Mobile Bay

After a few days of foggy mornings and quiet anchorages, we approached Mobile, Alabama. We were in the salt water of Mobile Bay. The harbor is full of activity, particularly repair and boat building businesses. We continued on to our destination down the main ship channel, avoiding the shallow waters of Mobile Bay.

In the ship channel and immediately alongside it, many fishing and shrimping boats were operating. This one was fairly typical. Its name was important to us because one of our trawler buddies is named Anne Marie. So we took this picture in honor of her. She and Don have been delayed by repairs and maintenance on their boat, Might As Well V.

Our next destination was Dog River south of Mobile. We stayed at Turner Marine where we were to have our masts stepped. It was also the place where we would reunite with Jack and Sheila Adamowski, our traveling companions for several weeks. They were with the boats that had joined together to ship their masts from Wisconsin to Dog River. We raised the masts on all five boats in one afternoon. This is a picture showing Sabbatical at the short docks typical of marinas here in the South. With the tides moving the boat up and down, it could be quite a challenge to get on and off.

While we were at Turner's, we visited the USS Alabama which is at anchor across the ship channel from Mobile. The Alabama was the only battleship that went through the war undamaged, despite the efforts of the suicide pilots of the Japanese air forces and participation in several big battles and actions in the Pacific. It is an impressive vessel with those big guns and amazing in the facilities on board from print shop to hospital.

Look who got caught and put in the brig. Grandma Annette got out shortly after this picture after promising to be good.

Demopolis and Reunion

Demopolis was a popular refueling and reprovisioning place on the route. Here we caught up with Gandalf and met Christine Marie with whom we would continue our journey. Bill and Sue from Sweet Caroline were staying in Demopolis for a short time. Annette celebrated her birthday here.

An early start by six boats headed for the morning's first lockage, found us in fog again. We followed Gandalf and Christine Marie that morning as we would for many other mornings on the foggy rivers. They both have radar and are high enough to be easily seen above the low mists.

An example of the morning fog that presented its challenge to our navigational skills.

South on the Loop Again

We may have overstayed a bit in the north as the days of late autumn, even here in the "Confederacy", began to get a bit nippy. On more than one morning, we awoke to find the decks slippery and the windshield coated with frosty ice. This picture was taken at J.P. Coleman State Park on the morning of November 3rd. This was the day we resumed the trip path south for the Loop when we turned off the Tennessee into Yellow Creek. That night we pulled in at Midway Marina with Sweet Caroline, a trawler we had traveled through locks with all day. The next morning we had fog again but left early with the assistance of Enlightenment, whose stern light we were able to follow to the lock. Sweet Caroline traveled with us. That night we put anchors down in a barge port area and had to move when a tow came in to drop an empty.

While it was cold in the open cockpit, the beauty around us served to warm us. This spectacular sunset promised better things to come.

The White Cliffs of Epes. A long sweep of the river is bounded by this high bluff of white rock. It turns the river 180+ degrees and is more striking in person than in picture.

Heading back to the Loop

After Lookout Mountain and a week at Susan's, we returned to Sabbatical with Susan and the kids for a quick trip up the Tennessee to view the foliage. Susan and her family had to get back home so they could get ready to go to Michigan for a visit. We were glad to have these final few hours with the grandchildren and our daughter.

Although it may not be obvious in this picture, there was a bank of fog just around the corner past the bridge as we left the next morning from Hales Bar. We kept moving until it was just too thick to continue. We backpedaled a little and spent an hour on the hook. The fog lifted and we were able to get though the lock that had been hidden in the mists.

Later we found ourselves sharing the river with these guys. The sun was out and the turtles climb out on logs to warm themselves. Look closely for the bumps on the log.

Painted Bluff was a striking sight as we traveled that day. We had seen it on the way upriver and hoped to get a good view on the way back. Annette captured this perspective of the natural mineral streaks on the face of this large bluff. The river takes a strong turn here because of the blocking rock face and it narrows to about half, increasing the current significantly.

Lookout Mountain

Grandpaw and Grant explored this cave, one of several along the trail. Huge boulders hung precariously over our heads. At one point, there is a section of mountain split away from the rest and towering in column form. The hike was about five miles and had several fairly steep up areas. Grant and Cailean never complained, although mom gave Grant a ride for a short while.

This is the view of Chattanooga that the invading army had as they moved to engage the confederate defenders farther on. Notice the bend in the Tennessee River. It curls all around the city.

While we were hiking the trails on the mountain, we stopped to take pictures. Grant and Cailean managed to scamper up the trail ahead of us out of sight. When we caught up to them, we found them here on a prohibited part of the trail sitting on a precarious overhang. They were probably safer than we thought, but try telling that to a grandmother (who fears heights).

Before we went to Kennesaw to visit Susan, she drove us to Lookout Mountain where we spent many hours visiting the battlefield of the Civil War and hiking the mountain. Here we see some dangerous looking canoneers surveying the field in front of them. The battle was a remarkable military feat, as the Union force had to climb the steep mountain to engage the confederate defenders.

The River Sights

Along the river banks which were about fifteen to twenty feet high, homes were built on piers. It is amazing to think that these rivers could rise above the banks and even more amazing that it could threaten higher levels. Of course we humans will go to great lengths to live where we wish.

Intrepid photographer Annette was at it again with these extraordinary pictures of our wake one evening as we pressed on toward our destination. The colors changed moment to moment as the light changed. Another one of the many such experiences we have had on this trip.

Here the sky and the water compete for our attention.

We remember that the hills of Wayne were giving in to bare branches while we were still enjoying peak colors. This is an example of the wide palette we encountered along the Tennessee. The trip to Chattanooga was filled with mountains full of color. We enjoyed sharing these vistas with Susan, Cailean, and Grant by motoring up the river from Hale's Bar Marina toward Chattanooga.