When last I blogged on 9/2, we had waited 7 hours to get through Lock 52 and changed our minds to anchor out rather than go on when it was getting dark. Lock 52 is notorious for long waits. We arrived at 8:25 a.m. The lock master told us to wait by the red buoy. There was another boat already waiting. The first tow locked through at 10:30 a.m. After 2 and 1/2 hours, John called the lock master who said he didn't know when we would go through, although it would be several hours. We dropped the anchor. We spent the day, looking up information, reading, looking at the lock, listening to the tows on the marine radio. Finally, we locked through at 3:30 p. m. We have heard nothing but horror stories about this lock. Two boats that arrived here in Green Turtle yesterday, were stuck in the lock for 4 hours. The lock gate was stuck closed. It was very hot, in the 90's. Another boat that was behind them waited for over 8 hours and locked through at 10 p. m. What a mess! That new Olmstead lock that I showed you being built should help, but it isn't supposed to be done until 2020.
Here is sunset on Friday night from our anchorage at the Cumberland Towhead.
On Saturday 9/3, from our anchorage at the Cumberland Towhead, we jumped back on the Ohio River for just a few miles before we turned onto the Cumberland River.
We saw an eagle and a huge eagle's nest
We also passed a large stone works. In the distance, the geometry of the quarry is poetic.
It is amazing how the trucks dump stone into a hopper.
From the hopper, the stone takes a ride on a conveyer belt. Then it pours out into a waiting barge.
At another site, the dump trucks, poured the stone directly into the barges.
The Cumberland is very scenic.
We saw a group that had found their spot for camping for the Labor Day weekend.
After a lock on the Cumberland River, we entered Lake Barkley. This is home to the Land Between the Lakes, which is bordered by the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. It is a vacationers paradise. We arrived at Green Turtle Bay Resort. They have 450 boat slips, 80 condominiums, a spa, a yacht club, 250 acres, and a beach on the water. Ready to relax!!
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| View from the Yacht Club entrance |
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| View from the beach overlooking Lake Barkley |
We had tickets to the Badgett Playhouse in the town of Grand Rivers, Kentucky, a mile up the road. The show was the Sounds of Memphis. It was great. It had film and music from the early days of the Memphis Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll. Live performers then sang all sorts of well known music. Yes, one performer in particular did Elvis but not an over the top performance, just real good music. Others did Otis Redding and Johnny Cash and so many more. It was excellent.
Sunday morning, we walked about a mile to town for Mass. After Mass, as we headed back to the Marina, another couple stopped their golf cart and asked it we wanted a ride. In the small world category, they live in Evansville, IN, where I used to work when we lived in Mt. Vernon. They keep their boat here in the summer.
Besides being a huge place and Labor Day weekend, there is extra traffic because the replicas of the Nina and the Pinta are in port. This is part of the Columbus Project and they come to Green Turtle every three years. We can look off the stern to see them both.
You might wonder why they call this area Green Turtle Bay? I have never seen so many turtles in one area. These pictures show no more than half the turtles in just this one section.
Loopers are flocking into this area now. As we were fueling up, I saw our friends Carolynn and Tom on Su Sueno. On Sunday afternoon, we took the courtesy car to the Crafts Fair in town. It was a huge crafts fair with the National Guard providing traffic control. It was a nice way to visit with these loopers that we have hopped and skipped with since the Solomons in Maryland. The crew from Endeavor arrived later. Then late last night, Rod and Susie from Bee Haven arrived in the dark. They had a story about Lock 52 too.
One highlight of today was getting a facial at the spa. After being in all the sun and perspiring so much, it felt so good to get a deep cleaning facial.
Today, we sketched out a plan through Mobile, Alabama. It is a rough plan but gives us something to work with. We stay here until Saturday. Then we are going to head up the Tennessee River to Nashville. So far we have tickets to the Grand Ole Opry on Tuesday and the Ryman Theater on Thursday.
Lat 37 degrees 0.46 North
Long 88 degrees 13.62 West
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