New Johnsonville, TN – Clifton, TN - September 21, 2008

We had dinner last night with 3 other couples, all Loopers. Two of the couples had already completed their first loop and were doing their second. It was nice to visit with them, to get their opinions and to hear of places they liked and would return to as well as places to avoid.

The food was good, but nothing special. There was a lot of food for a very reasonable price. They were out of their special chocolate chip cookie dessert. It’s a warm cookie smothered in ice cream, caramel, and chocolate sauce, big enough to serve 2-4. There had been a run on that dessert yesterday afternoon. No one wanted to try the fried twinkie with ice cream. So we are unable to give a dessert rating.

We’ve found out there are 40 boats waiting for the Mississippi and Illinois rivers to subside and clear of debris. They have named themselves the “River Rats” and will be coordinating their departure time. As of now, everyone is still waiting.

We were underway this morning at 7 a.m. The scenery is becoming very beautiful. We went through landscapes formed between 150-350 million years ago. There are limestone bluffs with layers of limestone jutting out at different levels. Homes are built into rock ledges with scattered rock as their lawn.

We went through one of the sharpest hairpin turns on the Tennessee River today. You could leave the river here and return to it by traveling less than 2 miles over land. By water you will travel 9 miles to that same point.

We arrived at Clifton Marina at 3:30 and are planning to stay here 2 nights.