Looping with the Chequamegon Ark

We are heading back down river to lay-up in Demopolis, AL. Left Chanhassen with John Felix as my wing man and Lez watching Arwen for Madeline and Mike. 880 miles to Aqua Yacht Harbor. The Ark was in good shape but lots of spider poop on the outside. Whitten Lock was a 85 foot drop. Fields of cotton ready for and being harvested in Missouri and Tennessee. Big round bales with plastic wrap. Some pink and some yellow. Beautiful sunrise on the way out of Aqua Yacht today. Very top of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Narrow but deep. We ran fast to start the day. Spillways with diverters to slow the water coming in to minimize the dredging. Whitten lock More of the Whitten lock. We caught up to 5 and then six and then 8 other looper boats. Once we joined the flotilla it was 8 mph the rest of the day. At this point we were 6 of 9. Waiting in front of the Rankin lock.  

We made the decision to leave the boat at Aqua Yacht Harbor for a couple weeks and head back to Minnesota to see our kids and grandkids. 880 miles 13.25 hours. We enjoyed our week with Randy and Laura and got several things ready for our return. We tried to plug a small leak in our underwater exhaust connection but that will have to wait until we are out of the water. Bridge and cockpit covers should arrive in Chanhassen this week so I can plan their install and bring them back to Mississippi with me. Dogs are ambivalent whether at the house or on the boat as long as they are in the mix. I have my dad's "Believers Prayer" on the back of our looping card and I met a great couple just down the dock from us  - Dave and Susan - who uses a $1,000,000 bill for his conversation starter about Christ. Great to meet, talk and pray with our Christian brothers and sisters along the loop. The million dollar question is: are you certain where you will go if you died today - if not get

 Wifi is so slow here I am just going to narrate the last day or so and add photos when we have better service. We went down to the start of the Tenn-Tom yesterday and got a look at channel width etc.. We also found the nice little cove and waterfall at 217.2 left descending bank - beautiful quiet little spot - must be well known because many boats were coming in to check it out. We met the Aqua Yacht harbor host - very friendly. Shortly thereafter I called Demopolis on my weekly squeaky wheel update to see when we may get a spot and they have one! We have some items to care for and pick up others needed for our lay-up so we are heading home tomorrow for a week or so. After much ado we got a one way rental out of Memphis and will roll North in the morning. Enjoy every day - each one is a gift from God!

We took the day to tour the Civil War Battlefield at Shiloh. Amazing history, horrific and significant battle. If you are ever in this area this is a must visit. It is a National Park now. Right along the Tennessee River - we passed this section about 4 days ago and saw it from the river. The Union had gun ships and transported lots of troops and supplies with steamships on the river. All stuff collected from the battlefields over the years. They had a lot of cannons - this row of cannons had 35 that the Confederates shot at the Union's "Hornets Nest". Brass cannon. Lots of side stories and strategy. They developed the concept of the field hospital and immediate treatment of battlefield wounds instead of transporting to distant treatment centers. Another brass cannon - some were steel, some were rifled like this one and some were smooth bore. Range up to a mile.  

We cruised up to Florence, AL just before the Wilson dam. 5 looping boats on the transient dock last night - 3 boats had dogs traveling with them. A huge section of the lock wall at Wilson is damaged and getting through in either direction is iffy so we stayed on the downstream side and came back to Aqua Yacht Harbor today. Anchored in a little cove and fished off the Ark - no catching today. Catfish for dinner on Sunday. Randy and Laura joined us Sunday. Big coal fired generating plant near Florence - look close and see they are dismantling the right hand side. Houses built right on the edge of the cliffs in Florence. We anchored in the rain in a small cove off Pickwick Lake near the entrance to the Tom Bigbee waterway to fish. Looking out of our little cove. The dogs are doing well cruising with us, E dock in the background - our first covered slip.  

Today was a no move day - cooler and on/off rain and thunderstorms all day. Nice to be tied off and under a roof - fishing was good - fresh channel cat for dinner. This is our home marina for a month but we'll travel and fish around Pickwick lake this week. Randy and Laura joined us this afternoon and will be our crew for the week. This picture was from yesterday - they build right up to the edge of the bluff and this one had a severe wash out - look close and you can see the house just about to slide off the cliff into the Tennessee River.  

Cooler today which was nice as we cruised from Clifton to Aqua Yacht. Amazing how they allow homes to be built right on the edge of the cliffs and bluffs overlooking the Tennessee River. Clifton was very nice, protected harbor, good food, live music. We ended up 7:30 hours today due to a delay at the Pickwick Lock to get a disabled boat in the lock with us - cooler temps made it easier on the dogs. Rain for 3 hours of todays run but still nice on the river. We have our first covered slip and this is home for a month hoping and praying for an opening in Demopolis on the hard deck.  The Ark on the Clifton transient dock - had dinner with 3 other looper boats. Clifton has flooded the last 3 years - the pole Lez is standing next to is to hold the docks when they float up with the flood waters - apparently got within a foot or so in 2019. By the time you could read Clifton marina on the tanks you were past the marina - glad for good electronics. Tremendous number of beautiful homes line the