TOTAL MILES TRAVELED TODAY: 20 NM
I hate to bore you all with the lovely weather here but it is truly spectacular. The days are about 80 and the nights are cool and crisp. Does it get any better?
When Dan went to assist Old Grumpy cast off, Bo and Carmen offered us the transient slip in their home port at the Lake Guntersville Yacht Club. Since Guntersville was to be our next stop, we gladly accepted their generous offer and made plans to meet later in the day.
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| CARMEN AND BO HEADING OUT ON OLD GRUMPY |
As Dan was leaving to return the rental, Randy and Barbara on the Lazy Dolphin expressed a desire to explore the space center today but were unable to find an available rental vehicle. Dan had Randy ride to the Enterprise office with him then turned in our truck. Since “lucky” Randy just happened to be there, he was able to rent the truck and drive Dan back to the marina. Sometimes things just work out better than you can imagine.
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| RANDY AND BARBARA'S LAZY DOLPHIN |
Once our fueling was done, we said our good buys to Ditto Landing and maneuvered back into the Tennessee River. Ditto Landing was named after James Ditto, a pioneer who ran a ferry at this site. It became a very important area for cotton shipping until the railroads moved in.
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| COTTON FIELDS JUST OUTSIDE THE MARINA |
We are really noticing the vibrant colors on the river’s shores and appreciating each day’s subtle changes. We began to see commanding rock cliffs then, at MM 344.8, we passed by the yellow and brown Painted Bluff, towering 350’ over the river.
VIBRANT AUTUMN COLORS
FOLIAGE FRAMING THE ROCKY CLIFFSCOMMANDING ROCK LEDGES
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| PAINTED BLUFF |
When Guntersville Lock and Dam arrived at MM 349 and we requested a lock through and were granted passage within a few minutes. Both the buzzards and the heron had things well guarded here. This heron demonstrated his shattering crackle each time he took flight.
GUNTERSVILLE LOCK AND DAMBUZZARDS LURKING ABOUT THE LOCK
HERON ON LOCK WATCHEntering Guntersville Lake, we were immediately struck by its beauty. It covers an area of 67,900 acres and is 76 miles long. We discovered some spectacular homes loitering on her banks and islands sprinkled here and there.
WOW! WHAT COLOR!HUDDLED IN THE TREES
HIGH ON THE HILLISLANDS SPRINKLED ABOUT
Just after we crossed under the span of George S. Houston Bridge we swung to port and spotted the Guntersville Lake Yacht Club with Bo and Carmen on old Grumpy at the fuel dock. They welcomed us to their lovely marina and we all proceeded to get ourselves settled in. What a nice setting! Bo and Carmen joined us for cocktail, along with their friend Max from Its Five O’clock Somewhere. We chatted for a couple hours with sunset bringing a rain storm in its wake.
OLD GRUMPY AT THE FUEL DOCKWHERE WE TIED UP FOR THE NIGHT
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