O Brother Where Art Thou

Into the Land of the TVA

Up the Cumberland River!

"Way down yonder in the land of gravel....."

From Paducah, its a short run up the Ohio to the mouth of the Cumberland River, where we began the winding 31 mile climb up to the Barkley Dam.  (We were last in a line of seven Looper boats making that journey and the fought the cumulative affects of the their wakes in the narrow river channel the entire way.  Sheesh.)   At the dam, the lock lifted us all some 57 feet and allowed us to enter Barkley Lake at 358 feet above sea level. 

If we had proceeded across Barkely Lake, we would have re-entered to Cumberland River and could have journeyed east to Nashville and beyond.  But our focus is to go south.  Fortunately, Barkley Lake is joined via a short canal to Kentuckly Lake on the Tennessee River, where begins our pathway to the Gulf of Mexico.  Togther these lakes impound the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area, a tree gem for outdoor recreation.  All you RV'ers and car campers should have this one on your short list.  Its gorgeous!

But, lets not get ahead of ourselves, OK?  First we must stop at Green Turtle Bay Resort for a week of rest, recreation, and reprovisoning.  A full service resort marina near Grand Rivers, KY, Green Turtle in a must-stop for Loopers.  A week there gave us ample opportunity to restock our pantry, catch up on boat maintenance, and explore the local area in the marina Coutesy Car.

A word about Courtesy Cars:  Amyone who has ever used a corporate "pool' car will understand the experience of a marina coutesy car.  With no "owner", care and cleaning are always the job of "somebody else".    Mileages are typically 200,000+.  Perpetual check engine lights seem to be mandatory.  Cleanliness is a fluke.  And any road worthiness is just dumb luck.  But the price is right.  Just replace the fuel you burn and honor the (typically 2-hour) time limit. What's not to like? 

We used the Green Turtle car to drive back to Paducah in order to visit The National Quilt Museum.  (Yes, really.)  The collection of quilts on display there is jaw-dropping, eye popping, stomp-down amazing.  This is NOT your grandma's quilt of re-purposed bedding and bandanas.  No-sir-ee-bob.  All we can say is "WOW!-!"

Yes, these are quilts.  Really!

Leaving Green Trutle, we cut thru the canal between Barkley and Kentucky Lakes and turned south, heading for the Tennesee River.  To starboard is the developed Kentucky shoreline, with resorts, wineries, summer homes, and lakeside horse farms. To port is the aforementioned Land Between the Lakes National Recreation area.   We chose to bias toward the undeveloped side, anchoring in quiet coves surrounded by Fall colors and lit only by the anchor lights of a few other boats.  The nautical charts for Kentucky Lake show the former channel of the Tennesee River and the town sites submerged by the lake. They are also dotted with notations for "submerged timber", "submerged bridge", and "road bed".  (Definitie causes for caution when anchoring!)  The shorelines are dotted with sites for family cemeteries that were relocated when farmsteads were flooded.  During a shore trip at our first anchorage, we found one such site consisting of a dozen family grave markers on a small peninsula.  It total, 850 farms and several towns were displaced to make the lake possible.  In the name of rural electrification, flood control, and more efficient barge shipping between the upper Midwest and the Gulf of Mexico.

Anchored at Higgins Bay

Sunrise over Land Between the Lakes

The necessary shore runs for Admiral Maggie

Anchorage at Panther Bay

It was three days and 96 miles down the lake before our next marina new New Johnsonville, TN (Old Johnsonville is under the lake.)   At Pebble Isle marina we were greeted each morning by the manager with hot fresh cinnamon rolls and coffee dockside.  (Needless to say, he got a 5 star review.)  While there, we used the Coutesy Car (see above) to visit the home and museum of the late Loretta Lynn at Hurricane Mills, TN.  

It wasn't until Mile 116  that we finally left Kentucky Lake and re-entered the Tennessee River proper .  Our next stop was in Clifton, TN where we six of us Loopers squeezed into their small marina.  2021 Loopers Wes and Leanne Higdom drove from their TN home to meet us for dinner, just in time to watch The Vols beat Alabama (for the first time in 15 years) in the final seconds.   It was definitely a Tennesee crowd.  And who knew "Rocky Top" had SO many verses?   A wild time, indeed. 

At mile 205, we encountered the Pickwick Dam and Lock.  This was our last "UP" lock in the rivers, taking us to the crown jewel of  the TVA system,  Pickwick Lake at an elevation of 414 feet above sea level.  

 From here, its all down hill.   But that story is for another day. 

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