Chattanooga and Downriver

Reaching our Destination

The evening of September 24, we dropped anchor along the side of the river near McNabb Spring, our last stop before Chattanooga. The weather had been sunny, with clouds that couldn't blur the beautiful views. Wednesday morning, a haze had set in as we headed to the Nickajack *Lock. We were in and out in about 20 minutes. The last couple of days we’d traveled about 6 hours each day, meaning we were within a few hours of Chattanooga at this point. The three days before reaching Chattanooga, the views from the Tennessee River were the most beautiful so far. We had gradually become accustomed to the lush forests on either side of the lake or river as we traveled. There were now innumerable hills covered with trees, reaching higher than before, some became cliffs.

An abandoned Lock One of Many Quarries Dramatic Cliff Face

The Tennessee Gorge A Misty Morning

We arrived at Chattanooga on Wednesday. It had been misty all morning with low clouds obscuring the tallest cliffs. It was damp and cold when we pulled into Chattanooga. After some industrial complexes as we approached the city, we saw three bridges and the Aquarium (see above) situated next to the river. We moored our boat at a city-owned dock in the rain, where the

Petite Fleur moored at Chattanooga

only amenities (besides a secure mooring) was power and water. I was disappointed that there was no marina with a shower, as I was really looking forward to washing my hair. It was too cold to wash it on the aft deck. But I decided to make the best of it. After the rain stopped, and while Adrian tended to the leaks we’d found on the boat, I went into town to look around and get some steps in and took some pictures of the quirky artwork and landscaping around town.

The town is charming in its own way. With a population just under 200,000, there are numerous shops, restaurants, and hotels in the downtown area. There is a baseball stadium for the local triple A team, the Lookouts, named after Lookout Mountain. The team is a Minor League team of the Southern League and the affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Some of the architecture around the Lakefront buildings is modern and much of the Riverfront design reflects the Indian culture that once existed here. The Muscogee and Yuchi, Indian tribes, and eventually some Cherokee, began its Trail of Tears journey here. It is sad to me that we, as white people, now honor the Indian heritage through art and architecture, with bronze plaques and stories, but their ancestors now live in reservations scattered across the country, isolated and impoverished.  

(While we were experiencing some cloudy skies, cooling temperatures and rain, people south and east of us were experiencing the wrath of Helene, the worst hurricane since Katrina at a category 4. It stalled over parts of North and South Carolina and Alabama, destroying towns, villages and small communities. Pictures of the aftermath have been sobering to say the least. We pray for the people who are left homeless, injured or who have lost families. While the storm was far from where we were, we are grateful that we were well out of harm’s way.)

While shopping I found a couple of unique stores and purchased a few gifts. I explored the various restaurants to see where we might eat out while we were there. That evening, *Adrian and I walked to a locally owned pizza joint and had some tasty pizza and beer from a local brewery. It

Interesting vibe, good beer and pizza

was a lot of walking for both of us, having been on the boat for several consecutive days. We went to bed tired and grateful that we could sleep in the next day. However, even though I thought I’d turned the alarm off on Adrian’s phone, it went off at 6:00 a.m. We’d discovered the day before that Chattanooga is just over the Central Time Zone and is on EST. We shut the darn thing off and went back to sleep.

After lunch the next day, we went to the Aquarium. There are two exhibit buildings. One, the River Journey building was built in 1992 and houses fish, amphibians and river formations that can be found along the Tennessee River Valley. The Ocean Journey building was completed in 2005. We considered this to be the more interesting of the two exhibits. There was a butterfly room, though not many butterflies were flitting around. They don’t live long, according to a guide, and the supply is replenished every week with about 500 chrysalises from Costa Rica. We were able to see a couple of butterflies emerging from *their chrysalises and drying their wings. The penguin exhibit was fun. There were about three dozen penguins of different varieties. Some just standing around, a couple swimming and a few playing follow the leader. The ocean aquarium tank rose from the ground floor to the fourth floor and contained a variety of ocean creatures: sharks, turtles, sting rays and any number of fish that the sharks don’t find appetizing. We’d both seen larger exhibits in Baltimore, Boston and D.C. but it was still fun to watch the sea life.

