Nov. 23; Day’s run: 95mi. The Black Warrior River, the main tributary joining the Tombigbee River, is named after Chief Tushkalusa of the Choctaw Indigenous people. The English translation of Tushkalusa is ‘Black Warrior’. It was American Thanksgiving and in celebration, we planned to cook a boneless turkey breast  for dinner that night. I could Continue reading

Nov. 21: Columbus to Lower Cook’s Bend: mile 277; Today’s run: 57 miles Our first lock of the day, Stennis Lock, located just outside Colombo Marina, was notified the evening before that a fleet of boaters wished to lock through early morning. We left the dock at 7:15 to be ready for the 7:30 lock-through. Continue reading

Nov. 19, mile 334; Day’s run: 41 mi. Over one hundred of years ago, there had been a vision to construct a waterway that would connect the states of Alabama and Mississippi, and run all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The Waterway would be part natural river, artificial lakes, bypasses to skirt where Continue reading

Dear readers: If you see 3 dots at the top or bottom of the post, click on them to access the entire post. A summary: Retracing our steps to Grand River after leaving Chattanooga and Scottsboro on the Tennessee River: Nov. 15: Day’s run: 115 mi. to Florence including Guntersville Lock, Wheeler Lock, and Wilson Continue reading

Nov. 14, mile 378; Today’s run: 88 miles En route The marina had a courtesy car we could use. We drove into town. Scottsboro, the county seat of Jackson County: population: 15, 580. Named after Robert J Scott, who moved to the area in 1856 and established a railway station on his property.. This mural Continue reading

Nov. 11-13; mile 463 ; Today’s run: 101 miles If you click on ‘reader’ in the top left corner of these posts, you can view them in a larger format. Dear Readers: I made an error in my last post. I wrote: “Our air draft is 14 ft including aerials.” It should have read, “Our Continue reading

If you click on ‘reader’ in the top left corner of these posts, you can view them in a larger format. Before we pulled into the dock at Cameron Marina, we took on fuel at Erin Marina, (another riverside docking facility), where fuel prices were $3.97 US /gal.; the lowest price we had seen. History; Continue reading

Nov. 10; Mile.349; Day’s Run: 79 miles We left Wheeler State Park around 7am in light rain. Most other Loopers returned to the Wheeler Lock to head south. We headed in the opposite direction towards our next destination, Chattanooga. 25 miles upriver, ( near Decatur,) we passed beneath a railway bridge with a lift span. In Continue reading

Nov. 3-9, mile 277; Today’s Run: 19 miles, En route to Wheeler State Park We came to the Joe wheeler State Park, a forested recreation site with lakeside campsites and cottages, walking trails and marina, to attend our first AGLCA (Americas Great Loop Cruising Association) rendezvous. The AGLCA holds 3 rendezvous a year. The Association Continue reading

Oct 28, mile: 256; Today’s run 48 miles We rented a car , toured the town and drove past the University of North Alabama. Apparently, their mascot is a lion, a real, full-head-of-hair lion. But that day, we were not interested in lions, we were interested in seeing a coon dog cemetery. At least I was. Continue reading