Columbus, Mississippi to Demopolis, Alabama... 

November 24, 2022


Another early morning start in an attempt to cross 3 locks dropping us another 90 feet.  The distance of 119 miles between marinas make it necessary for us to anchor out tonight so we would like to get as far as we can.  Initially, it was to rain this Thanksgiving morning but the sky was red last night and about 9pm the forecast called for no rain until noon changing later to night.  Along the river, the sites we saw....

One of only 2 barges we saw, glad they were off for Thanksgiving!


We were the lead this morning of the 4 boats traveling so we got to see the lock door open UP CLOSE!



Cows along the banks relaxing and enjoying their day.




Yes, that's a phone booth!  I have never heard the history of the phone booth but everyone gets a good chuckle and takes pictures of it.


Recycling aluminum looked interesting as some are tied in squares and other look like scrap metal being placed on barges to go elsewhere.


This is the USS Snagboat Montgomery, a sternwheeler built in Charleston, SC on display at the Tom Bevill Lock where there is a visitor center.  Retired in 1982, this boat worked for 60 years to keep 7 of the major rivers in the South navigable.  When it was retired, the technology had moved to diesel power with screw propellers.


While waiting for the last lock, the Heflin lock, to get a barge through, we got to see the start of a beautiful sunset


Our anchorage for the evening, TomBigbee Oxbow (MM 265.8) as we left this morning


Ted who was tied up behind us last night and his dog, Roxie going for a bathroom break dropped by to say Good morning!  We will see them later today.

A small group of cows outside the area of petroleum tanks, I have no idea from where they came. They were between the river and the gates.



The White Cliffs of Epes which is part of the Selma Chalk formation(Limestone) deposited 70 million years ago which was the same time period as the White Cliffs of Dover.  They are a mile long and continue to have erosion.




A bit further down at MM 217.0, we left the Tenn-Tom Waterway and the water becomes the Tombigbee-Black Warrior Waterway.  If we took the Black Warrior River, it would take us to Birmingham, Alabama.

We are in Demopolis, Alabama at Kingfisher Bay Marina and have plans to rent a car and see Selma, Vicksburg, Natchez, and Marion(where I signed us up for a biscuit class).  Stay tuned.... and as I have been asked, YES feel free to give out the blog site to anyone interested.


TOTAL MILES TRAVELLED   410.3 miles

TOTAL DAYS 14









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