Sterling Lady III's Great loop page 10
9/05/07
Down the lake we go
Saw my first cypress tree, since the east coast... feel like I am getting closer to home .
Huge hills on the east side of the lake, nothing like flat Florida.
The American Queen was bowed into the shore, off loading passengers.
Evidently, lots of flooding goes on here, note the smaller house is on Jacks so it can be raised up.
We stayed at the Clifton City Marina. Nice place, great docks, nice covered deck lounge area, small resturant, close to town with a courtesy car.
The only bar in town was closed for a private party, but the local small supermarket was open
The next morning, we left in clean nice weather, but just down river a bit,,,,,,
We ran into fog and then....
We ran into a fog Bank so thick, I had to stop. you could not see from shore to shore in this narrow river.. wow.
Used the old fog horn and waited for it to burn off, then continued on.
There are Hundreds of White pelicans, gathering for the trek south
We got lucky and locked right thru..
and spent the next two nites here, they had a coutesy car, and we found wall mart!
This is a plywood 29 ft. Chris Craft Catalina, just like the boat I learned how to drive in when I was 11 years old.
11/1/07
Caught a 4:30 flight from Miami to Memphis, then, after a 3 hour wait at the airport blues bar, caught a 20 min propeller job flight to tupelo,followed by a 40 mile car ride to the marina! Phew!
The Blue Note Memphis Airport bar had great Bar B Q, and expensive drinks, but also good  Live blues music.
11/2/07
It is my personal theory, that because of spending those two plus hours at the Blue note bar at the Airport, the carry on bag, packed with all the valuables I did not want to check on the airplane , was left at the Tupelo airport. Luckily, after a 40 mile drive back to the airport today, it was still there.

Because I got way lost trying to find the airport, I ended up at Elvis's birth place. A tiny 450 sq. ft. two room shack in Tupelo.
Room one...
and Room 2, thats it.
The view out the aft, at Bay Springs marina. Fall has come to Mississippi
Because driving to the Tupelo Airport killed most of the day, well that and getting lost,  I decided to wait to tomorrow to leave, and discovered this bottle tree while walking the docks.
Pretty dramatic marina sign.
11/3/07
Good to be back on the water again! The first lock thru @James Whitten Dam was 84 feet!
The lock offices look like airport control towers, and they use sirens instead of horns.
The dams use floating Bollards to tie to. They are the best system yet. You do have to monitor them, however, and have a knife handy incase they get stuck.
Those dots are some kind of small ducks. We saw thousands of them
That's Midway Marina behing those trees, our destination.
Midway has a small marina store, a resturant on property, a courtesy car, and a Wall Mart close by.. Boaters heaven.
11/4/07
We left with Bodacious this am, in light fog.
As the sun burned off the fog, the colors came out
3 dams later, and we found the "hidden" chanel to Aberdeen marina.
Luckily, it's a well marked channel that winds thru the trees and stumps., to a very hidden and very protected marina.....
Aberdeen has the cheapes fuel on the waterway, so $610 later and the tanks were once again full.
The Captain and Crew of the Bodacioius.
The marina has a liquor store, but it was Sunday and it was closed.
11/5/07
Another early start....but then arn't they all?
Sometimes, you get lucky and a picture turns our great.. Here we are following Bodacious out the channel from Aberdeen. He ought to frame this one.
So far, the Tenn Tom has been easy navigating
The river system uses un numbered nav markers with a mileage sigh under.
At rest at Columbia Marina
There were lots of loopers and snowbirds on the waterway this am.
11/6/07
Got a rental car from enterprise, spent the day with laudry, shopping, happy hour and a movie. Toured the small town, drove a total of 28 miles, , cost of car, $1.50 a mile, about like the boat.
Bought a stool from Wall Mart for the helm
Took the rental car to the "grill" bar for happy hourz, and then to Applebees bar, and then to see the move the Bee (This is just the picture of the movie place) and the evening ended at....
Woodys bar and grill, at the marina, with martini's. Shaken, not stirred, with three olives.
The columbus marina office, back view.
11/7/07
It's still cold, but since I am selling the Lady when I get back, I am tire kicking other boats. Here is a 43 Jefferson I tire kicked before leaving. nice boat. Putting it on the possibles list. Anyone want to buy the perfect looper boat, the Lady?
This "floating condo" pulled in just before our depature. Now that's roughing it.
Todays high was only in the 60's, so I drove from the lower station helm, sittin on my new stool.
This is the first nice house I have seen on the waterway since Kentucky Lake
Since the Cell phone service sucks, I pulled in for a phone call... Just kidding, but the empty booth did have it's own set of stairs.
This is what marks the entrance to Marina cove marina entrance to their well marked channel east of the waterway.
Marina cove Marina. Dockmaster Starr McKool gets the award for bestest dockmaster ever! Very nice people, great rates, a must stop, reminiscent of Hoppies on the Mississippi
Took the coutesy car to the Welcome center that is a 3 story mansion, overlooking the dam and toured the Mongomery, a 108 ft. "snag" boat pictured left.
Oh yeah, NEVER PET A RATTLE SNAKE! but that's another story for another day..
The Marina office and the clean heated showers and laundry rooms, all for 65 cents a foot!! wow
11/8/07
Once again an early start thru a foggy dam, heading home...dang
At many locations along the banks, there where these water level sticks? along the shore.
Here a rare a unusual picture, the MV Skinwalker at a dock!  Wayne and Lynn are full time livaboards traveling the loop and the NEVER, well hardly never, go to a dock. You have to travel hundreds of miles to earn that mustache!
The famous "white cliffs" comming.....
and going.
Make sure you check out the falls after the dam.
Some of the trees are almost purple. The lady slep in a slew off the dam.
11/9/07
Demopolis!
On this waterway,as it is on most waterways, you have a few places you must stop, this is one of them,
Demopolis has it all, it's just not a new, as most other places. Kinda shallow, run down, but they are very nice people, have a laundry, a bar and a courtesy car with, of course,a wall mart near by.
Had two choises for supplies in Demopolis, Wally World (wall mart) or Food World. Since Food World was where John Denver worked in the Movie "Oh God", we went there. John was not there.
The Lady is in the middle of the row of boats to the left. Resting about 1 foot off the bottom.
Had dinner at the Bourbon Street Bar and Grill, on the premises.
11/10/07
Few choises for the next leg, no marina,s so we headed to Bashi Creek.
6:30 AM, Demoplis time,  7:30 AM Florida time, and EVERYONE in the marina traveling south headed for the first dam opening. Must have been a dozen boats.
Among the boats we lock thru were Gypsy time, to the left and Salty Dog. By the way, feel free to use any of the pictures on my pages  for moral purposes, as long as you use my name.
This Chistmas Tree farm was on the north banks. This must be  where they come from.
Spent the day following "Norseman", behind Capt. Pete, Admiral Jan, and german shepard Ebony. This is how they unload the dog to take her for a walk. Using a ramp. We anchored behind them in Bashi Creek, realy narrow. Had to use a stern anchor for the first time on this trip.
11/11/07
Woke up this am to realy THICK fog, could not see across the river, so we waited it out till 9 am or so.
On the rivers, you learn sevel things about tugs.
1. They are all VERY county talking
2. They feel they must talk very, very quiet on the vhf
3. You pass their barge as instructed, on the ONE or on the TWO.
This guy is passing on the one.
passing...
Loopers Mustache--->