We ate some southern style cooking at Puckett’s Restaurant and Adrian enjoyed some more local brew. Returning to the boat, I cleaned up the kitchen from the day’s detritus; we again fell into bed, tired from a couple of hours of walking and standing. It’s amazing how the body gets used to not walking much.

The next morning, we were joined on our mooring dock by a Ranger Tug 30. Adrian helped him tie down and we met Pete, who had been doing the Loop solo, except for some friends or family joining him for a few segments of the trip. He was returning from the Northern portion of the Loop, heading back to Houston, where he was from.

The next afternoon Adrian was up for some more walking, so we walked up the hill to the Art District. The Museum of American Art is at the top of a bluff.

We did not go in since I would have wanted to spend the entire afternoon, and I knew Adrian was not that interested. Instead, we walked around the grounds and went into a nearby high-end Art Gallery. It’s always fun to look. I especially enjoyed “stumbling” upon interesting art objects or intriguing nooks and crannies. On the way back, we had to traverse down a couple of steeply inclined sidewalks to get to the downtown area. We were getting hungry, so we stopped for a beverage at a grille, sat outside and watched people passing by.

There were a number of people in town for the Chattanooga Triathlon which was to be held that Sunday. We had an appetizer, which filled us up enough that we didn’t need to order carry-out like we’d planned. I had a cucumber-chili Marguerita which was refreshing and spicy.

Later, we invited Pete to come by for a drink. He revealed that he’d lost his wife that January to cancer, but he was determined to do The Loop anyway. He told us about the places along the way that he liked and those he didn’t, making us want to perhaps give it a try in the future. Pete had been in the Marine business during his career, but this was the first boat he’d owned. He gave us a tour, and of course we were impressed. A boat like his costs $300,000 to $500,000. Sadly, not in our budget. We exchanged business cards and parted ways.

At this point, it had been over a week since we’d been at a marina. I was in dire need of a shower and to wash my hair. Our moorage at Chattanooga had no facilities and the closest marina was a couple of days away. I was sorely tempted to book a hotel room for a night, although Adrian did not want to leave the boat there overnight. So, I pushed through for another couple of days.

Sculling practice

As we sat on the aft deck of the boat, most of the activity around us was taking place on the river. We saw kayakers, sculling teams, tour boats, and even swimmers preparing for the swim portion of the Triathlon. (By mid Saturday, the swim portion had been cancelled because of the rising water, swift current, and debris stirred up from Helen, which was well east of Chattanooga.)

Saturday and Sunday were dreary and cool with some intermittent misty rain. We got out each day to walk around and stop for a beer and either an appetizer or dinner. On Sunday, we met Bob Hirche for dinner. We’d met Bob in Demopolis in early June, on the first leg of our trip. He lives in Marysville, TN, which is almost 2 hours from Chattanooga. It was good to see him again. He is quite the talker, though. He told us about places to stop and which ones to avoid. He is quite knowledgeable about the river and the effects of Hurricane Helene on the dams and tributaries east of us. As a result, we felt confident that leaving the next day would be a good idea, before too much more water was released above us.

While we were in Chattanooga, ants found refuge from the rain on our boat via the shorelines that tied us to the dock. We found them first on the aft deck, then on the fore deck, the captain’s cabin door, then the galley. Adrian can be a fierce avenger of the boat’s environment where bugs are concerned, using bug spray liberally. The ants didn’t stand a chance, but I had to ask him to let me know when and where he planned to spray so that I could cover food and dishes or close the doors to the inside, so the stuff didn’t permeate everything we used on the boat.

