Saturday October 9: Grand Rivers, KY

From the pillar anchorage we had a mere 43 miles to make it to the next anchorage and the point at which the Cumberland River joins the Ohio River - easy to do if you don't have to wait 4 hours to go through a lock! Rumour had it that there were 40 tugs waiting to go through this lock and all along the banks of the river we saw tugs with their barges pushed onto the shore and the tug engines running to keep them there. All waiting to go through the same lock we needed to go through. Fortunately because this is a federal lock, the regulations state that every 3rd lock must be used for pleasure boats if any are waiting. So after 4 hours it was our turn. Steve spent the time cleaning up the boat - I took a nap. This particular dam is a wicket dam. The dam can be folded down if the water is high enough which permits the traffic to just go over the dam! But not today. We were told to float during the lockage rather than attempt to tie up to the round, fiberglass unfriendly (quote from the lockmaster!) sides of the lock. We took their advice - and they didn't waste any time as they had the next tow lined up to enter as soon as they let the lock back down for it. Another wonderful anchorage. Due to the delay in getting through the lock, the sun was setting and it was almost dark by the time we were anchored. We were just glad to have made it in! But 4 days out are enough - we are itching to get our feet on ground again. Selah and Surona are getting untied and ready to head out as we took the lead for the day's run of 31 miles to Barkley Lake. The center picture is the entrance to the Cumberland River. We were on the Ohio River for only 60 miles or so. The Cumberland is MUCH smaller than any river we've been on so far - I thought we were going up the Black Fork! A buzzard tree was spotted on the river - not like the buzzards at home but similar. Smaller with light wingtips. The trees continue to start changing and the riversides change from trees to cliffs along the way. Also spotted was a fun dump truck as it backed up and dumped it's load of rocks (and a bit of water!) onto the barge waiting below. It's very loud when they do this - like a gunshot. The Barkley Dam backed up the Cumberland River to form Barkley Lake and you can travel to Nashville by water if you continue up the Cumberland. We've decided to skip Nashville and most likely will travel to Chattanooga instead. Not sure. The lock here is a lift of 57 feet and is one of the newest on the system. Never even saw a lockperson! Just above the lock was Green Turtle Bay Marina - our destination for the next couple of days. Home of VERY LARGE houseboats (similar to those on Lake Powell). More about the marina tomorrow .....