Adventures of Boreas: Day 77 & 78 – Clifton Marina to Panther Creek, Alabama

We delayed our departure this morning by about 40 minutes to let some fog burn off. Fog is one of the things during the fall season that can delay your departure (or cancel it altogether). The water is still relatively warm and the cool night air can make some very heavy fog – it is not safe to travel when there is fog because of the barge traffic and the difficulty in seeing buoys.

We passed by the edge of Shiloh National Military Park today. There is not much to see from the river, but this 4000 acre park contains 151 monuments, 217 cannons and more than 450 historic tablets that detail the Civil War’s first major battle in the western theater. More than 103,000 Union and Confederate soldiers plus the Union gunboats TYLER and LEXINGTON were involved. By the time the battle had ended, 23,000 men were dead and dying.

As we approached Pickwick Lock and Dam, the current in the river got progressively stronger. We are going up river at this point and estimate that we were seeing 3 to 4 knots of current. The TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) Reservoir website says they have been letting LOTS of water through the dam today, so that explains the current.

As we entered Pickwick Lake, the beauty of the lake is immediate. The north shore is lined with huge homes on high bluffs of stone. As we proceeded upstream, the north shore becomes completely natural without any homes or industry – a truly stunning lake shore. We are in a beautiful anchorage in Panther Creek on Pickwick Lake tonight and will be staying here tomorrow night as well.

We experienced some amazing wild life this today. While on a dinghy ride in the late afternoon, we watched a hawk diving for his fish dinner. He would circle the lake, find his prey, drop from a height of 40+ feet, go completely underwater and then fly away again. A few seconds after he was flying, he would shake the water off his body, just like a dog shakes after getting wet. We also heard what we assume was a coyote and her pups. There were lots of yips and barks that sounded like puppies and then some howling. [note - apparently we assumed wrong about this noise - we understand from our friends on Brandy IV that there is an owl that makes these strange sounds - I'm on the hunt to verify this and to find out what type of owl]

We were awakened at dawn on Thursday morning by a series of gunshots. They have a two week Canadian goose hunting season in this area, so we hope that’s what it was. There were no bullet holes in Boreas, so I guess we’re OK.

Miles: 69.5 Bridges: 3 Locks: 1

two goats playing on Swallow Bluff Island

a piece of the shoreline slides back into the river

Cherry Mansion built in 1830. General Ulysses S. Grant
was having breakfast here on April 6, 1862 when the Confederate
forces attacked his army at nearby Shiloh. The house
served as his headquarters during the fierce two-day battle.