Clifton, Tennessee to Iuka, Mississippi 

November 17, 2022










Today was uneventful in leaving Clifton.  There was fog coming off the water but cleared after a couple hours.  This was not surprising as we left at 6:30am.  The schedule for today was about 60 miles but we had to do a lock and we have heard stories of people waiting for 3-5 hours to pass through the lock.  Why would that be?  The Mississippi River this year is extremely low.  You may have seen pictures and news items concerning this.  The low water levels have not been this bad since 1988 at least.  While the Tennessee River which comes off the Ohio River further north is the largest tributary it is used by pleasure boaters and not as much commercial traffic except for this year due to the low water.  We both agreed we do not want to do any traveling at night hence we left at the break of light.  I spoke to Randy, the senior operator on the Pickwick Lock, the day before out of my concern having only done the Coinjock Lock in NC, he assured me we would be fine and would take pictures to post on their Facebook page which he did.  Randy was there waiting for us and put us in the least turbulent pin in the Loop.  Danny credits that with the fact I called him (because I am a woman LOL).  Danny said he would not given him the time of day!  


We also had a couple we have met doing the Loop from Melbourne, Australia that were in the lock chamber with us.  Did not have to wait but maybe 45 minutes, went through without issue and tied up at Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht Marina in Iuka, Mississippi (I-U-Ka).  The harbormaster put it simply when I got keys to the car- when you get up to the main road if you turn right you are in Tennessee and if you turn left you are in Mississippi.  The Marina is situated right next to a bridge, apparently that is the dividing line.  Borrowed the “loaner” car found a neat little grocery store with young people running the place.  They told us to go to Lil’ Smokies for dinner- BBQ.  The meal was great and the green beans reminded me of Danny’s Mom and grandmother recipe.

 

So I have been asked so what is this trip you are doing?  This is a brief explanation, I hope.  The Great Loop is a 6000+ mile trip by water covering the Gulf Coast, East Coast, Hudson River, several choices into Canada and the Great Lakes down the Mississippi with off shoots to the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers to the Gulf Coast.  You can start and stop anywhere you want and if you do it in one trip, the average time is 11-13 months.  Many choose to get off the Mississippi River at the Ohio River due to combination of factors to include strong current, lack of facilities (marinas, water, and fuel) and the significant amount of barge traffic.  Some that have chosen to do the Mississippi all the way down this fall, report that it has not been bad for traffic due to the low water.  The Tennessee River flows into what is called the “Tenn-Tom Waterway” which stands for Tennessee River- Tom Bigbee.  This is a 234 mile man made waterway taking 12 years to complete in 1984.  This allows another route to the Gulf for pleasure crafts and commercial traffic for smaller towns.  When we leave Iuka, we will be entering the waterway that goes by Mile markers starting at 450 to 0 which is when we arrive in Mobile Bay.  There are 10 locks to go through and we will drop 414 feet from Pickwick Lake to Mobile.  When we leave here, we will travel 50 miles but there are 3 locks we need to deal with in the crossing.  Today we are taking a private tour of the Shiloh Battlefield and this afternoon and evening plan to visit Corinth, Mississippi.


Total Miles Traveled- 178.5

Total Days- 8


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