GUNTERSVILLE LAKE

Sept. 25 - It was pretty foggy for a while this morning, but later cleared and was a beautiful day. While we were in the Nickajack Lock and the water was flowing out of the lock, Charlotte watched several herons perched on the lock gate stalking their prey. As the waters recede, some fish get left in the various crevices of the lock gate. She saw one flopping up and down trying to free itself while the heron kept inching her way closer and closer. Poor fish didn't have a chance!

We docked back at Goose Pond Colony Marina early afternoon and felt like we were back at home.

Sept. 30 -Since our return, we've enjoyed greeting and getting to know quite a few other boaters who are stopping here for a night or two. Some of them have been doing the Great Circle this summer and are now arriving in this area as they head south. We welcomed Bob and Kem DeGroot (Spirit Dancer) that we met in Demopolis in June, and enjoyed getting together with them for Happy Hour. Don & Rosie Peck from Spring, TX (Just Rosie) joined us for dinner on the 28th to celebrate our anniversary.

We're planning to stay here until October 15 and look forward to welcoming other boaters stopping for a night or two. Fall has definitely arrived here on the Tennessee River - it was 46 degrees this morning! Brrrh!

LEAVING CHATTANOOGA AREA

Sept. 24 - Omega departed from Island Cove Marina and headed downstream past Chattanooga. While at Island Cove Marina, she was docked right in front of the NO WAKE sign in the photo. It was a very nice marina, but we certainly won't miss all their spiders!

After locking through Chickamauga lock, we cruised past downtown Chattanooga and said our farewells to the city. Captured a good view of their pedestrian bridge, Aquarium and I-Max Theater at Ross Landing as we passed by.

We were disappointed that our friends, Lee & Lynn Hornack from St. Joe, MI, weren't able to join us for this part of our cruise as planned. This particular cruising day has the most spectacular scenery of all on the Tennessee River. As you pass through the Grand Canyon of the Tennessee with views of Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, and Raccoon Mountain, you can't help but reflect on the absolute beauty surrounding you. We share some more photos below.

Dropped our anchor mid-afternoon at Little Cedar Mountain which is about halfway back to Goosepond Colony Marina in Scottsboro, AL. Enjoyed a refreshing swim before dinner.

GRAND CANYON OF THE TENNESSEE

RACCOON MOUNTAIN VIEWS

THE SUN FINALLY RETURNS

Sept. 22 - Fall has arrived, and the sun finally returned...HOORAH! Charlotte went for a walk and captured a photo of this tree just beginning to change. Some other photos of this very nice, full-service marina/resort are shown below.

The day ended with this beautiful sunset taken from OMEGA.

ISLAND COVE MARINA/RESORT

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN IN THE RAIN

Sept. 20 - On the rainiest day in Chattanooga in two years, we decided to go sightseeing up Lookout Mountain. Some folks don't have enough sense to come in out of the rain, you're probably thinking. Well, we agree...that's very true! Guess what!! Surprise!! We were the only ones up at the crest at Point Park! It was the last chance we had to go before our rental car time expired, so up we went.

Needless to say, we didn't take any photos of the view from the top since all we could see were in the clouds.

MORE NUTTY TOURISTS

We weren't the only nutty tourists atop Lookout Mountain in the clouds on Sept. 20th. The Incline Railway car was leaving the station at the top with several folks aboard! Unbelievable!

FATHER JIM VICK

Sept. 20 - We attended Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Chattanooga where our friend Father Jim Vick is the Pastor. Father Jim took over as Pastor here on August 1st. He was a Dentist on Big Pine Key until 1997 when he entered the seminary to study for the priesthood. A native of Tennessee, he chose to be assigned in the Diocese of Knoxville after his ordination. Several times a year, Father Jim comes back to our parish on Big Pine Key to fill in while our Pastor, Father Tony, is away. We always look forward to his visits.

Father Jim & Bill after Mass

Charlotte and Father Jim

We were pleased to have Father Jim join us on OMEGA for dinner on the 21st.

DOCK PARTY GATHERING

Sept. 18 - As we walked down the dock that evening after our visit to Missionary Ridge, the couple on the right welcomed us and introduced us to their dockmates who were gathered for TGIF. They invited us to join them for a barbeque dock party to watch the Univ. of Tenn Volunteers/Gator football game on Saturday afternoon. They have built this huge deck in the front of their covered slip with an enormous amount of space for entertaining. It was well equipped with everything one needs to entertain lots of folks. Their TV was mounted up high for easy visibility, etc. We assured them that while we were from Florida, we aren't Gator fans! We usually cheer for the Gators opponents, so we could easily be good Vol fans for the game.

There were lots of folks there Sat. afternoon all decked out in their Vol orange & white. Everyone was very welcoming and the barbeque was the best Bill has ever eaten. Even though the #1 Gators were victorious, the Vols put up a good fight.

Unfortunately, we didn't have our camera with us this during the event. We are grateful to our host and hostess, and we take out hats off to all the friendly Tenn. folks who congregate on weekends on Freedom Dock at Island Cove Marina!

