Tuesday, July 24

Dinner at Freddy's

Home on Pickwick Lake

Dip in the river - under the mermaid

Cows cooling off - many in shade & one in the river

Cerro Gordo Mound - Tennessee River

Finally, we were off.  It felt great to be back on the water with a mission.
There was a nice breeze, very little boat traffic and virtually no "go slow" areas - under the shade of our hard top, the 100 degree heat was quite manageable.
After leaving Kentucky Lake, the Tennessee River narrows, bluffs line the shore and the countryside becomes hillier.  Against this backdrop, it was quite a site to watch the birds of prey (eagles, osprey & hawks) soar above us.  Some people might call this stretch of our journey "a whole lot of nothing."  If Starbucks is your thing, this place is not for you.  We on the other hand, call is a nature cruise and are amazed at the vast areas of this riverfront that remain untouched.
What little building that there is along the river is done on the top of bluffs or on stilts.  The smart ones have motor homes that can be driven out of harms way when flooding occurs.
We noticed people lazily floating in their tubes and decided a quick dip in the river would be refreshing.  We pulled out of the main channel and under the mermaid sign jumped in - life of the river is good!
180 miles later we locked through the Pickwick Lock and entered the beautiful Pickwick Lake.  Part of the lake is surrounded by lovely lake homes with manicured lawns.  The other part is surrounded by wilderness - miles and miles of undeveloped land which will always stay that way thanks to the
TVA (Tennessee Valley Association) which has control of it.