Locked in at Fort Loudon; Little TN, Tellico and back to Chickamauga July 7-19.

Once again there was no letup in the rain when we reached the Telllico River Marina and it poured while we attempted to find a slot that would house our boat.  We’re like the Three Bears.  First slip was too narrow, second was covered, and the roof was too low. Finally we were steered to a slip with a portion of the roof cut away to accommodate a 65’ fishing boat.  Happily for us, that boat is in Key West.  So the slip was Just Right!  The pounding rain didn’t stop until Sunday around 6 p.m.  It poured on our roof all night and all day! 

Fred spent Sunday playing with the fabulous pump out system at the Marina.  Individual connections at each slip, and he was finally able to flush our holding tank.   Filled it with 125 gal. of water and then removed it all.  That’s been on a to-do list for many moons!  I spent the day feeling crummy, keeping warm and drinking broth.  Yuk.

Monday we headed out in sunshine---imagine that, sunshine!!! to the  Tellico River and Sequoiah Memorial Museum. 

Sequoiah was a Cherokee, for whom the forest in California was named.  (Who knew?)  As an enlisted soldier during the War of 1812, Sequoiah saw other soldiers writing letters and military orders---making marks on paper.  It occurred to him that he and other members of his tribe were only able to speak their language, and were therefore shortchanged.  He spent the next many years translating the spoken sounds of the Cherokee into written symbols, thus creating a path to literacy for his people.  Within a generation, the Cherokee Nation could read and write.  Amazing.  In the museum we saw a beautiful stick with all 84 characters carved into it.  All in one piece.

Also on the grounds of the museum, which encompasses 47.5 acres and is owned by the Eastern Branch of the Cherokee Nation, are an amphitheater, and the Cherokee Memorial.  Here lie the remains of 18^th century Cherokee men and women who were moved during archeological work done as part of the creation of Tellico Lake when the dam was built.

The rain returned as we left the Museum.  We followed the Tellico River to the Little Tennessee, and then were tossed about as the Little Tennessee swirled into the Tennessee.  Logs and lumber and debris of all sorts were riding the current toward the dam.

Fort Loudoun Marina is upriver of the dam so we crossed the River and returned to the transient dock.  And there we stayed, unplanned, until Friday.  We were “locked in”. 

Here is how it works (for those of you, who, like me, were clueless to the TVA system).  We knew from the Ohio last year that the dams and locks created lakes.  Under normal conditions, water is released from one or two of the several spillways on the upper dams to prevent flooding upstream.  Fort Louden is the uppermost dam on the Tennessee, and after all the rain people were crowding to the overlook site to see water pouring out of nearly all spillways. “Never saw that before” was often heard! 

The River Management folks (TVA) measure the water going over the dam in cubic feet per second.  60cfs is a pretty high number.  Above that, we’re told, they consider closing the locks because of the dangerous, roiling water boats meet when exiting the lock.  Fort Louden was spilling 112 cfs. And that is NOT why the lock was closed.  There was so much debris they were unable to open the gates.  

The first day they told us we could get into the lock if we insisted, but they couldn’t guarantee that they’d be able to open the gates to let us out.  We didn’t insist. After that the upstream gates were so jammed with debris the lockmasters spent two whole days poling logs out of the way in an effort to send them downstream.  By day 3 the gates worked, but by then the 2 dams below Ft. Loudoun were spilling over 100cfs.  Impassible, in a word.

So we used the courtesy car to shop and go to the overlook, and we visited with other boaters.  Fred had met Rand on our prior visit, now Rand’s wife Cheryl was also aboard, and we spent two evenings with them.  And with folks we’d seen at Demopolis.

Cheryl, Linda, Jill, Rand and Dana aboard CHERYL ANN

  What did I say about that small world?

 Eventually the rain slowed to one 10 minute or so cloudburst per day, and the water became passable.  So off we went, taking advantage lest more rain should follow.

At Watts Bar Lock and Dam we encountered a tow with 12 barges.  He started taking them up one at a time (due to the small size of the lock) at 7 a.m.  We rode down with him at 11:30 as he was about to pick up number 5. 

What a long day for him!  And then, perhaps, on to the next…

And now we’re back at Chickamauga, waiting for the broken motor for the dinghy to be repaired or replaced.

  

Fred’s cousin Ann drove down from Nashville Tuesday, and Fred and I, the  ‘locals’ were tour guides.  Went to the TN Aquarium,

lunched at Herron’s (where daughter Molly, bless her heart, phoned and ordered dessert for us in honor of my b’day!).  From there we went to the Incline Railway and guess what?  It rained.  The computers were down so we sat under a roof and ate ice cream while they fixed them and the cloudburst ended. 

  Turned out to be beautiful atop Lookout Mountain, and a good visit with Ann. (Rained again on the way back to the Marina, but stopped so she could go home.)

We had kinda fun (I guess you could say) Thursday, when Fred asked to have the boat hauled to tighten a propeller. (He checks them every morning and felt that one was loose). 

After 2 hours of attempts at pulling YOUNG AMERICA ashore on the big—very big—trailor they use here, we were sent back to Island Cove.  Wow. They have a 3 year old 80 ton remote controlled travel lift, and a crew of three young men who worked like a ballet.  No wasted moves, very few words spoken.  Amazing.

 We lunched in the  Mexican Restaurant we missed out on when we were here before, got our prop tightened and a rudder stuffing tube repacked.  I don’t know what it is either, but apparently it keeps water out of the boat so that is good. And back we came.

Yesterday we were invited to move from our end slip (at the end of the dock next to HOLIDAY VII—an old acquaintance from several marinas) into the depths of the dock.  Someone bought a boat and wanted that slip.  So we’re now in slip 07—boats to the left of us, boats to the right of us, boats fore and aft, and a roof keeping the daily rains off.

One day the motor will be returned, the propane tank will be replaced (they’ve been recalled by the mfr. and West Marine this week.) we’ll move on, and you’ll be the first to know!

In the meantime, be well and do remember to breathe!