We left Chattanooga on Monday morning, September 30. We had been on this segment of the trip for 6 weeks at this point. The weather had settled, though the sky was grey with low laying clouds. The TVA was letting water out of the tributaries upriver, so the water was rising, and the current was pretty fast. Since we were now going with the current, downriver – it was not much more than 2.5 to 3 knots – it was not a problem for us. If it had been faster, it could be harder to control the boat. Even so, we had to be on the lookout for tree limbs floating down the river, the result of heavy rains and wind in the area.

We made our way to the Shellmound Campground outside of Jasper, TN. There were a couple of fishing docks where boats could tie up for free. And added bonus: showers!

Another beautiful sunset Docked at Shellmound Campground Beautiful Clouds

There is a campground with maybe thirty folks camped, either temporarily or “permanently”. The place is quiet and relatively well maintained. People came out onto the docks to fish during the day, otherwise, things were very quiet. The overseers of the Campground go all out at Halloween and Christmas with decorations. I’ve included some of the more novel photos celebrating Halloween.

We went through the Nickajack Lock again. This time we were going down, so as we approached the top of the dock gate, we found it difficult to identify exactly where it was. We were given the green light and had to avoid a couple of sizeable logs floating at the gate. Leaving the lock we saw a good amount of debris, a lot of it trash from people who had thrown bottles and other floating garbage overboard. Up until then I had seen very little litter floating in the water the entire trip. Leaving the lock, the dam was letting out water at a rapid pace making the water turbulent. This video does not show the rocking of the boat, due to a leveling device in my iPhone camera.

We passed the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant again, and later learned that construction began on in in 1975, but it was never completed. After $40 billion was spent on the infrastructure and equipment, construction was halted in 1988. The Tennessee Valley Authority was able to sell off major plant components. Some other parts were sent to other TVA facilities to be used as spares. Apparently, TVA has seven operating plants, but the expected need for (electricity) load was overestimated. According to Forbes (May, 2021) “it was mothballed with the expectation that construction might continue someday.” The latest article I could find (1819 News, 7/22/24) stated that it will not be used as a nuclear facility and that “some of the scrap stuff they’ve taken out, they can’t be replaced…” What a huge economic investment that went nowhere.

We arrived at Goose Pond Marina early afternoon on Wednesday and were able to get a slip close to the bathroom and showers. The Marina is part of a state owned complex, consisting of lodges, a golf course, camping and picnic grounds and even a Community Center. Most mornings while there I took a walk while Adrian worked on the water lines. Some of the hoses seemed to be leaking, so he decided to take out the old ones and put in some new ones, which kept him occupied for about three days. While he did that, I got in between 1 and 3 miles of walking most every day. The paths were mostly shaded and paved. The weather was perfect the entire time we were there.

We met several other couples who pulled into the marina on their way up or down river. Christine and Jeff on “Christine’s Choice”. They were just finishing The Loop and were headed back to Florida where they planned to sell their boat. We took a tour of it, and I was very impressed with the amount of space, both storage and living area, there was. Adrian has many sound reasons for wanting to keep Petite Fleur, but I couldn’t help yearning for something bigger. The Loop was Jeff’s dream, which Christine encouraged, in spite of the fact that she gets seasick. She manages by taking seasick remedies, and wearing a patch, among other things.

We also met Mary and Mike on “Just Relax” who were planning on attending the Rendezvous later in the month. The six of us and one other couple went to dinner one evening at The Dock restaurant which was within walking distance from our pier. It was a perfect evening to sit on the patio overlooking the lake, especially after the sun set, and we could watch the moon rising

with Saturn following it off in the distance. The sunsets were beautiful most every night. So much so, that when a very large cruiser parked in front of us, blocking our view one evening, we didn’t make an effort to get out of the boat to check it out. It couldn’t have been any more beautiful than the evenings before.

Another couple we met were Paul and Lauren Smith on “Small World”. They hailed from Texas, and live in Spring, in an area about a mile from where I had lived in Tomball. It's a small world.

