OK Boat Trip, Day 13, 5/7/08

Today, Day 13, was a tourist day. We really have to commend Memphis (MEM) as a neat tourist town. For those of you that travel the rivers and are familiar with Chattannoga’s (CHA) riverfront, this is comparable but different. Both cities have definitely made a big deal of their riverfronts. CHA is more modern and has the 2 big aquariums as a focal point. MEM of course has the old city look with the trolley cars, brick paved streets, etc.

It appears that most of the original buildings are still in place with facelifts and restorations common and still occurring. Beall Street is the location for their music history and BBQ.

We ate lunch at the famous Blues City BBQ. Hey, it said it was famous and there was a picture of Bill Clinton eating there. That would do it wouldn’t it?

We strolled through the Peabody Hotel, famous for its duck walk on the red carpet twice each day. And here’s a photo of the Episcopal church we visited on Sunday.

Here at Mud Island, we want to note the fantastic display of the Lower Mississippi River. It is ½ mile long and shows the watershed areas that feed the river, a very detailed topographical depiction of the river and all its tributaries, including below water and above ground as high as the levee system surrounding it. The display begins with water flowing down from all the states that feed it and its tributaries.

The water settles into those tributaries such as the IL, OH, TN, Cumberland, etc., and the MS itself. Then it flows as the MS flows, except this one has children on school field trips walking in it. Markers are placed along the display with guides covering much of the history along these river banks. It’s really amazing how many towns have grown and then perished as the river flowed out of its banks and created new channels and beds in the river. It was particularly interesting to see the areas we have traveled. For example, here’s the area where the Cumberland and TN Rivers flow close to each other in Grand Rivers, KY. The Cumberland is on the right, the TN on the left, and about 1/3 up the picture is the man-made canal connecting the two. You can also see the dams for each just beyond the canal.

Here’s the Cumberland joining the Ohio.

And the TN joining the OH 10 miles downstream.

And the OH joining the MS at Cairo.

Our current location at Memphis. We're at the bottom right at the foot of the I40 bridge. That's I55 to the left.

And an aerial shot from the 3rd floor

Rain is still forecast for the watershed areas flowing into the Arkansas so it may be fall before we get to Muskogee! I guess we should be thankful we made it this far where we at least have some things to do and places to see (and we are thankful). We could be tied up to our corn barge in Caruthersville! Speaking of Caruthersville – here she is on the MS River display.

Here's my boss's suggestion - "Might want to consider scuttling that tub you're in and getting one of my Formula Fas Tech race boats. When the hull isn't in contact with the water, it doesn't make much difference what the current is. Kind of like it doesn't make much difference how steep the hills are you're flying over. Probably by spending $400,000.00 on the new boat, and another $400,000.00 in fuel, we will have you in Muskogee in a couple of days." Guess we'll have to continue in the tub!

OK Boat Trip, Day 12, 5/6/08

No boating again today and a short blog update.

We had to turn in the rental car from yesterday, then did some shopping. After shopping, Rhonda got into her cleaning mode, then her organizing mode. Haven’t we already done this organizing routine a few times? In all fairness to Rhonda, she takes advantage of every inch of storage space and every time she reorganizes, we end up with more available space and less “stuff” sitting out for us and all to see. I assure you she will have everything in order when we get to Muskogee. Anyhow, when she’s in this mode, it’s best for me to just get out of the area so I worked on the outside of the boat, got rid of the boat moustache and tried to get the outboard running again. No luck so decided I better get a professional to take a look.

I called the local Yamaha outboard service center, Memphis Boat Center, and they agreed to work me in right away since we are traveling. Turned out to be an all afternoon affair. Once the diagnosis was in, apparently we have gotten some bad fuel somewhere and there is trash in the carburetor which has caused some other problems. It will be Friday before the parts are in and all repairs made but that works for us. We do not like to travel without the dinghy and outboard available to us.

Tomorrow we’ll try and cover some other topics we have received questions on from our readers. And I promise to have pictures.

