We were so relieved to be off of the heavily commercial northern rivers (Illinois, Mississippi & Ohio) and onto the scenic and familiar waters of the Tennessee.  After leaving Paducah, we motored up the Tennessee (since it flows north into the Ohio) to the Kentucky Dam lock, which was a short 23 miles from the mouth of the Tennessee.    

This part of the Tennessee River is familiar to us since we bought our first boat, a 34 foot sailboat, Adventuress,  at Lighthouse Landing Marina at the  northern end of Kentucky Lake (which this part of the Tennessee River is called)   in Grand Rivers, KY in 1999 and  sailed it on Kentucky Lake near Paris Landing, TN for two years before moving it to Houston.     
 
After waiting for less than an hour just downstream from the Kentucky Dam Lock, along with Paddy Wagon & The Last Resort, we were called into the lock by the lockmaster, looped our docklines over the floating bollards in the lock walls, and were raised up 57 feet to the upper pool.   Upon exiting the lock, we passed by Lighthouse Landing, and then cut across the channel that connects the Tennessee River to the Cumberland River, and then onto one of the better marinas on the loop, Green Turtle Bay (aka GTB), just one mile downstream (north) from the channel.    

GTB is a major stopping off point for many of the loopers since it is the first marina following the harrowing trip down the Mississippi and up the Ohio, allowing the loopers to relax and unwind for a few days before heading south.  During the two days we were at GTB, we saw about a dozen other loopers come & go, which gave us a chance to catch up with friends we hadn't seen  for quite a while.    Nearby to GTB is the famous Patti's Restaurant, a local landmark which features 2 inch pork chops and their delicious homemade pies, which we feasted on with several of the fellow loopers.  From GTB, loopers have a choice of either going up the Cumberland to visit Nashville, or continue along the Great Loop up the Tennessee (south) to Pickwick Lake, at the Tennessee-Mississippi-Alabama border.

After two nights at GTB, we said goodbye to our looper buddies, and departed the
marina and headed back through the cut over to the Tennessee River.    Although we really enjoyed the voyage from Chicago with the other boats, we were really looking forward to finally being alone for a while.   We had 200 miles to go to get through the rest of Kentucky and down across the state of Tennessee to Pickwick Lake.    This part of the Tennessee River is absolutely gorgeous with many coves and inlets to pick from for anchoring overnight in complete solitude and in the middle of nature and wilderness.    (At risk of sounding slightly prejudiced toward our home region, we think that it is just as pretty as parts of the North Channel in Canada).   

Motoring up the northern part of the river, we passed many tall cliffs in the protected wildlife refuge area of the Land Between the Lakes and very few other boats, except for a bass boat every now & then.    

During the 200 miles to get to Pickwick, there was little reason to seek out marinas due to the availability of scenic anchorages, so we opted to drop the anchor at the end of each of the three days that it took us to go up river.     After passing the Land Between the Lakes area, we dropped down into our home state of Tennessee, passing more high bluffs and cliffs with many interesting weekend and permanent homes overlooking this scenic river.


At about 2pm, on the 4th day on the river and our 139th day on the loop, we approached our very last lock (for a while, anyway), the Pickwick Dam lock, which is just prior to our final stop for this year, Aqua Yacht Harbor, which is at the beginning of the Tenn-Tom Waterway.     At this point, loopers can elect to continue eastward on the Tennessee to Chattanooga & Knoxville, or head south down the Tombigbee (aka Tenn-Tom) Waterway to Mobile & the gulf.

Shortly after arriving in Pickwick, Jim finalized the details of his next work  opportunity, which means that he is going to go back to work in Williamsburg, VA for 6 months, which will give us a chance to replenish our cruising kitty a bit and to visit family and non-looper friends.   So Rickshaw will be resting for the winter, either in Pickwick or possibly a little further south, while Jim & Belinda live in a furnished apartment in Virginia.   

After this contract winds up next March, our hope is to take Rickshaw further up the Tennessee to Knoxville next spring, and then down to the gulf next fall.   So we will suspend posting of the blog until we resume our cruising adventure next year.    
 
We REALLY appreciate all of our friends & family keeping up with our blog, and all of the comments that we've received, which has helped keep us motivated to keep it up to date, so that we will have a record of our adventure to remind us of the good friends, good times and great memories that we've made along the way.

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We enjoyed a much needed dinner out at Patti's with just a few of the Looper friends we made along the way. Two couples are from Canada and one couple is from New Zealand & Austrailia.
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Another view of our anchorage. It was 360 degrees of wooded shoreline and not another boat in sight!
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A few of the homes we saw perched upon interesting rock formations. The house in the middle of the picture is built to look like a light house.
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Four bass boats fishing the cliff face.
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We just entered our last lock for this year - the Pickwick Lock.
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After the industrial atmosphere of the Illinois, Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, the Tennessee River was a welcomed scenic treat!
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This gave me an idea: An RV pad with a boat dock for Rickshaw. Who needs a house? The view never changes.
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One view of our first anchorage on the Tennessee River.
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It was a bit of a thrill for us to cruise under the I-40 bridge just east of Memphis. Over the 40 plus years we lived in Memphis we crossed this bridge many times by car. Note all the semi-tractor trucks on the bridge - this is a main artery to Memphis - which is a huge distribution hub.
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More houses along the Tennessee River.
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This crop duster seemed to be swooping Rickshaw as she cruised south, up the river.
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Unlike the Erie, Oswego and Canadian locks - the river locks are wide and long to accomodate the barges.
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Huge homes on a bluff on Pickwick Lake.
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We traveled the Tennessee River from Sept. 15 - Sept 20. After leaving Paducah we stopped at two marinas and three anchorages. We passed thru two locks and traveled 223 miles.