Chattanooga, TN – Guild, TN – October 12, 2008

There are some attractions in Chattanooga we wanted to see where a car, bus or taxi was needed. Guild, TN., where Keely met us with a rental car, was 33.5 miles and 4 hours away from Chattanooga by boat, yet only 20 miles and 15 minutes by car. Since we needed to back to Guild anyway so Keely could pick up the car and drive to the airport Monday afternoon, we changed our plans and left Chattanooga early this morning. We docked at the marina, picked up the car, and drove back to Chattanooga.
Even though we are now retracing our steps, and will be until we start going south on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, we are seeing new things. We passed the TVA’s (Tennessee Valley Authority) Raccoon Mountain pumped storage project. A 520-acre lake was created on top of 1,100 foot Raccoon Mountain into which water is pumped from the river during times of slack power use. Then when there are peak demands for electric power, water is allowed to flow down the mountain through giant tubes and turbines to generate electricity.

We arrived back at Hales Marina at 11 a.m., docked, had lunch and were back in Chattanooga by 1 p.m. The first thing we did was drive to the top of Lookout Mountain, where we took a ride on the Incline Railway. The Incline Railway is the steepest passenger railway in the world, with a 72.7% grade. The railway was originally built in 1895 to avoid the 4 hour road trip (about 20 minutes today) necessary to get to the top of the mountain. The views are really spectacular. We found that Lookout Mountain is the southern most mountain in the Appalachian Chain.

After our trip on the Incline Railway, we went to the Ruby Falls cave. Ruby Falls was discovered over 75 years ago when a group of men were trying to find the original site of the Lookout Mountain Cave. Ruby Falls is a 125’ high waterfall and is the largest underground waterfall open to the public in the United States. In order to see it we took an elevator 260’ down and walked 1125’ into the center of the mountain. The tour took 1 hour and we walked 1 mile.

It was very beautiful in the cave. There were stalactites and stalagmites and columns (when stalactites and stalagmites meet). There were many unique formations as well as an earthquake fault line. We took many pictures but, again, the pictures don’t represent the beauty we saw.

Fuzzy and Aunt Keely

When Fuzzy found out Aunt Keely was coming to visit he was very excited. He hadn’t seen Aunt Keely in awhile and was looking forward to playing with her.

Aunt Keely didn’t get here until after Fuzzy was asleep, but he saw her first thing in the morning. She was also happy to be here with Fuzzy, Nana and Papa.

Fuzzy got to go to the aquarium. There were all sorts of things to see and do. He got to touch a stingray and a shark! Their skin was very smooth.

He especially liked the penguins.

He saw a butterfly land on Aunt Keely's camera!

And he saw some fish like Nemo!

As Fuzzy was leaving the aquarium he saw some of his friends and had his picture taken with them. Can you find Fuzzy?

Chattanooga, TN – October 11, 2008

The fall 2008 sculling head races were taking place here today. They finished just to the right of our boat. It was fascinating to watch all the people complete in this sport. All ages were represented. There were youth up to men and women looking to be in their
30–40’s. There were also several categories, from 1 person up to 8 person skulls plus coxswain.
A head race is a time trial rowing typically held in the fall or early spring. In this form of racing, competitors race against the clock and the crew with the fastest time is deemed to be the winner. Racing usually takes place in different categories of boat class and abilities. The length of these races is usually between 3 km and 6 km. Boats are started at 10 to 15 second intervals. To minimize collisions, Boats are usually seeded so that the fastest start first.
After watching the races for awhile, we got on the free trolley and rode it to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. The Chattanooga Choo Choo is a Holiday Inn Hotel that started out in 1909 as a Railroad Terminal Station. It closed in 1970 and in 1989 was converted into a vacation complex. The old terminal is now the lobby of the hotel. In addition to regular rooms, you can also stay in converted railroad cars. This is also the site of the Model Railroad Museum.

We had lunch, then decided to see a movie. We picked Body of Lies with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. We enjoyed the movie.

Keely and Beth walked around the art district for a while and visited an art gallery. We are all impressed with how beautifully the Chattanooga waterfront has been developed. It’s the center of tourism for the city with the aquarium and all the waterfront events that are planned. Restaurants are all over and there is ample parking. There are many other attractions here, some of which we will see Sunday and Monday. Chattanooga would be a wonderful family vacation spot.

Keely enjoying her vacation.

Guild, TN – Chattanooga, TN- October 10, 2008

Our daughter Keely arrived last night around 11. She flew into Nashville, then rented a car and drove about 90 miles to the marina.

