Watts Bar Lock

A good day for cruising the Tennessee River. Again. Warm, sunny, and only a few fishing boats on the River with us. It was a nice night in Mud Creek. When we left, I checked the current in the main River channel by just drifting and seeing what the GPS showed. 1.7 kts. 15 miles farther up stream, the current was at 2.2 kts. Still very little debris. Until, we got to Watts Bar Nuclear Power Plant, or just before at mile 527. There were several debris fields of limbs and logs. Then as we approached the Watts Bar Lock and Dam is where we really ran into a bunch of debris. Picked our way through it and entered the lock. The other side of the lock in Watts Bar lake, still on the Tennessee River, it was clear again. Didn't notice any current but some turned immediately into Meigs County Park on the east side to dump trash and use real toilets, while Bill and I headed to the cove on the west side with an old abandoned Watts Bar Resort. There are some old free docks there one could tie up over night, but we chose to anchor out instead. The other three boats came over to join us later, anchoring in the area as well. It was uneventful in the lock, even with two newbies to locking. Only four bollards to hang on to, so Sunbeam rafted on C-Play. Nice to see that the lock tender had taken some good photos of our boats in the lock and posted on their facebook page. (Watts Bar Lock) After supper I went for a kayak ride to check in with the other boats. Tomorrow we'll head up to the Cinch River and stop at Kingston. Oh, btw, the trees growing in the water I wasn't sure if they were Cedar or Cypress, I think Rosanne's uncle answer the question. "I think the trees are Bald Cypress. They grow in swamps and shallow water areas. To get oxygen for the roots, they send up what we call Cypress knees. The knees are irregular in size but usually about 12 in circumference. They are smooth and brown and taper in as they get farther up from the water."Read more