MISSIONARY RIDGE OVERLOOKING CHATTANOOGA

Sept. 18 - We rented a car for the weekend so we could get out to see more of the Chattanooga area. Inbetween downpours, we managed a visit up Missionary Ridge overlooking the city. There are some very nice older homes along Crest Road there as well as many plaques displaying facts about the four-day Civil War battle between the Union forces and the Confederacy that took place there in 1863. The ridge had been held by the South, but the Union forces stormed up the hill and claimed victory.

Charlotte, born in Chicago, stands in front of the Illinois Memorial monument.

Bill, born in Owensboro, Kentucky, was pleased to find these facts and statistics about his home state's particpation in the battle.

WATTS BAR LOCK

Sept. 15 - Leaving Deer Island, we headed downstream and again locked through Watts Bar Lock. It's lots easy going down than up! When going up, you must use lots of pressure on the boat hook to keep the fenders from dragging along the lock walls and possibly damaging the boat, but when the water is going down, it's really a piece of cake. As you can see, we even had time to take a few pictures.




We stayed at Sale Creek on Lake Chickamauga again that evening. The next morning, we unloaded the dinghy and did some exploring on the creek and across the river to another scenic creek. Good thing we went early, because by afternoon it started pouring.

On the 17th, we cruised about 20 miles downstream to Island Cove Marina on Harrison Bay. It started pouring again as we arrived, and we didn't see blue sky again until the afternoon of the 22nd. Records were broken and flood warnings for our area and north Georgia were posted. A number of people died as a result of the flooding in both Georgia and our area of Tennessee.

CHICKAMAUGA & WATTS BAR LAKES

Sept. 11 - On the 8th anniversary of 9-11, we said goodbye to downtown Chattanooga after the fog lifted and headed northeast up the river. Passing through Chickamauga Lock, which raised us another 48 feet, we entered Chickamauga Lake. This 59-mile-long lake has 800 miles of shoreline, but most of the marinas do not have slips for transient boaters like us. We found a great place to anchor at pretty Sale Creek about 40 miles upstream from Chattanooga.


Sept. 12 - It was foggy again, so our departure was delayed somewhat...no problem since we have no timetable whatsoever! The weather was beautiful in the afternoon, and we continued enjoying the beauty of nature. We locked through our 18th lock (Watts Bar) and entered Watts Bar Lake (elev. 741'). Capt. Bill declared: "That's it, Char - no more locks until we turn OMEGA around!!"

Watts Bar Lake's shoreline is quite irregular. Surrounded on all sides by mountains, the steep mountain hollows and valleys were transformed into countless deep-water coves when the reservoir was flooded. This lake has more wilderness anchorages than any of the other Tenn. river reservoirs. There are very few towns, so isolation is one of the lake's greatest appeals. No cell phone signals, no TV, no Internet, just the pleasure of a quiet, peaceful time in this gorgeous part of our beautiful country. While we were there over a weekend, we saw very few other boaters.

We anchored at Foshee Bend (Mile 537) our first night. On the afternoon of Sept. 13th, at Mile 555, Bill turned OMEGA around and announced that we have gone as far upstream as we're going!! It's time to head towards home!! That evening we anchored at E. Martin Light and on the 14th, we dropped our hook at Deer Island. Nearby was Spring City, TN, one of the few towns on Watts Bar Lake, so we offloaded our dinghy and went ashore for a bit to eat.

DOWNTOWN CHATTANOOGA, TN

Sept. 9-10 - We docked at Ross Landing in downtown Chattanooga near the Aquarium, the IMAX theator, an art museum, the Walnut St Pedestrian bridge, beautiful landscaped walkways, many restaurants and other attractions. The city has spent millions on improvements(none of it tax money) along the waterfront; it is really nice and immaculately clean which really impressed us. We enjoyed dining at Big River Grill & Brewing Works our first evening.

The following day we walked through the downtown area and found a neat popular barbeque place for lunch called Porkers where we met John. As soon as he found out where we were from and how we cruised from Summerland to Chattanooga, he was ready to come to visit us in the Keys. Before long, he had shared the story of our passage with other workers, and they were all ready to follow us home. A great place for barbeque with a welcoming staff!

Later that afternoon we started hiking up to the Walnut St. Pedestrian bridge, which is high above the river. It was formerly a highway bridge converted when new bridges were built. In addition to providing a panoramic overview of the entire area with Lookout Mountain & Signal Mountain in the background, there are nice benches all along the bridge with hanging baskets of flowers and potted plants. Historical plaques here & there provide information relating the story of the development of the city. In the photo of Bill above taken on the walking bridge, you can see OMEGA in the background way down below.

We enjoyed walking across the bridge and seeing a little of the area in North Chattanooga. Docked on the north side of the river is the Delta Queen, a large paddlewheel steamer brought up from New Orleans recently. Unfortunately she has been grounded by the Coast Guard, so now she is used as a floating hotel and restaurant. Other scenes of the area are shown below.