We left about 9:45 this morning, with a sunny and beautiful blue sky. This stretch of water from here to Chattanooga is known as the “Grand Canyon of the Tennessee”. The scenery was indeed beautiful, with mountains dropping steeply into the river that, in places, is barely 700 feet wide. The river makes dozens of turns as it twists through the mountains. Everyone has told us that in a couple of weeks the fall colors will peak and the views will be spectacular. Although we won’t be here then, we are beginning to see the start of the colors.

We were passed by many raceboats, all going very fast. We found out later that there are races this week-end on the other side of the next dam. Wonder what their fuel bill was!!


We rounded a bend and saw Lookout Mountain, one of America’s most famous landmarks. The mountain is more than 2,000 above the river and extends for nearly 100 miles into Georgia and Alabama. The last battle of the American Revolution was fought here. And it was here in November of 1863 that Union and Confederate forces fought in the “Battle Above the Clouds”, one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War where more than 34,000 were killed.






We arrived in Chattanooga and were tied up by 1 p.m. We stayed at Marine Max, just a few blocks from the Tennessee Aquarium. We had heard many good things about the aquarium so that’s the first thing we did.

All of us enjoyed the aquarium. We took a self-guided tour through both an ocean and river journey. There were sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, turtles of all kinds, penguins, alligators, otters, a live interactive butterfly exhibit, seawater and freshwater fish, macaws and frogs, just to mention a few. There was also an exhibit on seahorses. It was surprising to find the many kinds of seahorses and to actually see them. Some were really strange. It is interesting to know that the male seahorse gives birth to the young. It was all very interesting. (Some of the pictures didn’t turn out very well, going through glass)

Back to the boat late afternoon – dinner and bed. We were all tired.

Scottsboro, AL – Guild, TN October 9, 2008

It was a little overcast and hazy when we left this morning at 7. There were a few lone fishermen out in their boats.

We had a 1-1½ mph push from the current at the start of today …and we were going upriver. It was almost as if we had turned the wrong direction coming out of the marina….until Darrell realized that all the rain yesterday probably accounted for it. All the streams and creeks feeding into the lake were raising the water level and pushing water upriver from the dam.

We only had about 43 miles to go today, including one lock, but because we stayed an extra day in Scottsboro we must get to our next stop today. There is always the worry that there will be a tow going through the lock and that it will cause a major delay.

The Tennessee River meanders and wanders. We have been on the Tennessee River in Alabama since September 23, but today re-entered Tennessee.

We passed the southern end of Sequatchie Valley. This is one of the world’s two rift valleys. The other is the Great Victoria Valley in Africa. Both were created by the earth’s surface literally splitting apart. Sequatchie Valley is more than 125 miles long, but never more than five miles wide. Because the cliffs provide ideal conditions for hang gliding enthusiasts, the valley is known as the “Hang Gliding Capital of the East.”

We got into the Nickajack Lock with no wait. While locking up we discovered several “smart” blue herons. As the lock filled with water small fish rose to the surface. The herons were perched on the railing and swooped down to the water to eat the fish. They found an easy way to catch fish.

After the lock we entered Nickajack Lake. Only 5 more miles until we reached our marina. We arrived at Hales Bar Marina and Resort at 2 p.m. In addition to the marina, there are floating cabins available to rent.

1 lock – total 92

Scottsboro, AL – October 8, 2008

When we woke this morning it was pouring outside. It continued to rain all morning. We could have left and run in the rain, but since we had an extra day before we needed to meet our daughter, we decided to wait and see what happened.

The rain stopped early afternoon, but it was too late for us to leave and make our planned anchorage. There weren’t any other anchorages for us to consider, so we decided to remain here another day.

We used the marina’s courtesy car again and drove around Scottsboro. There is a super Wal-Mart here along with quite a few other stores. Unfortunately there isn’t a theater. Today would have been an excellent day for a movie.

Scottsboro, AL – October 7, 2008

Since we don’t need to be in Chattanooga until Thursday we decided to stay here another day. Goose Pond Marina is a small part of Goose Pond Colony. It is a 360 acre recreation complex owned and operated by the city of Scottsboro. Besides the marina, it features an 18-hole, 6,900-yard, par 72 golf course. There are also many cottages available for rent, as well as campsites, swim pool and outdoor amphitheater.

Today was overcast and quite windy with some periods of rain. We haven’t seen rain for several weeks. We’ve been quite fortunate with the weather.

We hung around the boat most of the day. We did take a walk in between showers. There is a restaurant here that is supposed to be very good. We went there for supper. We enjoyed our meal.