It was 9:15 am when we pulled up anchor Friday morning and began our easterly journey on the Tennessee River toward Florence. The morning was cloudy and there was a light wind from the north keeping the temperatures cooler and in the lower 60’s. Before going very far, we crossed the river to check out the anchorage at Panther Creek. Our new Tennessee River guide (Fred Meyers) indicated that Panther Creek was one of the best anchorages on Pickwick Lake and we couldn’t imagine anything nicer than anchoring at the waterfall. In fact, our anchoring spot for the last three nights was not even mentioned in the guide. Panther Creek was ok, but there was nothing special about it and the only situation we could think of where we might choose it over the waterfall on the other side of the river would be if the waterfall area was too crowded.
Along the way we passed J.P. Coleman State Park which appeared to be a very nice recreation area. We also saw the remnants of the old Riverton lock, part of what once was a canal and lock system built more than 100 years ago. The canal extended upstream for about five miles so boats could bypass rapids and shoals. It was covered with water when Pickwick Dam was closed. At mile 233.0 we could see the mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway bridge. It was completed in 1965 and at the time was one of the most graceful bridges spanning the Tennessee. Today, many bridges share the same design. At mile 245.0 was the TVA’s Colbert power plant which is one of several coal burning plants producing electricity and operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The Muscle Shoals area begins around mile 251. It consists of four cities and is the third largest urban area through which the Tennessee River passes. Only Chattanooga and Knoxville are larger. Florence, on the north side of the river, is the largest of the four cities. The other three cities, Muscle Shoals, Sheffield and Tuscumbia, are all on the south side of the river. The four cities have a combined population of 75,000. We hope to visit the homes of W.C. Handy, “Father of the Blues,” and Helen Keller while here.
We pulled into the Florence Harbor Marina about 3:15 pm and spent the next 45 minutes maneuvering in and out of a slip that was just a bit too small for the boat. We finally made it work by backing in and securing ourselves with lines to keep us from damaging Blue Heron.
After showering, we tried out the marina’s restaurant, The Barge Inn, and enjoyed a fantastic meal. Maureen ordered the baked spaghetti and a margarita while Gale tried the chicken and broccoli pizza. Maureen gave the margarita a 9.5 rating on a scale of ten and said she would have to come back for another before we left. We both agreed that the pizza was the best we’d ever eaten.
On Saturday, we took a drive around Florence (we brought the car down from Iowa on our last pass through to Demopolis) and found the town easy to get around. In the afternoon, we went over to McFarland park which is next to the marina and Maureen witnessed her first fishing tournament weigh-in. It was a bass tournament and there about sixty boats entered in the contest. The winning boat had over 20 pounds of bass for the day.
Sunday and Monday were used to get caught up on the blog, clean up the boat, and pack for another trip back to the Midwest. Maureen plans to attend a yoga teacher’s conference in Minneapolis on June 2nd through 5th and then we will stay in Clear Lake through the Fourth of July holiday week
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