More Tennessee River

October 4, 2010 to October 12, 2010

Local knowledge from Stacey and Paul (SeaSea) brought us to a favorite dockage.  Shellmound Recreation Area has a free dock right in front of Nickajack Lock and Dam where we spent a couple of nights.  Buddy loved all the smells and the peace and quiet...so did we!

Our view

Tony M at Shellmound

View of Nickajack Dam at Sunset

Lots of wild life

Some kind of tree house!

Onward to Chattanooga
The stretch from Shellmound to Chattanooga brought us through Tennessee's Grand Canyon, an area of some of the most stunning scenery on this river.  The beginning of this section has small farms and homes but then the mountains drop steeply into the river.  Talk about river meandering!  The river now made about a dozen twists and turns through the mountains. The Prentice Cooper State Forest  and Wildlife Management Area line the riverbank with more than 300 kinds of trees-some turning color but nowhere near New England colors.

We passed another TVA wonder- Raccoon Mountain where TVA created a 520 acre lake on top of the mountain into which water is pumped from the river during times of slack power use.  Then when there are peak electric demands, water is allowed to flow down the mountain through giant tubes and turbines, producing electricity.  Pretty clever!

TVA's  Raccoon Mountain

We arrived in Chattanooga and tied up to the city's dock right in their downtown by the aquarium.  What a nice city-people, food, attractions.  We spent an enjoyable day at the aquarium and the IMAX theater. The largest fresh water aquarium has many interactive exhibits for kids of all ages so you know what that means!

Interactive displays

Beautiful butterflies

Waterfall stairs where many kids were having great fun!

Larry and Donna Edwards met us in Chattanooga and stayed with us for two days as we motored back down the Tennessee.  It was so enjoyable to spend time with long time friends(not old) and were disappointed they couldn't stay longer.  As landlubbers they were off to discover western Tennessee by car.

Donna and Larry

The invitation to travel with us is open to ya all so please consider it!!!