10/25 From Columbus, Mississippi to Demopolis, Alabama

So it is time for another geography lesson.  The Tombigbee Waterway runs generally to the south southeast.  I say generally because parts are very winding.  We left Columbus Marina in Columbia, Mississippi for an early lock through.  Another Mainship, Time Out, headed out early with us to go through the Stennis Lock.   While it was cold,  is was a beautiful morning in the lock. 

Time Out took this picture of the Hydrophilic in the lock. 

Once through the lock the fog on water under this bridge made for a good photo op.

At this point the Tennessee River is what makes up the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway.  It wasn't long before we had crossed state lines and were surrounded by Alabama on both sides.  One never knows when you might need to make a phone call on the edge of a river in rural Alabama, but we found one just in case. 

We cruised easily down the Tenn Tom, the views were terrific.

This is a picture of our boat going down the Tenn Tom. 

But one cannot lose sight of the fact that these waterways were made to make it easier for the tows and barges to get to the Gulf of Mexico. 

After the Helfin lock, both the Time Out and the Hydrophilic anchored in an oxbow to the right of the river.

Once the anchor set we were snug for the night.  The weather has been cool at night with temperatures in the low 40's.  By the end of the day though, temperatures have been in the high 70's to low 80's.  John took a swim off the back of the boat but put me on alligator duty.  We are getting to alligator country and another looper, Barbara on Miss My Money said she saw one the other day.  The stars were beautiful overhead and reflected in the water.  Time for a good nights sleep.

So today, we were up early to head down the Tenn Tom.   We passed the White Cliffs of Epes, Alabama.  They are part of the Selma Chalk formations that were laid down at the same time as the White Cliffs of Dover.  As we rounded the corner on the river, the cliffs were stunning in the sunlight.

Today was an easy day with no locks and we arrived at Demopolis, Alabama about 3.  That was plenty of time for a long shower and 2 loads of laundry before the BYOB docktails at 5 pm.  The captains have decided that the first flight of boats will leave at 6:30 and David on Miss My Money will communicate with the lock master for all of us.

Demopolis is where the Tennessee Tombigbee meets the Black Warrior River.  So from here down to Mobile, it will be the Black Warrior Tombigbee.  We will be anchoring out the next one or two nights so do not expect updates to the blog in a couple of days.  Soon the water will become tidal and progressively more brackish.  I miss the smell of salt water and look forward to the aroma soon.

Lat 32 degrees 31.86 North
Long 87 degrees 50.51 West