Dam Cold Air from Canada

(Oct. 4 – Dist: 58.3 mi; Avg Speed: 6.8 mph; TTT: 8:30 hrs)

Twas a wee bit chilly this morning as we left Green Turtle Bay and headed up the Cumberland River to Nashville. The sun was out but the wind coming out of the north was cold. I put on socks for the first time since we left Windsor on August 8. Of course being in the States, we blame Canada.

Barkley Lake and the Cumberland River were unbelievably scenic. It is the most picturesque river that I have ever travelled on. No wonder it is such a popular vacation and fishing area. There are numerous marinas and resorts all throughout the area.

There is definitely money in Kentucky and especially on Barkley and Kentucky Lakes. These homes have covered slips around the point for their boats.

We came upon the Castle of the Cumberland early in the morning.

This building looks like a castle which was built in 1888 but in reality it is Kentucky’s only maximum security prison. Its claim to fame is that on Friday 13, 1928 seven men were executed at this site. It holds the US record for the most executions in a single day.

With the Mississippi River being at flood levels, I was surprised to find out that the Barkley Pool (that is the water between the Barkley Dam and the Cheatham Dam) was 4 feet below normal pool.

Thus we had to subtract 4 feet from all of the charts and guide books to determine if there was enough water for us.

It really was not a problem because the channel, which is the original river bed for the Cumberland River, is still quite deep, usually 40-50 feet. But off the channel is a different story.

We encountered some history today. Union troops forced 13,000 confederate soldiers to surrender at Fort Donelson.

The loss of this fort and control of the river was apparently devastating for the south. It was the first major victory for the Union and catapulted General Ulysses S. Grant to national prominence.

Along this river there are also a couple of Wildlife Refuges. In this first photo we found a flock of migrating American White Pelicans.

We are actually anchored at the Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge for the night, behind Dover Island. Supposedly there are 250 species of birds found in this 8,862 acre refuge. I have heard a woodpecker while BBQ’g and of course we have seen the standard herons and egrets which we have seen all along the rivers. We did see some turkey vultures, actually a whole flock of them. I guess we will have to work harder to find the other 240 some species.

Another beautiful evening here behind Dover Island.  Next stop, Clarksville, Tennessee.