OK Boat Trip, Day 11, 5/5/08

No boating and no pictures today but we did take the opportunity to rent a car here in Memphis to go back to our marina at Bay Hill on the TN River to get one of our vehicles and a few things we’ll need in Muskogee. So, it was a pleasant day, about three hours each way. (Our son, Adam, later noted that we made the trip twice today by car that took us 8 days by water to do just once!) Okay Adam, so what’s your point? LOL.

Anyhow, having our truck here allows us to enjoy Memphis a little more and we’ll keep it here until we’re getting close to getting underway again. Then we’ll probably rent another car and take our vehicle to Muskogee so it is waiting there for us when we arrive.

Bad news upon our return – the fire department had its boat underway leaving the Mud Island harbor. Apparently some canoeists capsized out on the MS River. No word yet on their fate.

Not much else to report today so I’ll cover a topic we had some questions on – mile markers. And by the way, I don’t propose to be an expert on any of these topics we cover – just informally passing what little I know from the experience we have.

Generally, mile markers (mm) provide a means for boaters to track their location and plan and project their travel. They are numbered from the beginning to the end of the river or vice versa. The Mississippi River is different in that it is divided into the Upper and Lower Mississippi River with the mid point being Cairo, Illinois (where we joined it from the Ohio River). Here are the rivers involved in our trip.

The Tennessee originates in Knoxville, TN (mm652), flows south into AL, proceeds westbound though AL, then turns north at Pickwick, TN to Paducah, KY (mm 0) where it flows into the Ohio River.

The Cumberland originates in Letcher County, KY (mm678), flows through Nashville, TN then west and northwest to Smithland, KY (mm0) where it also flows into the Ohio River (at a point 10 miles upstream from where the TN joins the Ohio).

Note that the TN and Cumberland Rivers are only about 2 miles apart at Grand Rivers, KY. A man-made canal makes it possible to travel from one to the other in the vicinity of Grand Rivers. We took this route to avoid the busy lock and dam at Grand Rivers on the TN.

The Ohio originates at Pittsburgh, PA (mm0) and ends at Cairo, IL (mm981) at which point it flows into the MS River.

The lower Mississippi runs from Cairo, IL (mm953) to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans (mm0).

The Arkansas is part of the McKlellan-Kerr Waterway which begins at Catoosa, OK (just NE of Tulsa) as the Verdigris River (mm445) which joins the Arkansas at Muskogee OK (mm395) which joins the White River (mm10) which flows into the lower MS River (mm0).

In summary, our trip thus far is as follows:

We began at Bay Hill Marina on the TN River at mm287 and continued to Grand Rivers, KY, TN River mm25. (262 miles on the TN)

We took the cut noted previously over to the Cumberland River at mm33 and continued to mm0 of the Cumberland which joined the Ohio at mm 923. (33 miles on the Cumberland)

Then we took the Ohio at mm 923 to Cairo, IL (58 miles on the Ohio) where we joined the MS River to Memphis at mm736 (218 miles on the MS). [571 miles total thus far]

Hope that helps but I know it’s a little confusing. You may have to do a little geography research to make sense of it.

OK Boat Trip, Day 10, 5/4/08

We started today by worshipping at the Calvary Episcopal Church in downtown Memphis. It's about a 30 minute walk from the boat to the church. Mud Island where the marina is located is connected to downtown by a walking bridge which also has a monorail service if you want to pay $4 per day per person - we'll walk. Anyhow, we walked across the bridge only to find that the exit gates on the town side were still locked until 10:00 (it was 8:40). With nowhere to go but back to the boat we proceeded to do just that. But just as we were leaving, the cleaning crew arrived and opened the gate for us! God is good.

It was an interesting service for us, very formal compared to our home church, Lindsay Lane Baptist in Athens, AL. The church was absolutely beautiful, built in 1832 - exposed beam cathedral ceilings, stained glass windows, very historic looking - you get the picture.