While there I tried to take a walk every day. Over the several days we were there I logged 2 to 3 miles. The weather was perfect for execise and the paths were mostly in the shade. The scale reflected my efforts and I lost about three pounds while we were there.

On my way back from walking one afternoon I saw a dark figure moving ahead of me. As I got closer I noticed it was brown and harry. I was able to get a picture before he or she ran under the rock lined edge of the pier. I first thought it was a beaver, but it's tail was not broad and flat. My guess is that it was a ground hog.

There was a raft of ducks that liked to paddle close to our boat. Of course, we did not feed them, but I suspect they had hopes that we would.

One interesting element that we hadn’t encountered at other marinas was a “mower” that gathered up the water grass that accumulates around the marina and in the channel leading to it from the lake. It has large paddle wheels on either side, a scoop and a conveyer belt to take up the

vegetation and then carts it off to be dumped somewhere else. It was not as noisy as a regular gas-powered lawnmower, but almost. It was cleaning up the area almost every day we were there, even Sunday.

The Mower Hard at Work

On subsequent days, Adrian tuned up the engine, adjusted the valves and cleaned out the filter – among other things. Always hard at work. He developed a cold that he must have picked up in Chattanooga, with runny nose, body aches and coughing, but that didn’t stop him from doing things that he deemed needed to be done. The symptoms gradually diminished over the week, while I encouraged him to rest more, to no avail.

We left Goose Pond Marina Thursday after lunch, traveling over Guntersville Lake and anchoring again at Short Creek, a nice, wide anchorage. There were quite a few speed boat on the river and a few more in the anchorage. Most were fishermen going to or from their fishing spot. We only saw one other pleasure craft that day. As before the surroundings were photo worthy.

Adrian's cold was not getting better. He was still coughing while we were at anchor and developed a low-grade fever in the evenings. I was concerned that he had developed bronchitis, and we would need to find a clinic. A marina was a day away, though. He assured me that he was feeling better, yet it was obvious to me that he was still ailing. It was challenging to convince him to relax during the day so he could heal, instead of seeking out projects that could wait. Unfortunately, there were issues with the boat that could not be ignored. There was an elusive leak somewhere that was draining our water tank more quickly and water was showing up in the bilge. Adrian conceded that he could not deal with it the way it needed to be in his state of low energy. As a result, we decided to turn off the water pump. I filled up containers of water and we resorted to lake water to pre-wash the dishes, using drinking water to brush our teeth and wash our hands. Fortunately, Adrian went to bed early and stayed in bed a bit longer while we were at anchor.

We decided to head to a marina a day earlier because Adrian had to pull out the fridge in order to access the water lines better and he didn’t want to do it while at anchor in case he needed help. So, on Sunday, we headed to Alred Marina outside of Guntersville, where we had been before. We met some friendly folks on "E Dock" who encouraged us to winter our boat at Alred. They met frequently on the dock's social space, which seemed to get plenty of use. It was complete with a smoker, an ice machine and cabinets to store things. The table could seat 12-14 people at once. There were about 8 couples there the first night we were there. While we really like Alred Marina, the slips are a bit more expensive than where we currently are holding a slip in Florence.

While Adrian worked on the boat I went to take a shower. As I went into the building, a guy was bringing his clothes to be laundered. The washers and driers were right across from the showers which meant I had to share the hot water with the washer as it filled and rinsed.

I then prepared to go into Guntersville for a few things we would need while at the Rendezvous. The courtesy car was available, but it would not start. The owner's son came out to give it a try and it still would not engage. So he gave me the keys to his GMC Sierra truck. It was a nice ride, but it was like driving a boat. I'd driven a van in the 70's but it was easy to see the road from the high vantage point. I could barely see over the steering wheel in this truck. I drove very carefully.and arrived safely back from my errands.

We tidied the boat, had tacos for dinner, did the dishes and called it a day. We planned to go to Triana Recreation Area to anchor out before heading into Joe Wheeler for the Rendezvous a few days before it begins. I will fill you in on the experience in my next posting.