TENSAS RIVER to MOBILE, AL / Monday, October 24 (Day 277)

Admiral's Log:     8:15 am, Mon. 10/24/16
                         Air Temp:   48     Water Temp:   72
                        Winds:   calm
                        Speed:   10.6 mph

Mobile is just 25 miles away as the crow flies, but from our anchorage along the twisty river it will be nearly 40 miles and take about 5 hours. 

Chasing 80 in the morning fog at our anchorage.

Looks like a child's drawing! But this is the curvy route we have to take.

Seagulls think we are going to stir up some food for them.

Looking more and more like home, palmettos and cypress trees.

As we entered Mobile Bay it became very commercial. With container ships being loaded and Navy ships being built. We really had to watch where we were going, with tugs and container ships moving up and down the channel.

Entering Mobile Bay

Australian firm building our Navy ships our of aluminum! Very sleek looking.

Nice cruise ship at the equally nice cruise terminal.

We tied up at Dog River Marina at 1:30. Not one of the nicer marinas we've stayed at for sure. But it is only for one night. We chilled, then cleaned up for dinner with Ed and Helen Berger. They are friends of Mel and Ann's of Morningstar II. The Bergers helped Ann and Mel through the entire canal system. So we got to know them pretty well. They are a very sweet couple and took us to one of their favorite seafood restaurants, The Pelican Reef. Mike had good fried local shrimp and I had garlic and butter crab claws; so good!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SISTER, SUZY ANDERSON!!

BOBBY'S FISH CAMP to TENSAS RIVER Anchorage / Sunday, October 23 (Day 276)

Admirals' Log:     8:35 am, Sun. 10/23/16

                         Air Temp:   55     Water Temp:   74

                        Winds:   calm

                        Speed:   10.4 mph

We had to wait for the fog to clear before we got started to the Coffeeville Lock and Dam; our last lock, yay! It was a 35 foot drop, which was grand total of 12 locks (10 on the Tombigbee and 2 on the Black Warrior) and 415 feet!  Pretty amazing, to me anyway.

Chasing 80 in the fog.

Chasing 80 in the Coffeeville Lock.

After the 34 foot drop of our last lock. Yay!

We saw lots of wildlife, and enjoyed a beautiful 70 degree cloudless day. We dropped anchor at 4:45 on the Tensas River with 2 other boaters. Chasing 80 arrived about an hour later. They are from Cincinnati and crossed their wake a few weeks ago. They are planning to go to New Orleans and back up to the Tennessee and just cruise for a while. 

Birds...

and deer... 

and turtles...

and gators...oh my!
First gator since we left Florida. Now I know we are getting close to home.

50 miles to Mobile Bay!

We fixed chili for dinner and watched a little NFL on the satellite.

Sunset on the Tenses River.

BASHI CREEK Anchor to BOBBY'S FISH CAMP in Silas AL / Saturday, October 22 (Day 275)

Admiral's Log:     8:00 am, Sat.  10/22/16
                         Air Temp:   46     Water Temp:   73
                        Winds:   calm
                        Speed:   10 mph

Even colder this morning! Guess I need to get used to it. At least it warms up pretty nicely. There was not a cloud in the sky, it was a picture perfect day! We took our time getting started because it was a short run to our next stop; Bobby's Fish Camp. Like I said before, there are very few anchorages on this part of the river system, so we have to stay at some odd places. Bobby's is another of the "must see" stops for Loopers. It's not quite as primative as Hoppies, but close. We had to tie up ourselves and it was kind of windy so it was a bit more challenging than usual. 

Brrr....

Glad I brought all types of clothes.

Bobby's is just a floating dock with 4 power pedestals. We got there around 10:30 so were were able to snag one. When it's really crowded boats have to raft off each other and only 4 have shore power. We need not worry tho, only one other boat, Chasing 80 arrived around 7 pm.

Rowe Boat all alone.

Bobby's is also well known for their catfish restaurant. It's only open Thursday thru Sunday, so we were lucky and had dinner there. It was mighty fine as Mike likes to say.

We also wanted to get there early because there were a lot of good college games on TV; including Auburn putting the whooping on Arkansas, War Eagle!

While eating dinner, we me a local lady who gave us a little history of the town of Bladen Springs. In the 1940's, because of the nearby mineral springs, it had a renowned hotel and spa. Steamboats would run up and down the Tombigbee from New Orleans and Mobile transporting tourists to the hotel and spa. She mentioned she had a house on Ono Island near Orange Beach, which was where we were headed and where we bought our boat. Knowing Ono Island was pretty small, I asked if she knew the couple we bought the boat from. And she did! Another small world moment!

DEMOPOLIS to BASHI CREEK Anchor / Friday, October 21 (Day 274)

Admiral's Log:     7:35 am, 10/21/16
                         Air Temp:   58     Water Temp:   75
                        Winds:   3 mph
                        Speed:   10.7 mph

Well I guess fall has officially started. We both had on long sleeve shirts and sweat pants. It was a bit windy which made it feel even colder. We headed to the Demopolis Lock early hoping to beat any tow traffic. We were soon joined by 5 other boats and Mimi, a 125 foot yacht from Minnesota. We heard her captain on the radio say their final destination was Clearwater. 