After lunch we planned a dinghy ride to explore the harbor beyond our dock and the area down by the music fest. Got everything loaded and ready, fired up the outboard and let her warm up. Then all of a sudden and for no reason it quit. Never could get it running again so I did the next best thing and took a nap while Rhonda went walking on her own. Here are a couple of shots she took of the flowers at Mud Island.

Later we decided to walk to Miss Cordelia's, our grocery, deli, and WiFi spot about 15 minutes down the river. It's located in a very trendy upscale area called Harbor Town. On the walk down we got a good shot of the Memphis Pyramid - we think it's a convention center.

Harbor Town and Miss Cordelia's below

The many condos, apartments, and homes packed into Harbor Town is quite a contrast from two days on the MS River when we saw a total of 6 homes those 2 days.

OK Boat Trip, Day 9, 5/3/08

Remember our previous comment about traveling on a boat and having a plan but being flexible? Well, after phone calls this morning to several folks on the Arkansas River, including several lockmasters, one marina, and the Port Authority at Muskogee, we’ve decided to take a week delay here in Memphis at Mud Island Marina, possibly longer.

Here are some of the comments we got this morning. “This has been the wettest April in recorded history for Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. The AR River is roaring.” “I wouldn’t want to put my boat out there right now. Floating logs and debris are everywhere.” From the Muskogee Port Authority – “The river normally flows at 7000 metric cubic feet per second. It’s at 120,000 per second now. I believe I’d delay somewhere for a while.” Similar increases were noted all along the river. “The barges are running, but only during the day. They are only moving up river with about 1/3 of their normal load. It’s the only way they can make any progress against the current.” Etc, etc.

And then we met Mr. Blackley, a Captain and a very nice man who is refurbishing a boat here at Mud Island and has a wealth of knowledge traveling the AR River after having made the trip six times. “Trust me, I’ve been there, you don’t want to be on that river in its current condition. Even if you successfully make the trip in these conditions, you will not have seen and enjoyed the true beauty of the AR.”

The other factors are fuel and time. In our trawler, we average 10 mph but traveling against a current of 5 mph or more, you double your travel time and fuel costs.

OK, enough is enough, we give in! We really wanted to get to Muskogee sooner than later but we have been pushing it hard and probably need to stop and “smell the roses.” So, we approached Jim at the marina about a long-term stay. What a deal. Basically $10/day plus electricity, and we have cable TV and free laundry. Now, where can you get a riverfront room in a riverfront town like Memphis during Memphis in May for that kind of price? So, here are some shots from our new home for a week or so.

View of the river with tug going under I-40 Bridge (our backyard)

Downtown Memphis (front yard)

The American Queen Riverboat (she left shortly after this shot with full load of passengers)

View from Downtown Memphis looking back toward the marina

This is not law enforcement after us - they were patrolling the river for Memphis in May Music Fest on the riverfront.

We still need to move a couple of vehicles to Muskogee also so we’ll probably make use of our time for that purpose.

Not sure when we’ll be moving on the water again but check the blog periodically. For those of you new to river boating and checking the site to learn more about cruising the rivers, we may take this opportunity to cover some of the systems on the boat like cooking, water, electricity, bathrooms, etc.

Before we close for today, we want to mention another comment from Captain Blackley. We asked him to compare the AR with the TN River, our home cruising ground. He said the AR is prettier and even more interesting than the TN. “You see everything from swamps to mountains, rock cliffs, pristine lakes, neat cities like Pine Bluff, Little Rock, Ft. Smith/Van Buren and others.” That’s a pretty good recommendation because we can tell you from experience that the TN is absolutely beautiful with similar attributes as those he noted. We’d also note that many folks we have spoken to who have traveled the entire Great Loop Cruise Route have cited the TN River as one of the best on the route, equaling such areas as the Georgian Bay in Canada. So, we are even more excited about the AR River.

