From Alabama River Anchorage to Mobile Bay Alabama

Today was a  very interesting day, starting with pure nature ending with the industrial port Mobile. We began in mostly fresh water, ending in salty brackish water. Birds were more numerous and varied than on any day on our trip, including thousands of terns, hundreds of blue herons, egrets and white ibis', and other assorted species including sea gulls, bald eagles, and finally the beloved pelicans. We even caught a glimse of a whitetail deer drinking in the river



a bald eagle




terns




nice cottage



Mobile

Demopolis to Bobbie's to Alabama River cutoff anchorage

This half of the Tenn Tom has almost no marinas or anchorages; as a result boaters tend to travel faster and/or travel more hours to keep stops to a minimum.  The scenery is total wilderness,beautiful and varied; the amount and species of birds are increasing as we get closer to Florida.


wild and beautiful




GPS showing the crooked Tenn Tom and our boat passing a tug




A ballard travels up or down the lock wall while we are tied to it




Catfish dinner with new friends at Bobbies resort




After hundreds of locks; the last one - Coffeeville Alabama!!!



To Aliceville, Sumter anchorage, and Demopolis, Alabama

The Tenn Tom showed us some really impressive scenery over the last few days


Big House and Big Houseboat




Our boat traveling the Tenn Tom(notice the original Tombigbee in blue)




The scene of the accident




The salvaged boat



Our anchorage




our anchorage

The white cliffs of Epas; truly amazing

This is not an area of fine museums and great cultural events, but rather one of natural beauty.  Last night we stayed in a beautiful wilderness anchorage;  for the last three days we have been seeing quite a few American Bald Eagles; and we continue to see many egrets, blue herons, white ibis, etc.  The forests are dense and non- stop.

From Columbus to Aliceville Mississippi

Today was a traveling day of leisure;  we slept in, left the dock to go only 1/2 mile to our 1st and only lock of the day.  The three hour trip was inspired by mother nature, that is, except for the scene of an accident.
Two days ago a 42 foot boat passed a tug too closely and the boat capsized and sank within 15 seconds.  The tug captain upon seeing the accident called to a following pleasure boat  informing the captain that a boat had sunk and that there were 4 people in the water.  Fortunately the 4 people were rescued with no one being hurt.  Unfortunately the boat didn't fare so well. It was raised by four divers this morning at 2:00 AM and brought to the very marina we are staying in.  The owners were traveling the loop for the 2nd time; and had totally refurbished everything in the boat.  The cleaning job will be expensive and time consuming.
This accident reinforced our respect for Tow Boats and their barges.

Oh! I almost forgot another highlight(?).  We left Mississippi at mile marker 313.7 and entered Alabama ---- but we returned in about a half mile.

NO PICTURES!!  The Internet isn't strong enough in Aliceville, Alabama (are you surprised?).
We may not have Internet at all tomorrow - we'll see.

Tomorrow we travel 36 miles to an anchorage in the Sumter Landing Recreation Area.

Midway Marina to Columbus Marina, Mississippi

Today we went through four locks traveling 56 miles.   The scenery was beautiful and varied with little evidence of civilization being present. 
Columbus, Mississippi is the site of a big airforce training base.  More than 1/3 of all airforce pilots are trained at this airport. In terms of landings and takeoffs it is among the busiest airports in the US. 
Tennessee Williams was born here; his house has been renovated and is now used as a visitor center.  
Columbus has many antebellum homes;  they are lived in, well maintained and they can be toured.

Scenes along the Tenn Tom



Getting closer to Florida?


Tomorrow we travel 26 miles to Pirates Marina Cove in Carrollton, Alabama.

From Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina to Midway Marina in Fulton MS

From Aqua Harbor we drove the courtesy car back to the town of Florence to see the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.  It was a worthwhile trip.  We had no idea that so many famous artists recorded in this area.  Having a car to drive helps us to see areas from two different perspectives (by land and by water).
The 56 mile boat trip to Fulton was relaxing and the scenery was pleasant (and there were no delays at the 3 locks!).
We locked through with a really nice guy, John, who was traveling alone in his 28 foot boat on the way to the Palm Harbor Florida area.  Having dinner together was a lot of fun.
While exiting the last lock our port side throttle cable snapped.  John left the next morning at 8:00 AM as we waited for a mechanic to check the cable and order a new one.
The new cable will be installed tomorrow Tuesday allowing us to leave on Wednesday.
Tonight we shared cocktails and dinner with two other couples one of whom was a couple that we had traveled with earlier (Mike and Jennifer); and a German couple from Cologne (Fred and Intrid )who are also doing the loop.



picture showing Elvis and the Sun Records owner



Nat King Cole



An unusual, steel, beautiful tugboat style pleasure craft



Not tombstones!  but water control devices



Looking down the Tenn Tom from a lock



From Goose Pond Marina back to the start of the Tenn Tom Waterway

The trip back to the Tenn Tom included four legs; Decatur, Wheeler, Florence, ending with the Aqua Yacht Harbor Marina ( a five star resort with amenities such as a pool, a fitness center, 3 courtesy cars, etc. )We will stay here 2 nights before moving down the Tom Bigsby Tennessee River waterway (Tenn Tom).  This waterway connects the Tennessee River with the Gulf of Mexico.
:
General Joe Wheeler is a beautiful state park and resort and the site of the "loopers" rendezvous from October 23rd through the 27th - we attended last October but won't be there this year.  Having just about completed the loop we won't need the seminars!  We stayed here two nights ago to celebrate with another couple, Mark and Michelle  the place where our loop dreams took shape; treating ourselves to a terrific catfish dinner in the Lodge restaurant.
The trip to Florence included 4 hours of treading water while waiting at a lock!
The trip from Florence to Aqua Yacht Marina was windy, causing waves to be at least 3 feet - I have never experienced such high waves on a river.  Not scary, just unusual.




Wind surfing on the Tennessee



The spaghetti dinner






The pool at Joe Wheeler state park




view from the Florence marina




The entrance to Florence Harbor




Stay in the marked channel! because there are underwater islands too!




Lots of houses on lots of cliffs





some fall colors trying to appear


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Looking at the Tenn Tom from our dock at Aqua Marina