November 2, 2009 Clifton to Grand Harbor

November 2 & 3, 2009

Clifton to Grand Harbor, Counce, TN or Iuka, MS

We were up early today because we have an extra hour of morning daylight. However, the fog this morning was heavy – heavy enough that we could not see the river from the marina. After taking Freeport for his morning walk I could see that the fog seemed to be dissipating and one trawler from the marina was venturing out. Mark and I decided that we would go, but as we were getting ready to leave the marina the fog was thick again. Mark also caught sight of a tow that was just crossing in front of the marina. We waited and nosed out into the channel. The tow continued down river and disappeared into the fog as he sounded his fog horn to warn any in his way. We were going the other way and Mark used his radar to help detect anything upstream. After 2-3 slow miles, we were in sunlight and motoring at normal speed.

Again we were charmed by the Tennessee River. The bluffs are beautiful and the houses were interesting. We passed Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh National Military Park at Mile marker 198.0. We collected spider webs that were floating in the wind – gossamer banners. After 6 hours we came to the Pickwick Landing Lock & Dam – the only thing between us and our next marina. Our luck did not hold and we had a wait of 3 hours for a double tow. We anchored, had a snack and relaxed while other boats from the Clifton Marina caught up to us and did the same. We did not get out of the L&D until 5:00 – in time to get a beautiful picture of the moon. The L&Ds here are also used for hydroelectric energy and in the case of Pickwick L&D, there is a highway bridge incorporated into the structure. Unfortunately, with an hour to go before we stopped, we were again forced to travel at night. We managed to get to Grand Harbor, and they stayed late to wait for us and assist us. By 6:00 we were safely tied down and needed a drink.