Joe Wheeler State Park to Chattanooga

Thursday morning around 9 am after six days at Joe Wheeler and the AGLCA rendezvous we headed up river to Chattanooga with about 6 other boats.  It was great to meet so many other cruisers that were doing the same trip as we are. We learned a lot of good information at the Rendezvous about the next phase of our trip.  Today we did not have a lock to go thru and we arrived at our destination just when it started to rain. Dinner was done on board Passport and we were able to watch Gray’s Anatomy that evening.

On Friday we awoke to cloudy and rainy skies but decided to continue on to a marina called Goose Pound Colony. We are traveling with three other boats all headed to Chattanooga. Today we went thru the Guntersville Lock. I read that this marina had a restaurant close by named The Dock and that they specialized in a dish called Shrimp and Grits. We had first had this dish while staying with Christy and Eric when they lived in Washington DC. Dinner was very good and we were able to get to know our fellow travelers a little better as we had four other couples all together.

It was a very gray ride.

But there were some colors.

Saturday morning was an early departure as we had 85.6 miles to go to Chattanooga with the Nickajack Lock to go through as well. The area that we passed through after the Lock was spectacular. In our guide book it was said to be known as the “ Grand Canyon of the Tennessee “.   The colors were perfect and our pictures cannot due justice.  We did have a bit of excitement before we arrived in Chattanooga at mile mark 450.4 their were three men standing on a dock along the river and Passport was the lead boat of the four boats. Mary waived at the men and they all waived back very friendly like, we had no sooner passed them and the one man shot 4-5 bullets in our direction from a hand gun that we could see with our binoculars.  We are not sure what provoked this but it did certainly get our attention.

Leaving Goose Pond Marina.

Anyone who has driven south has seen one of these
signs, but we didn't expect to see one from the river.

We arrived in Chattanooga shortly after 5 in the afternoon, along day on the water. We were grateful to see fellow Loopers, John and Bob from Kadadi  on the dock and very helpful in tying up all four boats.   

The Old Delta Queen at night.

Sunday was spent touring Chattanooga. The town provides a free electric bus that we were able to take to see the Chattanooga Choo –Choo , this was a terminal for the Southern Railway that is now part of the Holiday Inn chain of hotels that offers accommodations on some of the old rail way trains . We  then walked back and crossed over the Tennessee River via an old bridge that was converted into a pedestrians only walk to the north side of town.  We had been told by a very helpful man at the Visitors Center that there  was a new market on that side of town. It turned out to be the same as a Whole Foods Market that we have back at home.  Nice to find a different variety other than Wal Mart.  

The Marine Max dock.

Another Southern Belle.

A neat fountain along the Riverwalk.

The old Delta Queen, now a floating hotel.

The old railroad bridge rebuilt as a pedestrian bridge.

Old mansion now apart of Chattanooga's Art Museum

Museum  of modern art.

Chattanooga....

Nothing could be finer than......

Tow Boat US parade.

The parade is over.

After a late lunch we decided to catch a cab and take in Look Out Mountain Mountain which is famous for its 8,000 acre Chickamauga –Chattanooga National Military Park. It also features the world’s steepest incline passenger railway. Going up was not to bad and the view at the top was beautiful. Mary kept her eyes shut on the way down.

View from top of Look Out Mountains

One of the many Civil War cannon we have seen.

Fall colors at their best

The Incline Railway looking up.

And looking down.

The railway machinery.

We even saw a Rock City sign along the railway.

Our "Boat Buddies" Kerm & Chris from Southern Belle had been in touch and said they were going to wait for us in the Pickwick Lake area so we could all go down the Tenn-Tom together.  Which was one reason we packed Chattanooga into one day so we could leave early Monday morning and make it bacto Pickwick Lake a bit sooner.

Early Monday morning start.

Pickwick Lake here we come.

John & Mary