On the Tenn-Tom Waterway

                                                 On the Tenn-Tom Waterway

24 degrees and ice on the boat at 8:00Am – time for us to start out on the loop!  We 
are not really weather wimps, but it felt really strange to be boating in this weather.  Our best description was "biting cold".  We had enough clothes on to be snow skiing!  Thank goodness for the down blankets that the previous boat owners left us and hot coffee. 

Fortunately we have four heaters on our boat.   Two of them are built in and two are portable.  Most of the marinas pay for the electricity for the slip. When the boat is docked we are actually really warm and cozy inside.

We have just left the Tennessee River and are heading down the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  The Tenn-Tom is a man- made canal that was created for shipping. It parallels the Mississippi river, but on the eastern side of Mississippi. It actually took 20 years to build and was completed in the 1970’s.  They moved more dirt to build it than they did to build the Panama Canal.  

We traveled 37 miles and went through 3 locks.  We didn’t see one boat the entire way!  Baysprings Lake is where we spent the night.  It is a gorgeous, pristine lake and rural area.  We took the courtesy car and went to Boonesville  (real name) for a barbeque dinner. Barbeque is big back here.          

                        Most of the marinas have free courtesy cars for you to use.  They are incredibly trusting.  No need to sign any papers in or out.  The keys are left in the car.  Just put gas in for what you use. 

Glad I talked to this tow before passing - the man-made channel isn't that wide

Federal Ballard (these are used to tie barges up to)



84 foot drop in our first lock of this segment, "Whitten Lock"

We heard of a looper who bought an old, beater car and left it at the marina.  Any random looper that arrived was free to use it as long as they wanted, and was then supposed to drive it down  river to the next marina to be used . The next looper at the next marina would do the same.  In this fashion his car was moved all the way to Florida for him ( he couldn’t do it as he was moving his boat….)

                                        all the houses along the waterway are on big stilts for flooding

typical fishing boat - one seat and big engine - need to get to those fish fast!