On Tuesday, October 2, we leave Grand Harbor Marina and decide to take a "side trip" and go down the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway. This Waterway is 470 miles long and is a man-made "trench" built in 1972 and completed in 1985. The trench is 300' wide and 11' deep and ends in Mobile Bay. This is the route many boats take as they embark on the Great Loop. It is also a popular waterway for barges to go from the Tennessee River to Mobile and into the Gulf of Mexico. Building of the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway gave many boaters an alternative to taking the Mississippi River that has a big current, lots of debris, and much more boat/barge traffic.
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Grand Harbor Marina in Counce, TN
Duck sitting on fuel island at Grand Harbor. He looked right at the camera when we took his picture.
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We had heard many stories about the Tombigbee so we wanted to experience it for ourselves. We were only going 37 miles to the first marina and Lock. The "trench" of the Waterway was about 28 miles long then it opened up into Bay Springs Lake. This lake was the most gorgeous body of water we had seen in our 1000+ mile trip. The water was dark, clean and crystal clear. The shoreline was 100% covered in trees. The view was unbelievable. We were speechless....so we stopped for at least an hour and a half just to enjoy the scenery -- and took a swim in this gorgeous water. Many of you may think seeing absolutely nothing and being in complete serenity and wilderness is "boring", but we were enamored at its beauty, calmness, and loved the experience. There were so many pine trees in the area, you could smell them. About 4:15 that afternoon, we pull into Bay Springs Marina to spend the night. The marina had nice showers and laundry, but it had no cell service and no internet -- so it gets a thumbs down from us!!! However, this side trip down the Tennessee Tombigbee was "so worth" the 37 mile adventure -- it was likely the most beautiful Lake and scenery we had seen on our trip.
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| Waterway is only about 300 feet wide with large rocks on shoreline |
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| Cloud Nine is in center if waterway and our wake is crashing the shoreline. Pretty site |
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| I don't care what you say --- that's pretty right there!! |
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| Barge and Tugboat going under railway bridge on Tombigbee |
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| How did we pass that wide barge without going Aground?? We just did..... |
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Bay Springs Lake - Cloud and Tree Reflections in Water
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| Bay Springs Lake …. Just Gorgeous … Breathtaking |
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| Sunset at Bay Springs Marina |
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| Grey Heron on Green Navigation Can |
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| Red Navigation "Nun" on Tombigbee. They are typically floating in the water, not on a rock pile |
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| Green Navigation Marker on Tombigbee plus Mile Marker. They are typically floating in the water, not on top of rocks |
On Wednesday morning, October 3, we leave Bay Springs Marina in New Site, MS and head to Pickwick Landing State Resort Park Marina in Pickwick Dam, Tennessee. Once we go thru Pickwick Lock, we will have gone thru our 16th and final Lock for our trip.
Love my Captain....Love Cloud Nine.....
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