Life on the Tennessee River

Sunday was another slow day on the Tennessee River with many recreational boaters and “good ole boys” out fishing. The captain made a decision to run the boat at a slow speed (8 knots) because of vibration problems at higher speeds. He thought our props might have snagged a floating line or maybe a prop was bent because we had hit a log on two different occasions. Once was on the Mississippi and the other on the Ohio River. These floating logs, called “dead heads,” are generally below the surface and so are difficult to detect. The plan was to get to Pickwick Lake where there were marine facilities to haul the boat.
Many times on the river we passed cottages built along the banks that reminded us of the places we stayed years ago at Ocean Isle beach in North Carolina. The one pictured here must have been built for the next 100 year flood because it was so high above the ground. At one point, we rounded a bend and saw cows coming down to the river for a drink. This was definitely a rural setting.

Again late in the afternoon, we found a peaceful anchorage behind an island called Swallows Bluff. Some young people were parasailing on the river nearby, ….. an unusual sight in the middle of nowhere. Along the way that afternoon, we discovered that our Direct TV antenna could still get local St. Louis stations so we took turns going below to watch the Rams go down to yet another defeat! That evening, we watched the Ken Burns PBS special called “The War”. Right in the middle of it, we lost the satellite signal so we played some cards the rest of the evening. Life isn’t very exciting these days but it is surprising how tired we are each night!