Huntsville, AL – Scottsboro, AL, October 6, 2008

We got underway again this morning at 7:30. We cruised 16 more miles on Wheeler Lake until we came to Guntersville Lock & Dam. We called ahead to check status and the gates were open for us when we arrived.

Prior to getting to the dam we ran into a fog bank and turned on the radar. Luckily there wasn’t much traffic on the lake. Seeing the fog rise off the lake with mountains in the background was very beautiful. The pictures don’t show how pretty it was.

We went by a cave that is a sanctuary for federally endangered gray bats. At dusk, thousands of bats fly from the cave to feed on insects. The number of bats living in the cave fluctuates annually but ranges from 20,000 – 45,000 between April and September. The cave is warmer than most and is used as a bat nursery. In September all the bats migrate to a cooler cave in the hills a few miles north of the river. There are 11 more caves in the Tennessee Valley having a significant gray bat population.

We arrived at Goose Pond Marina and were tied up at 1:45. This is one of the few marinas having a courtesy car. We are really appreciative of courtesy cars. Most marinas are not located in towns and are not close to shopping. Having a car to use lets us re-stock and occasionally do some sightseeing.

1 lock - total 89