Day 123 & 124 October 21 - 22, 2022

Day 123 Friday October 21, 2022

Guntersville Free Wall MM358 to Shell Mound Anchorage MM425.5

Much "warmer" today -- 46 degrees at 7am.  We had a misty start but it was sunny all day.  We stayed below, driving from the lower helm.  It was very pretty with lots more homes along the shore. 

 Leaving Guntersville Harbor

 The smallest tow that we've seen.

   We've seen LOTS of abandoned boats.

Can you see the cow on shore and the recliner chairs on the dock?

We saw so many fishing boats buzzing past us that Al wondered if we could find the "nest" they were all coming from.  It was 67 miles to Nickajack Lock; we had to wait an hour there.  

 Arion leaving Nickajack Lock

Shell Mound Anchorage is actually at a park that offers dock space and access to the park.  The docks were already full when we arrived at 5:30 so we anchored out.  Plenty of room in the bay.  We rafted with Joe and Laura while Arion and Phil-N-Wild rafted together.   We were in bed by 9:15, tired from our 10 hour day.

Day 124 Saturday October 22, 2022

Shell Mound MM425.5 to Erwin Riverfront Marina, Chattanooga Tennessee MM464

Shell Mound Anchorage was calm, with pretty surroundings.  We had a quiet night.  We left at 6am to the dreaded fog.  It was 48 degrees, already warmer than yesterday.  At 8am it had warmed to 51 and the fog was gone.

The Tennessee River is beautiful.  The shorelines are green and full of trees; you can see both shores since it isn't very wide. 

 

We were met by sheriff patrol on our way.  Nothing wrong, they were alerting us to a 30 mile paddle race occurring on the river.  We were going to meet hundreds of paddlers and were asked to be mindful of them and and our wake so that everyone would be safe.   It wasn't long and the paddlers arrived as promised.  The first few paddlers were very serious with heads down and going at a vigorous pace.  The race obviously had multiple classes.  We say 1-4 man canoes and kayaks, paddle boards with 1-4 people (I can't imagine balancing 4 people) and paddle boards where the paddler was laying on their stomach and paddling with their hands like a swimmer! 

   Imagine arm paddling for 30 miles Halfway point, they keep on coming! 

Even an eagle was watching the race!

Participants were all ages and some even in costume.  We even saw a couple wearing kilts.  We later learned that the race is called the ChattaJack and is an annual event.  This was the 31st year and participants come from all over the country.

In Chattanooga we stopped first to fuel and get a pump out.  The pumps are self serve only and have a max of $250 per credit transaction.  This means that you must insert your card multiple times to fuel.  The pump also limits your card to just 3 transactions.  That doesn't get enough fuel at $5.12/gallon. It also means that you have to use a second credit card  to get the job done. Did I mention that the pumps are quite slow and the hose doesn't reach both sides of the boat?  While we were fueling and getting our pump out our boat buddies were patiently waiting their turn. They were wondering what was taking us so long but figured it out when it was their turn.  By the time we all had a turn it was THREE HOURS later.  

5pm and finally all of the boats were tied along the wall.  Our spots at the "marina" were actually nestled between the cement pillars on the wall at the Chattanooga Aquarium. 

We had dinner at Agave and Rye, only a block from the boats.  They are known for their bourbon, Epic tacos and margaritas.  We were not disappointed.  The tacos were epic in size and flavor, as was the pitcher of margaritas.  Then we checked out the awards celebration for the ChattaJack Race.  Chattanooga had been the starting point. Jerry can honestly say "been there, done that, got the t-shirt"!

Back at the boats we sat outside listening to music while we watched Laura  and Susan dance. We chatted with two local musicians who came by and they ended up singing for us!         Great end to our day.....