Exploring New Territory

We left Chattanooga early afternoon on Sunday, August 23rd and travelled seven miles upstream to the Chickamauga Lock & Dam, which has to be the most convoluted lock set-up we’ve ever seen. Granted, there appears to be some construction going on, but there was no straight shot into it and the current in the area is horrendous! Fortunately, another boater who was also locking through told us how best to maneuver through the mooring cells to keep from hitting anything. And on top of that, we had to wait nearly an hour to lock through. Par for the course for our trip up the Tennessee thus far.

After we got through the lock we had another 17 miles to go to our anchorage in Soddy Creek, which turned out to be very nice. The lower end of Chickamauga Lake is somewhat developed and was quite busy with weekend boaters even though it was a cool and breezy day on the water. Great for traveling, though!

Along the way we passed the Sequoyah nuclear plant with its twin 460-foot cooling towers. The plant pumps reactor cooling water back into the river at a rate of a million gallons per minute!

We got a late start Monday morning and then it took us six hours fighting the current to cover the 42 miles to Watts Bar Lock & Dam. Even though we didn’t have to wait on any traffic locking through, the lockmaster wasn’t quite ready for us so we still had to wait a while before he finally opened the gates. We enjoyed the upper part of Chickamauga Lake. Once we got past the developed lower end, it got much prettier and there were always mountains in the background. First the Cumberland Plateau and beyond that, the Appalachians (even though you can’t really tell from the photo).

This is the Watts Bar nuclear power plant, just below the dam.

Our anchorage was within a half-mile of the lock. Once we got settled, we took a dinghy ride through a few nearby coves. Lowe Branch, which is quite large, is a very pretty area with several small islands and a number of nice homes and lawns bordering the lake.

The Captain got up early Tuesday morning to go fishing and didn’t return until about 9:30. While he was out slaying the bass, he also got a few nice wildlife photos.

Lots of Blue Herons on the river.

These were three beautiful large whitetail bucks swimming across the lake.

We left our anchorage about 11:30 a.m. and spent the next four hours exploring 18 miles of river. Along the way we stopped in at Blue Springs Marina to pump out the holding tanks ($10) and use their courtesy car for a quick run to the local country store to buy a loaf of bread. After that we anchored across the lake, about Mile 548, in a nice cove with wonderfully clear water. The Captain took off around 5:30 to try his hand at fishing but was back by 7:00 to start the grill for dinner.

While we were exploring we came across the Sunset Grille, a combination eatery and fun place, located in an area called Pearl Harbor.

The Captain, fisherman extraordinaire, on the go again!

Afternoon cloud reflections on the water.

The Captain went fishing again early Wednesday morning for a while and then we moved a few miles up the lake to Thief Neck Island where we found a nice cove to drop the anchor and tie the stern to a tree on shore. We spent a quiet day reading and relaxing and then went for a dinghy ride to scope out the many other coves around the island for possible anchorages on the return trip.

Thursday we left Thief Neck Island and traveled about 21 miles to Wolf Creek at Mile 576.5 with a stop along the way at Caney Creek Marina for dinghy fuel and ice. It started raining about 3:00 p.m., not long after the Captain took off to go fishing, and continued to rain for a several hours. The rain didn’t deter the fisherman, though. At least not at first. He finally came in out of the rain shortly before 6:00 p.m., soaked to the bone, but happy because he had been catching fish!

Family farm on the river.

Going in to Caney Creek Marina, we were told this bridge had 21 feet of clearance (we need 19), but it slopes diagonally and we wanted to make sure we could clear the part we were going under. So the Admiral climbed on top of the sundeck roof and stood behind the davit arm just to be safe. We had a good two feet to spare!

We passed Paint Rock Bluff just before turning in to Wolf Creek.

We still had sprinkles and drizzle Friday morning but the Captain went fishing anyway about 8:00 a.m. He returned a few hours later and then the rain really started. Nothing terribly heavy but a nice, steady rain. I thought it would be a good day to stay in our anchorage and read but the Captain had other ideas. We were underway by 11:30 a.m., fighting the current all the way to Fort Loudoun Lock & Dam, about 26 miles. But at least the rain stopped after the first hour so we could enjoy the scenery along the way.

We reached the lock at 3:00 p.m., our seventh and final upriver lock on the Tennessee – yeah!!! – and found a place to anchor relatively close to the Fort Loudoun Marina. “Just Rosie” had called us on the VHF just before we locked up. They were about an hour and twenty minutes behind us so we made plans to get together Friday evening to enjoy some of Calhoun’s famous ribs.

At 72-feet, Fort Loudoun Lock is the second highest lock on the Tennessee River.

“Just Rosie” decided to stay at the marina, so we dinghied over to their boat for a pre-dinner cocktail about 6:15 where we met Don’s brother, Mike, who has been on board with them since Chattanooga. Around 7:00 we walked over to Calhoun’s and ordered the house specialty - ribs. In fact, we all ordered a full slab figuring that any leftovers would not go to waste. And they didn’t. They were quite possibly the best ribs we’ve ever eaten!

Don on his quest to find a trash can on our way to dinner at Calhoun’s. His brother Mike follows.

Having a drink at the tiki bar while we wait for a table.

Awesome, a “don’t miss” if you’re ever up this way!

On Saturday we dinghied over to a nearby private dock where “Sea La Vie” is tied up. “Sea La Vie” is a 45-foot Carver Voyager, home port Knoxville, that passed us just as we were leaving Goose Pond about ten days prior. Jerry, the owner, hailed us on the VHF and we learned they were also destined for Chattanooga. While in Chattanooga, Jerry & Lynn came by the boat to give the Captain some local information about Fort Loudoun and Tellico Lakes and also about Knoxville. They have spent the past ten months doing the Great Loop and were on their way home to Lenoir City, just above the Fort Loudoun Lock.

Anyway, Jerry & Lynn told us to be sure and call them when we reached Fort Loudoun, which we did, and they invited us to a party they were having at their house Saturday evening to celebrate their homecoming. Prior to the party, however, they generously offered the use of their car to do a little re-provisioning in Lenoir City. That evening we dinghied back over for the party where we met two couples who keep their sailboats at Blue Springs Marina on Watts Bar Lake. In fact, Jay & Nancy live on their boat, “Serendipity,” at the marina so we hope to see them again on our way downriver. Bob & Mary said they might also join us on the “Mary E,” which would be fun.

“Life’s2Short” at anchor just off Jerry & Lynn’s lawn.

Jerry & Lynn pose for Todd. Wonderful time, you two. Thanks again so VERY much!

This is Lynn’s idea of throwing a couple of things together for the party. What a delicious spread!

Jerry & Lynn’s gorgeous lakefront home.

Sunday morning we left Fort Loudoun Lake and entered Tellico Lake. Even though boat traffic has been very light all weekend, we weren’t exactly escaping civilization. The lake is lined with huge expensive homes, some complete with waterfalls in their front yards!

This is the Admiral’s personal favorite! Love the waterfall!!!

When the lake was filled it covered quite a bit of farmland, leaving some of the silos partially submerged.

We covered all of about eight miles to a great little anchorage in Sinking Creek where we were out of sight of the many houses in the area. Other than a few local boaters and a number of personal watercraft breezing in and out of the creek, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. And, of course, the Captain had to go see if he could catch a few bass, which he did (or so he says since he never brings any back to the boat!).

After a peaceful, relaxing day we fired up the generator to start dinner. Todd noticed that it didn’t sound quite right and after only a few minutes of running, it shut itself off. So the Captain started looking into it and ended up spending the rest of the evening replacing the impeller. Unfortunately, there was more to it than that. The generator still wasn’t spitting water out of the exhaust and wouldn’t run for more than a few minutes.

