA. It looked like a very sophisticated duck blind.
There is not as much commercial traffic on the Tennessee as compared to the Illinois, Mississippi, and Ohio.
We made it to Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, TN, and hunkered down at this marina, as the remnants of Hurricane Francine were on the way. Owners/operators Bob, Linda, and Billy at this marina were helpful and hospitable. First, they allowed us to take slips under the boathouse given the pending rain storm. We’d no sooner gotten both boats under cover when the rain started.
Second, fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls were delivered to our boat each morning! It’s a toss up as to which was more important, shelter or homemade cinnamon rolls.
Third, they gave us unlimited use of the courtesy van while we were there, as we were the only visitors at that time. It’s past season here. In fact, check out the spider webs on a neighboring boat (below).
We tried to make the most out of our stay there (waiting out the storm), so on Thurs, Sept. 12, we went with Kim and Chuck to visit three different museums in the area, starting with the Johnsonville State Historic Park museum where we learned about the role of Johnsonville as a major supply depot for the Union army (using the Tennessee River) until Nathan Bedford Forrest led a raid attacking the supply base.
Between 1933 and 1944, the TVA built dams for flood control and hydroelectric power, and in 1944, Johnsonville was flooded. What was Johnsonville is now all under water in Kentucky Lake (again, part of the Tennessee River). Former residents of Johnsonville moved and established what is now called New Johnsonville. Evidently, residents were paid $44. per acre for their land at the time.
We also went to the Pilot Knob Interpretive Center/Folklife Museum. This site is one of the highest points in Tennessee. I like to tease Dennis about reading every plaque. Example below!
We learned about the history of musseling, or harvesting mussels, along the river in jon boats and about brailing, dragging a series of three-pronged metal hooks – attached by a length of rope or chain – from the boat along the river bottom. Mussels will open to feed on algae and when the hooks hit them, they will clamp over the prong and can thus be pulled into the boat. The mussels were harvested to make mother of pearl buttons until plastics became the more economical choice after WWII.
The museum guide showed us a rescued, injured hummingbird that she cares for.
Plus, there were many hummingbirds taking advantage of the feeder by the doors to the interpretive center.
More on mussels – Our next “museum” stop was the Tennessee Freshwater Pearl Farm and Museum. Though the farm (which is in the river) is still active, the museum has been considerably downsized, evidently, to a doublewide in a campground. However, it was pretty interesting. John Latendresse became fascinated with pearl culturing while a soldier in Japan in WWII. When he returned, he tested over 300 bodies of water and found that the Tennessee River was the best environment to culture pearls. He proceeded to establish the only freshwater pearl farm in the nation.
An irritant is placed into the tissue of the mussel. The mussel will then secrete nacre (the substance that forms the pearl) around the irritant and will take on the shape of the irritant (e.g., round, triangular, oblong) with a three to five year growing period. The freshwater pearl – the only gemstone from animal origin – is the official gemstone for the state of Tennessee.
The next day, Sept. 13, Bob and Pam on “Just Bob-n” arrived at Pebble Isle and joined us for another excursion in New Johnsonville, TN. We went to Loretta Lynn’s ranch/museum/event center in nearby Hurricane Mills where they have a replica of her childhood Kentucky home …
On Sept. 15, we left for Clifton. On the Inland Rivers, the inlets, despite size and whether sandy/muddy or water-filled, are called sloughs and each has its particular title, e.g., Eldridge Slough. The ride in this part of the Tennessee is becoming more scenic with many limestone bluffs on one shore and sandy ground on the opposite.
Still low water, though …
However, at the Clifton Marina where we stayed Sept. 15, you can see how high the river rises when flooding happens by the dark scrape marks on the pole/pier to which the floating marina/restaurant is attached (below).
We went to dinner with Chuck and Kim, and the marina owner spoke to us at length about how the water was over the nearby road above the marina when she was in the process of buying the marina! The picture below shows the road – and also a boat with a plant growing up out of its swim platform. Must be they don’t get out much.
On Mon., Sept. 16, leaving again with “Til You Can’t,” we were back on the road.
We were greeted a couple times that day by F16s that buzzed above us. Possibly from Huntsville, AL? We see numerous fishermen every day and the occasional pleasure boat. Also, there are noticeably fewer tows and barges in this portion of the river.
The Tennessee River is getting discovered. While you do see the very occasional older cottage/house on this portion of the river …
… for the most part, this area is virtually lined with two types of places. First, single or community groupings of RV shelters with electric and water/sewer provide a seasonal living opportunity, evidently. If flooding occurs, simply move the RV.
Second, new houses are built to accommodate flood levels.
Locked through Pickwick Lock (55 ft. lift), a hydropower dam.
We then passed the spot where the Tenn-Tom river starts and, again, where three states seemingly come together – TN, MS, and AL. It is very pretty on both the AL and TN sides of the river. Now, instead of tall houses and RV shelters, very large and elegant houses line the shore.
We saw some beautiful views.
The shoreline here is much more hilly, even occasionally mountainous.
We anchored with “Til You Can’t” and all jumped in the Tennessee River to cool off, as it was a very hot day. More to follow on our experiences on the Tennessee River.