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Molly’s Great American Loop
  • betty staugler
Mar 2024 – Jan 2025

Molly’s Great American Loop

We’re Betty & James, along with Luna cat and Moki dog we are cruising America’s Great Loop aboard our boat the Molly Brown. She is a 24’ C-Dory TomCat. We expect it will take us 8 or so months to complete 😀. Read more
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  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Visitors while we waited on our groceries to arriveSoldiers & sailors monument. Pic near the spot where Lincoln gave his first anti-slavery speech 18541Engraved on the Solders and Sailors monumentTZPR Local train. Lots of train activity hereWe did a long bike/walk this morning. This is on a public trailThe Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception 18892Downtown PeoriaCaterpillar building. Across the street they have a welcome centerAnother fun couple of signs. Sign on left points to door on right 🤷🏼‍♀️Dan Fogelberg was born here4Very red sunset. Picture doesn't do it justice

    Peoria Day two

    September 27, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    I hope all our friends made out ok with Helene. She was a beast and the devastation she left behind is heartbreaking. We are getting what’s left of her winds now and are happy to be in a Marina. Today James, Moki and I took a long walk (and bike ride) to and around downtown. We were headed to a pet store two blocks away but it was closed so we headed towards town instead. The area between us and town is pretty depressed but you miss that on the riverwalk which we took on the way back. Downtown is quite nice but not many people out. Peoria is home of Caterpillar and their footprint is huge here.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Kuchies on the Water. Our lunch stop. Excellent !!1Quirky restaurant. Reminded me of Navigator (pre-Helene)In the restaurantLoopers on jet skis locking thru with us1So close but yet so far... 🐶 🐶Nice day todayDowntown HavanaView from the boat ramp1Cool art in park.1Havana has a really nice riverfront parkMB on pup pit stop

    Havana

    September 29, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    Long day today. We got hung up behind a multipart barge at the lock… all good because there was a restaurant with docks right around the corner from the lock so we stopped for lunch and shortly after we were able to get through. We’re in a stretch of the river where there’s not much around. We planned to drop anchor around 2:30 but the river is low and we couldn’t find anything deep enough without being on the river proper. Our plan B was a dock at the Havana Nature Center much further than we wanted to go but it was also too shallow so we went to the town boat ramp walked the dog.. took a break and then anchored behind Quiver Island… fortunately it has plenty of depth. There are several other loopers here anchored further back. We just nosed in for the quick getaway back to shore for the morning pup walk. Didn’t get to the dock until 5:30 and anchor till dark. We’re tired tonight ! 59 miles today.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    2
    Train on the rail bridge2Mural downtownDowntownSteep steps to climbMoving a barge to make room for the loopers2There's a boat tied up to the outer barge now. They pack um in.4Art in The park3Margaritas with dinnerLincoln was a popular guy inc this regionSunset as we returned from dinnerLast walk. The steps are grates so you see down. He's a little cautiousGreat hosts!!MB lit up Tonight

    Beardstown

    September 30, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    Today we did an easy 41 mile mostly slow cruise to Beardstown. There were no locks on this run which was a nice. We are now tied up to a barge for the night that allows for a quick walk to town. Logsdon Tug Service makes tying up to their barges possible for $1 a foot. There are around 12 of us tied up tonight and they have us spread out across a couple barges and tugs. The Logsdon folks are very accommodating and moved tugs around to make sure everyone in the last group to arrive could tie up. Beardstown is small and very Mexican with lots of Mexican restaurants and stores. We went to a local favorite for margaritas and dinner… in that order !!Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Our Anchorage last night was on the River at the north end of Big Blue Island.
    Last night coming back from last trip to shore5Cold and foggy this morning!This is an old lock. You can see the far wall on the right side of pic.Not sure where this was... I was working.Tug on the riverTug pushing some empty barges up riverJames doing domestic duties.

    Dark Chute

    October 1, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Here’s some pics from the last two days. We covered 39 miles yesterday and 47 today. Both tonight and last night on the hook. We are right now about 30 miles from the confluence of the Mississippi River. Our anchorage tonight is in a cut called the Dark Chute. Both sides are public lands. We apparently took no pictures. Today’s logbook says we are at 4,674 miles. That means including down days, we are averaging ~23 miles a day.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Another foggy morning
    Pretty ledges. This was back at the dark channelMB off the Pere Marquette SP MarinaOld pump house at the State ParkGoing for a hikePretty forest trails uphillAbstract tree artNot sure what this wasMcAdams Peak Lookout. McAdams was an archeologist who researched the area in the late 1800sThis was the ravine trailBe like Bigfoot...MB at anchor this eveningMB at sunset

    Père Marquette State Park

    October 3, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    A 23 mile slow cruise landed us at Pere Marquette State Park today. Pere Marquette was a missionary and an early European explorer here in 1673. This park has a Marina basin and nice floating docks with power pedestals but the basin has silted in and it doesn’t look like the power works anymore. The river is wide here so we just dropped anchor outside and kayak in. This park has big grassy areas along the river. Moki and I played with his soccer ball here. Across Route 100 is where the majority of the park lies. There’s a lodge, conference center, some cabins and miles of hiking trails. Not much for interpretative signage outside (there is a welcome center) but the website indicates archeological evidence suggests at least six Native American tribes lived here and there are several burial grounds. The park was purchased by the state in 1932 and the buildings were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This afternoon Moki and I hiked three trails. Very pretty forest trails.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Barge this morning
    2Welcome to the Mississippi River!This is Our Lady of the Rivers shrine on the Missouri side of the river.Captured by another looperThe sandstone ledges are very prettyThe green ramp under welcome mural leads to casino.The Marina is right under this bridgeSun going down on our way into town for dinnerMargaritas... James's needed salt 🧂2The happy couple ❤️❤️Our view tonightLots of loopers!!

    Alton

    October 4, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    We had another nice day today logging 29 miles and ending up in Alton on the Mississippi River. This is a very nice Marina. It’s also the prior home of the C-Dory meet in the middle gathering. There are allot of loopers here. According to Nebo 36. We met up with several at Dock tails tonight before heading out for dinner. We plan to stay here two nights so we can get groceries and do a load of laundry.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Saw this hanging in the Marina office
    Moki made the marina's FB pageMB .. covered docks are nice but not for Starlink.2Crescent 🌙 moon and a star... might be a planet.

    Alton day two

    October 5, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    We hit up the farmers market this morning which is a super easy walk from the marina. This weekend was their pup carnival complete with a pup parade. Moki had so much fun meeting all the pups and people that on all subsequent walks he tried to take us back. