As we were getting ready to depart Clarkesville (and no, it wasn’t on the last train), DeeDee (Murphy’s BFF on War Eagle), me, and Murphy went for a walk and some ball playing. Murphy was off leash as we headed back to the marina. I don’t know if you can tell in the picture, but it is quite a drop down from the top to the marina, along a very rocky steep shore. As we walked back, all of a sudden Murphy took off over the grassy side towards the water. DeeDee and I hurried over and there was Murphy, maneuvering down the rocky slope to the water. I kept calling him, but he was in “ignore Mom and go swimming ‘cause I’m hot” mode. Luckily, there was a boat ramp (with big signs posted “Danger, No Swimming, No Pets, Sharp Objects”) that Murphy swam to and he then came up (well, after ignoring me again and taking one more swim). Bad Murphy.
After getting a now dripping wet Murphy onboard, we departed Clarkesville traveling upstream toward Nashville, with one lock to traverse. Luckily, we were able to lock through the Cheatham Lock with little delay. Our looper friends, Jon and DeeDee on War Eagle, the day before, had to wait over two hours to lock through as a barge was transiting and the tow captain had to break the tow into two segments as it was so large. We then enjoyed a peaceful night in a beautiful anchorage on the Harpeth River surrounded by cliffs. While at anchor, we had a couple of kayakers stop by to chat. They had owned a trawler at one time and were familiar with the loop.
After Harpeth, we arrived in Nashville, tying to a dock right across the river from downtown and next to the Titans stadium. It was fun to be in a big city again. We enjoyed Nashville “hot chicken” and stopping in a few bars. The iconic Tootsies was hosting their 60th birthday bash, complete with bands playing great music right in the street. Our looper friends, Rick & Christie on Inked Mermaid, told us about the “What Lifts You” mural so we stopped by for photo opportunity. I had toured the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum during another trip and Dave is not a big Country fan, so we skipped it.
On our way back down the Cumberland River (this time going with the current, not against it!), we stopped for lunch at the Riverview Restaurant in Ashland City, TN and had Ms. Helen’s homemade Banana Pudding. Yum, Yum. Just like my mom use to make with vanilla wafer cookies. And who did we run into at the restaurant? The same couple in kayaks that stopped by our boat in the anchorage. They are traveling by RV in the area. They shared some “river” boat stories to ensure we are careful heading south.
We then overnighted in the same two anchorages we stopped on the way up river, on the Harpeth River and behind Dover Island. There was a lot of debris flowing down the river (lots of tree logs and branches). While at anchor on the Harpeth River, a very large log decided to attach itself around our anchor chain. Dave tried to dislodge it from the bow using a boat hook with no luck. He then used our dinghy, lassoed the log, and after several attempts was able to pull it off of the chain and send it downstream. When the tree rolled off, there was a large root structure under the water which is what was caught on the anchor chain. I took a picture of it (before dislodging), which does not do justice to the size of the log, especially what was under the water. Of course, I didn’t think to record Dave’s lassoing success. Dratz.
We returned to Green Turtle Bay Resort & Marina for a brief stop before heading further south. We were lucky in Grand Rivers, KY on the day of their annual Harvest Moon festival, complete with crafts and food vendors, and a parade! Dave, Murphy, and me enjoyed the small-town festivities.
Next, we are heading down the Tennessee toward Chattanooga, TN for our second “side trip”. This side trip has a specific reason, which I will share more in a later post.
Fun Facts: Distanced traveled so far: 4,459 miles in 201 days, stopping at 123 unique locations, traversing through 58 locks, with lots more to come!
Thanks for following along on our adventure,
Brenda with Captain Dave, and Not so Angelic Murphy