Mimi, our lockmate.

Some of the other boats in the lock with us and Mimi.

Typical Bama Fan, LOL!

The Demopolis Lock is the 1st of 2 locks on the Black Warrior River. Our drop was 40 feet, but it was one of the more challenging because we had quite a bit of wind.

Crazy, twisty, turn river!

We dropped anchor around 3:30 in Bashi Creek. It was quite narrow and the first time we had to use 2 anchors; one off the bow and the other off the stern. Luckily all the other boats from the lock went ahead to Bobby's Fish Camp because there definitely was not much room in this creek for many boats. 

Front and ...

rear of our anchorage, kind of narrow. 

We had zero cell service, but at least we did pick up satellite reception, so we grilled brats we had bought at a Farmer's Market and watched football. 

SUMTER REC AREA to DEMOPOLIS, AL / Wednesday and Thursday, October 19 and 20 (Days 272-273)

Admiral's Log:     7:10 am, 10/19/16
                         Air Temp:   68     Water Temp:   75
                        Winds:   calm
                        Speed:   10 mph

Just one lock today, the Howell Heflin Lock was 36 feet down, which is the last of the locks on the Tombigbee Waterway. We descended 341 feet in 10 locks. Still amazes me the engineering; how the water is held back and you can see the 2 water levels.

We saw some cool wild life this day. And cruised passed the White Cliffs of Epes Alabama. They were formed about the same time as the White Cliffs of Dover in England. They are bright white chalk deposits. 

Young eagle in the tree.

Deer crossing the river.

A young wild pig having a drink.

One of the many herons along the river.

Copper Penny photo op.

Beautiful contrast.

Looks like Christmas!

Don't know the purpose!

Pretty house on the river.

We topped off with fuel at Demopolis Marina at 1:30 to prepare for the long run south. There are no other fuel stops or marinas for a long stretch. There were Docktails with several boaters and the only Looper was Copper Penny, then saw the Space Station pass overhead, pretty cool. 

We went with Chica to the Red Barn for dinner. We had heard from several Loopers to go there. Sandy had the best dish. It was rich but delish.  Shrimp over rice in a  cheesy cream sauce. We were happy to see them since it had been a while. They have to go to South Carolina for a week, so hoping we will catch up with them again in Mobile.

Alan and Sandy from Chica.

Thursday, Mike did some engine room maintenance while I did laundry and caught up on then Blog.  I saw a cotton mouth on the swim platform of a boat in the marina (did not have my camera handy), darn it!  We told one of the marina staff and she says "oh he's our pet, he's been hanging around here 2 or 3 years now."  Oh ok, nice pet, I bet the people who own that boat would beg to differ!  

Relaxed most of the day. I fixed Butter Chicken for dinner and we watched the Lightning game.

COLUMBUS MS to SUMPTER REC AREA Anchorage in AL / Tuesday, October 18 (Day 271)

Admiral's Log:     7:20 am, 10/18/16
                         Air Temp:   69     Water Temp:   71
                        Winds:   calm
                        Speed:   9.6 mph

We call the next lock master every morning for a report on possible tows. This morning he said if we hurried we could get in before the next scheduled tow. Copper Penny and Diva Di and us entered the Stennis Lock right at 7:30. The Stennis Lock was 27 feet and the Bevill Lock was 27, a total of 54 feet drop today. 

Alabama Tennessee state line running along the Tombigbee Waterway.

Cold start for me, too lazy to go get a jacket, so using a towel.  Haha
 Not one of my more flattering photos.

As we waited for the Lock master to fill the chamber we saw the Montgomery Snag Boat. It is now a museum and permanently docked on the side of the river. It was built in 1926 and was one of the last steam-powered sternwheelers to ply the inland rivers removing snags, underwater trees, stops and branches. It has a large grapple on a boom that pulled these obstacles from the river. 

Sorry not a very good shot of the snag boat.

We stopped at a nice anchorage with Copper Penny. It is a park area, with bathrooms and Copper Penny was able to take their dogs to shore. An hour or so later Near Miss and Crazy Love joined us.

Our anchorage for the night.

Mike threw out a fishing line and I read a while. For dinner we had red beans and rice and cornbread that Tonya of Sweet T had made, and watched the Lighting game.
  

SMITHVILLE Anchor to COLUMBUS MS / Monday, October 17 (Day 270)

Admiral's Log:   7:10 am, 10/17/16

                       Air Temp:   64     Water Temp:   69

                      Winds:   3 mph

                      Speed:   8.5 mph

Another early morning, no rest for the wicked! Three locks today; the Wilkins with a 25 foot drop, the Amory with 30 and the Aberdeen with 27, a total of 82 feet today.

The moon was still visible at 7:30

Jill Kristy and Copper Penny exiting the first lock.

Water was like glass, love the reflection.

Tons of Herons on the rivers, so peaceful.

Columbus Air Force Base was nearby, where they only train pilots.

We got to the Columbus Mississippi Marina at a little after 1. We needed a day to chill after the long day before. There was a nice cocktails with about 20 other boaters, both Loopers and non loopers. 

We borrowed the courtesy car and went to dinner at Little Dooey's a local Bar B Que restaurant, with Sweet T, Jill Kristy, Copper Penny and non loopers Time Out.