OK Boat Trip, Day 8, 5/2/08

Today’s forecast was better, 15 to 25 MPH winds with gusts 30 to 40. The bad weather was not supposed to arrive at Memphis until about 4 PM, so we decided to take off, left our corn barge at 06:00 and arrived at Mud Island Marina adjacent to downtown Memphis 115 miles later at 2:30, mm 735 of the MS River. One helpful thing for the trip today was that the Coast Guard had gotten all of the buoys back in place marking the river channel since the flood occurred. Rhonda really appreciated this, even with GPS and electronic charts - seeing the buoys just makes it easier. One tow captain even commented how nice it was to see the buoys again. The trip was generally rough but not too bad except for about a 15-mile stretch 30 miles north of Memphis. Honest, we had 4 and 5 foot seas and our Roughwater trawler earned her name. She is truly a rough water boat. The bow of the boat actually went under water once when we were coming off the crest of one wave and plowed into the next. Sorry we don't have pictures but we were kind of busy staying afloat! This is not pleasant cruising for us but it happens sometimes. One positive note though - we had no idea we had some mud daubers hiding in parts of the canvas over the aft deck – they’re all dislodged now and laying on the floor of the deck.

Approaching Memphis in the rain.

We had one of our windshield wiper motors quit earlier in the day during a shower (we have three wipers, one for each window). So, I had replaced it with a spare while we were underway. I’m sure glad I did. During that rough stretch, the windshield was continuously covered with spray from the bow hitting the waves.

When we arrived at the marina, the bottom fell out of the storm which seemed to be approaching a little earlier than forecast. Everyone got soaked including the dock hands but we didn’t mind and they didn’t seem to either. We were just glad to be docked safe and secure again for the evening. We asked for a covered slip – they’re forecasting the possibility of golf ball size hail when the big stuff rolls through this evening and during the night. Unfortunately, they were all full so we’ll be at the mercy of the storm tonight.

You'll have to enlarge the photo to read the details.

Help Me Rhonda docked at Mud Island Marina with Memphis in the background

Time for laundry, housekeeping, catching up the blog, etc. Looks like we’ll have to head into town to find some WiFi somewhere, none here at the marina. We may stay and enjoy the town tomorrow; there’s a music festival this weekend along the riverfront. We’ll make our plans this evening after looking at the weather forecast the next few days.

We want to take this opportunity to thank "Tara" at Mud Island Marina. Rhonda ran into her at the laundromat and asked about the area, where to get supplies/WiFi/etc. (The marina itself has no WiFi). Tara is not an employee of the marina, just keeps her boat there and lives on it full-time. She's never met us before today, knows nothing about us, and just came over and gave us the key to her car (the marina has no courtesy car). This is one thing that attracts us to boating. The vast majority of boaters are wonderful folks always willing to help each other when possible. Thanks again Tara!

OK Boat Trip, Day 07, 5/1/08

Before I start today’s log, let me mention the excitement last night after we went to bed. Remember I said we checked in with the barge service and asked if we could just tie up to a barge since the wind was so strong? He said yes, but apparently didn’t tell anyone. After all the lights were out and we were in bed, all of a sudden we hear huge diesel engines outside the boat and a one-gazillion candlepower spotlight lighting up the whole world around us. My first thought was that the FBI, CIA, or Homeland Security had finally caught up with us from Olmstead L&D, but it was just one of the local tows checking us out. I rushed up to the aft deck and one of the crew said “You’re OK, we just wanted to be sure we didn’t have any terrorists here!" Enough excitement for last night.

Things didn’t get much better for today either. A huge front is headed this way and there is a hazardous wind advisory for our route down the Mississippi, steady winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts 50 to 60 – think we’ll stay put today. I called the barge service again – they said they understood and agreed it was a smart move.

So, we had a pretty quiet day and a chance to regroup a little, do a little housecleaning, and I decided to take the dinghy for a little excursion. Dinghys are handy for exploring local waters while you’re docked or anchored at a location and are your means for getting ashore if you need to get on land for touring, supplies, etc. And of course they serve as an emergency means if you start to sink!

Anyhow, they attach to the boat with a davit system. There are all types. Our is relatively simple. Two hooks on the dinghy attach to two hooks on the swim platform, pull her up and tie her off.

And a photo of Help Me Rhonda docked at the corn barge.