Tennessee River Archives — Trailer Trawler Life Blog

2012 America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Fall Rendezvous

Arriving at Joe Wheeler for the 2012 America's Great Loop Cruisers' Fall Rendezvous is the endpoint to our 2012 Tennessee River cruise. Our trip's mission was to spend some time on the Tennessee River, traveling its length along with this year's crop of Loopers, and commence the cruise by attending AGLCA's (America's Great Loop Cruisiers' Association) 2012 Fall Rendezvous held at Joe Wheeler State Park and Marina. To get to Joe Wheeler we had to lock through the Wheeler Lock and Dam, the last lock for us on this trip. We always try to get this spot at the Joe Wheeler Marina…

McKernan Creek Anchor Before Joe Wheeler State Park

We like anchoring in McKernan Creek! After leaving Grand Harbor Marina, we made two anchorage stops before we got to Joe Wheeler State Park. The first, Little Bear Creek (above and below), was a new spot for us while our stay at McKernan Creek was our third time at anchor there. Both anchorages met with our satisfaction and provided a colorful and comfortable night on the hook. On the move again early the next morning we passed the bridge at Florence, Alabama (below). To get to McKernan Creek we had to lock through the Wilson Lock and Dam. At 110…

Time To Disembark at Grand Harbor Resort Marina

End of the line, Grand Harbor Resort Marina. After being on the hook a lot lately, a visit to Grand Harbor Resort Marina, located where the Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama borders come together (we're officially down south at this point), hit the spot. It has all the amenities a long-distance boater appreciates including a well-stocked ship's store, an elegant boater's lounge, laundry facilities located right on the dock where you can sit by the water as you wash and dry your clothes, they also have several loaner vehicles and they almost beg you to use one to explore the nearby…

Returning to Diamond Island to Anchor

Diamond Island welcomes Kismet back to its beautiful anchorage. A beautiful fall day presented itself to us as we headed out, from Clifton Marina early the next morning, with a plan to anchor out at Diamond Island. With bright blue skies and a pleasantly warm day, we basked in the scenic beauty along the Tennessee River during our cruise. Lots to see with many boats on the water, some Loopers passing us, and people fishing or relaxing along the sandy shoreline of the river. The houses along the river are interesting to look at and we enjoyed seeing this herd…

Trying to Stay Dry in Lick Creek

Kismet says "Hi" to 0 Regrets in Lick Creek! Staying in the travel mode of leaving late and quitting early we only cruised 15 miles today, stopping to anchor out in Lick Creek. This was our first time in Lick Creek, a new experience in a natural setting. We worked our way into the unmarked serpentine channel with the aid of our GPS, and traveled past a few deadheads and very shallow water to an area with 5 to 9-foot depths. It was well away from the river barge traffic, so we settled in for a cozy afternoon warm and…

Pebble Isle Marina – Known For Their Southern Hospitality & Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Pebble Isle Marina owners Randy and Tami are well known for their infectious southern personalities. On our way to Pebble Isle Marina today, At MM-78.2, we passed the Louisville and Nashville RR Bridge (above). It is a non-functioning bridge at this time, probably only used for fishing now. Shortly after the bridge, we passed an abandoned, partly submerged, building (photo below). The Tennessee Valley Authority purchased many acres of land in preparation to create Kentucky Lake. The Kentucky Dam was completed in 1944, when the area was flooded and many towns below the new water level disappeared. Lake Barkley was created in the early 1960’s…

Cypress Creek Anchorage – Tennessee River

We left Duncan Bay knowing we'd travel south on the Tennessee River for only 4 hours, so it wasn't going to be a long day. Twenty-nine miles later, at mile marker 62.6, we made a starboard turn into Cypress Creek, then another right into the first cove. What we found was an anchorage that provided us with calm waters in very protective, natural surroundings. Because of our short cruise day, I took advantage of the calm water by continuing my work on the dinghy davit bracket installation (see next post). I like to maximize my downtime by having a few…

Landing in Duncan Bay – Tennessee River

Duncan Bay was our choice for a peaceful night on the hook! Our three-week goal was to travel 250 miles on the Tennessee River while meeting Loopers on their southern migration and concluding our trip after attending an AGLCA Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park Marina in Rogersville, Alabama. With three weeks to enjoy this famous heartland river, it felt good knowing we could really take our time leaving a spot late in the morning or deciding to stop early in the day to relax and familiarize ourselves with a new anchorage. With that said, we left Green Turtle Marina,…

Third Time’s a Charm – Tennessee River Cruise

Kismet will be cruising the Tennessee River for four weeks! For die-hard boaters, like us, there's no better feeling than heading out on the road (for trailerable boaters) on the cusp of an adventure, we were just itching to do a little river cruising. We took our Kismet on a 680-mile road trip, from Traverse City, Michigan, before we floated her off of the trailer today into Lake Barkley at Green Turtle Marina, in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. Our intention is to cruise the Tennessee River for the next four weeks. We had spent a couple of days at home, prior to departure, rigging…

The Little Red Tug Is On the Move Again – Cloverdale RV Park

Cloverdale RV Park made us think we should do more RVing! The little red tug, Kismet, is on the move again, we're headed south this fall to cruise the Tennessee River; a 220-mile trip (approx.) from Grand Rivers, Kentucky to Rogersville, Alabama. The first stop was Cloverdale RV Park in Cloverdale, Indiana. Not a lot going on here but it was a very friendly stop for the night and very quiet with a tranquil setting. It had wide open grassy sites that were mostly empty and the park was surrounded by trees dressed in their fall colors. There is a…

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