The Captain finally gave up for the night, but first thing Monday morning he started removing hoses in search of an obstruction, thinking that was now the problem. After removing several pieces of impeller from one of the hoses, we hoped that was the end of it but the generator still wouldn’t spit water from the exhaust. So he pursued it even further, with some technical support from Mike “The Mechanic” Hall aboard “WhatDazeIt?” who was in Mobile, AL at the time, and found a few more pieces of debris in a couple of other areas. Finally, after several hours of hard labor and numerous blisters, cuts and scrapes, the Captain had us back in business!

We left Sinking Creek shortly before noon and made our way to Mile 31.5 on Tellico Lake, a couple of miles beyond the end of the official navigation channel, where the water temperature dropped to 60 degrees! This is because the water originates in the base of the Great Smoky Mountains which are visible in the distance.

Interesting rock formations along the river.

We anchored behind Harrison Island at the base of 1,400-foot Chilhowee Mountain, a couple of miles below Chilhowee Dam.

We have seen a lot of Canadian geese on the Upper and Little Tennessee Rivers.

Nature at its finest!

Tuesday started out overcast and cool, but the sun partially worked its way through the clouds by early afternoon, so we took a picnic lunch and dinghied up to Chilhowee Dam. Along the way we discovered a new convenience store, complete with a little restaurant, not a mile from where we were anchored. But we saved that stop for the trip back. After touring around for a bit, we found a place to land the dinghy and walked to the top of the dam to take a few pictures before returning to the dinghy for a late lunch.

Approaching Chilhowee Dam.

The view from the top.

As we were eating, a couple of men motored up to the dam in a fishing boat and started fishing, letting the current carry them downstream. With the Captain’s curiosity peaked as to what they were fishing for, we dinghied over after we finished eating and struck up a conversation. (Those of you who know Todd probably find that hard to believe, but I swear it to be true!) One of the gentlemen in the fishing boat turned out to be Dempsey Walker, owner/operator of Walker’s Guide Service on Chilhowee and Tellico Lakes, and the other gentleman’s name was Stan who we were told by Dempsey (although Stan would never admit it) is a legend in the fly fishing circuit. Dempsey even gave us some of his homemade dried apples before we said our good-byes and headed back toward “Life’s2Short.” What truly nice gentlemen they were – and Dempsey’s dog Trigger was a real sweetheart!

First we have Trigger, then Stan and Dempsey fishing from the back of the boat.

On the way back we stopped at The Tallahassee Store, the convenience store we had seen on the way up, to buy a bag of ice. The store is very much geared to bikers who love cruising a stretch of road on the upriver side of Chilhowee Lake called the Heart of the Dragon. The Heart of the Dragon is an 11-mile stretch with 318 curves going up the mountainside and apparently the bikers like to see how quickly they can get through them. According to the clerk at the store, seven cyclists have died this year alone and one died that very day. We saw and heard the many rescue and law enforcement vehicles go flying by as we were on our way up to the dam and learned from the store clerk that they were on their way to the scene of a fatal motorcycle accident. Such a senseless waste!

We returned to “Life’s2Short” for a beautiful, relaxing evening in an incredibly picturesque setting, courtesy of Mother Nature.

We left our anchorage late Wednesday morning and stopped in at Tellico Harbor Marina, about Mile 20, to pump out the holding tanks, fill up with water and get another bag of ice. Since it was lunchtime and we hadn’t yet eaten, we decided to eat at the Tellico Grill restaurant.

While we were there, we met Jim Angel (M/V “Blue Angel”) and Roy Short (M/V “Roy El”). Jim and Roy both live on their boats with their wives, Sharon and Elvie, respectively, and they met as they were cruising up the Tenn-Tom earlier this year. As we talked, we learned that we have a number of fellow cruisers in common with Roy, including Jerry & Lynn whose house we were at this past Saturday for their Great Loop homecoming party. Roy told us he’d been trying to meet us for three years, but oddly enough our paths have not crossed until now. We hope to see one or both of them again as we make our way downriver after the Labor Day weekend.

