Log 44; Day 133; Oct 1; Joe Wheeler State Park

Log 44
Day 133
Wednesday, October 01, 2008

4:50 AM CDT
Location: Joe Wheeler State Park Marina, Rogersville, AL
Weather: 58* and clear; forecast is for sunny and 75* and NNW winds at 10-20

One great thing about getting up early is plenty of time to do the log without being rushed to finish it before having to get the boat ready to head out for the day. While this log is not very long most days...it takes longer to write it than you might think...or I normally think. Many times I’ll start, then quit, then come back again, and extra time helps with that. This morning I have plenty of time and it is a nice morning to do it. Still dark out, but we are sitting directly in front of a lodge (Joe Wheeler Lodge) and the light from the lodge gives the helm area a light glow.

Yesterday...we had to get ready in a hurry to leave the dock and head for the lock. As soon as I finished the log, I called the lock on the ship to shore radio and asked the status of locking up. He told me they were just locking through a double (meaning it was a large barge and they had to take it through in two different pieces. The barge pulls into the lock...they unhook half the barge...the tow backs out of the lock...they raise the first half of the barge up and pull it out of the lock with cables...they lower the lock again and then the 2nd half of the barge goes in, and then they raise it up. The tow then pushes the 2nd half out...hooks up again with the 1st half, and pushes on. This can take up to 2 hours to accomplish this) and they had another double coming up the river. I asked if we get there in a hurry could we get through ahead of the next barge and he said “possibly”. So I woke up Deb and told her we had to leave now, or wait 3 hours...we agreed to go right away. It only took about 10 minutes to leave the slip (I think that’s a record for us) and it was a 2 mile run up a narrow channel to the Wilson Lock. As I headed up the channel I called the lock at 7:40; we were in the lock at 8:10; they lifted us 80 feet; and we were leaving the lock at 8:35. The next lock (Joe Wheeler) was about 14 miles away and I had hoped to get ahead of the double barge that had locked through ahead of us at the Wilson Lock, but the barge was about 8 miles ahead of us by the time we came out of the lock and I knew, even if I ran hard, we might not get to the lock in time for them to lock us through ahead of the barge...so we just took our time and enjoyed the beautiful morning. By about 10 we were close enough to the lock to call them and they said it would be about 2 hours so we tied to one of their outer walls and waited. At 12:10 we entered the lock and at 12:30 we were pulling out.
It was only about 3 miles from the lock to our slip at Joe Wheeler State Park, and by 1:30 we were tied up. Like many state operated facilities there was lots of confusion and little organization. There just does not seem to be any sense of urgency. So after walking around talking to people who worked there and looking for answers on who we pay...and what slip is ok to park in (seems simple...but it wasn’t) we finally were settled in at 2:30. From there is became our normal routine. Organize the boat; emails; internet searches (for who knows what); planning our next days cruise; and relaxing. Dinner consisted of pork chops that Deb did on the stove (even with a restaurant just a few feet in front of us at the lodge we still eat on the boat) and we watched a pre-recorded “Raising the Bar”...which is becoming a show we really like.

Side notes:
· The water leak we had remains to be ok. Although it could probably stay the way I fixed it, I plan to re-do the repair (so any vibration will not cause an issue) when we get a day when we are not cruising
· The cruising yesterday was just as pretty as the last few days of cruising. When we came out of Wilson Lock it was awesome, and the same when we came out of Joe Wheeler Lock. In each case the dams that they have made have created huge lakes and they are wide; deep; and very pretty. No doubt some of the prettiest waters we have been in...and they say it gets better.
· The leaves on the trees are just starting to show a little color. This part of the country will be unbelievable when they really start to turn.

Today...we have about 60 miles (with no locks) to go to our slip at Ditto Landing Marina in Huntsville, AL. I have a feeling this is not much of a marina...or a stop...but it fits with our schedule so we need to stop there. I’ll report on the condition later. The weather looks to be very good. A little cool, and a little windy, but not bad at all.

Well the sun is just starting to brighten up the eastern sky and it will be light soon so I need to get things ready for the day.

I’ll keep you posted.

BK.