Making the best out of a cold, grey day

A post by Mark

Note: I wrote this a few days ago – just got a good enough cell signal to import the pics. On to the post…

Today was a great day (still is)! 
24 hours ago, it didn’t look so promising – making today all that much better… Here’s the story 

Yesterday, we made the 30-mile journey up the Cumberland River – from the junction of the Cumberland and Ohio rivers to the Green Turtle Bay marina just past the Barkley Dam in KY. It’s a really pretty ride – narrow, curvy, and scenic. According to the guidebooks, the 30 mile trip ‘should’ take a little less than 5 hours. This is important – as we were trying to get to the Marina (a luxury for us these days) before the weather turned. The day before, it was absolutely gorgeous – in the 70’s and sunny. Yesterday morning, the temperature started to drop – and the forecast was to get really cold and rainy around 2:00. Knowing this, we left at sunrise (about 7:15) – so, we felt like we were in pretty good shape to be at the marina – maybe even have the laundry done and a nice hot shower – before the weather turned nasty.

Well – we were wrong. Instead of the typical 1-2 knots of current in the river, we faced 3-4 knots coming right at us. Apparently, the dams started releasing more water to drop the lakes to their winter levels. In the winter, the lakes and rivers are drained a few feet lower than the summer levels so they can accept the increased water from the spring thaw. This additional water flow from the dams created the extra current which added an additional 1 1/2 to 2 hours to our journey.

Fast forward a few hours, we’re in a string of 4 PCs (pleasure crafts – as they are known by the tow captains and lockmasters). We’re spread over ~ a mile or two – or 20 – 30 min of running time. We’re 3rd in the line – so we figure we’re in a great spot to get through the lock quickly, as they generally group PCs together – and we’re close enough that they’ll wait for us. It’s still looking good to get into the marina before the rain. 

Again – we were wrong. The boat behind us slowed down – turns out they had an engine issue and was running on one engine. Because of that gap, the lockmaster decided to lock-through the two boats in front of us first – meaning our boat and the boat behind us had to wait about 45 min to an hour to get through next. Normally – not a big deal, as an hour wait for a lock is pretty good. However, this meant that we were waiting outside the lock at 2:00 – and, unfortunately for us, the forecasters were very accurate on the timing of the rain. The cold front arrived at 2:00 on the dot – and along with it, a significant drop in temperature, kicked-up wind, and cold, hard rain. So, we pulled into the marina around 3:30 in a downpour and 40 degree weather. Burr… 

We eventually dried out, warmed up, got greatly appreciated showers and clean clothes. 

Next, the conversation shift to ‘what to do tomorrow ‘. We have 3 options- 1) take a ‘day off’ and enjoy the marina, the mediocre wifi, the electricity (and thus,the heater), and take a walk into town. 2) Head out for a short day on the water (about an hour or so) and stop in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area to go for a hike, or 3)  power through and keep making progress towards warmer weather. 

By the end of the evening, we’re still undecided (although #3 was looking less and less likely). 

This morning, we woke up to really cold weather – so cold that there was ice on the docks. Hmmm – is leaving this morning really such a good idea? Should we just stay put, keep our heater plugged-in, and walk around the town? Around 8 AM, Julie and I decide to borrow the marina’s courtesy car and head into town to get a few groceries and see what there could be to do if we stay put. Grand Rivers KY is a cute little town. It would be fun to walk around – but probably for an hour or two. Thinking that we’d be ‘done’ by noon or so, we decided to stick with ‘plan A’ and to head to the Land Between the Lakes.

Around noon, we pulled into Pisgah Bay and anchored just off the shore by a boat ramp. After an easy dinghy ride to a dock, we hopped out and went for a 4 or 5 mile hike through really pretty, hilly, truly ‘woodsy’ terrain. It was great – here’s some photographic proof!

 

A walk in the woods

The crew by an old navigation buoy

Julie and Mark having fun 

 
We even found a playground with a swingset
Willie had a great day too. He really liked being in the woods for a long walk. To top it all off – Willie saw his fist deer (and his 2nd through 5th). He was intrigued – I think he made a connection with other skittish 4-legged creatures. Watching him watch the deer was really funny. I wish we had pictures – but it was too fun to watch him to look away get the camera.  

He was exhausted after all the excitement. 
 
We ended the day with some hot soup and warm bread, listened to a few chapters of Tom Sawyer, and a great night sleep (wearing just about all the cold weather clothes we have – as the temperature dropped even further last night). Good thing we brought our sleeping bags, hats, etc.

All in all – a great day – and one that very easily could have been a dull, cold, dreary one had we stayed put.
Glad we made the right call!