Jim had mentioned that there was a nice cove to anchor in at Mile 5, so that’s where we headed for the evening. Along the way the Captain took several more photos of the expensive homes that litter the shores of the first 20 miles of Tellico Lake. Even though the last 11 navigable miles is truly beautiful and well worth the trip, we are both of the opinion that Watts Bar is the better choice of lakes. It has its share of development, as well, but nothing compared to the masses of multi-million dollar mansions on Tellico.

We left our anchorage late Thursday morning and travelled 23 miles to an anchorage in Poland Creek at Mile 620. The weather has been cool and cloudy all week and Thursday was no exception. We anchored in a relatively nice, if not private, area with residential housing on one side and a campground on the other. The Captain took off to try his hand at fishing about 5:30 p.m. and came back with a smile on his face!

Friday morning was very foggy so we didn’t get started on the final leg of our journey until about 9:30. The fog burned off quickly, though, and it turned in to a beautiful, sunny day.

Foggy morning farm bordering Poland Creek.

Like Tellico Lake, the river heading to Knoxville has its share of small shacks lining the banks.

Neyland Stadium comes in to view as you approach downtown Knoxville. With 104,000 seats, it is the second largest college stadium in the Nation.

We arrived in downtown Knoxville at 1:00 p.m. and proceeded to anchor across the river from Calhoun’s, below the Baptist Heart Institute. After a couple of failed attempts to get the anchor to hold, the Captain went in search of a new spot and we ended up moving a short distance to the upstream side of the Gay Street bridge. The holding wasn’t any better there (rocky bottom) but we put out a 100 feet of chain and decided to take our chances since the weather is supposed to be calm through the weekend.

Shots of Knoxville’s waterfront .

Boats rafted to the dock at Calhoun’s.

Shots of the “Volunteer Navy.” These folks are rabid about their football…as are other SEC fans in this part of the world!

You can just make out “Life’s2Short” at anchor in the background.

Don & Rosie from “Just Rosie” had been at the Fort Loudoun Marina all week and were a few hours behind us getting in to Knoxville. We made plans to meet them at Calhoun’s about 6:00 p.m. for happy hour drinks and appetizers. Don & Rosie’s friends, James & Rennie, joined them while they were at the Fort Loudoun Marina and came along to enjoy Labor Day weekend in Knoxville.

Rosie & Don are on the left, then Rennie & James. Thanks for joining us!

Jerry from “Sea La Vie” standing on the second floor balcony at Calhoun’s. He’s the one in the orange and white shirt!

This boat pulled up to Calhoun’s to raft while we were still there. We were told it belongs to Albert Haynesworth, a pro football player for the Washington Redskins. As a Knoxville native, he originally played for the University of Tennessee and went on to play for the Tennessee Titans before being drafted by the Redskins. He is a devout fan of the Tennessee Vols and comes to all of their home games!

Today is Saturday, September 5th, and the Captain has gone to pick up our next boat guest, Kelli Teale, from Springfield, MO. Kelli called a few days ago to confirm that she was going to spend a few days with us aboard “Life’s2Short.” Jerry (“Sea La Vie”) once again graciously allowed us to use his vehicle so that the Captain could meet Kelli at Blue Springs Marina on Watts Bar Lake where she will leave her car for the next several days as we make our way downriver after the big Labor Day fireworks show.

For those of you who know the history of “Life’s2Short,” Kelli is Duane’s daughter. Duane was our very good friend whose tragic and untimely death at the age of 57 while we were vacationing together on Pickwick Lake in the fall of 2005 inspired us to do what we are doing at this point in our lives. “Life’s2Short” was named in his honor. So Kelli’s visit is very special to us and we are excited to have her on board.

If you have unfulfilled dreams and have been putting them off, a quote by Thoreau comes to mind: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Life the life you’ve imagined.” Life really is too short; live your dreams while you can!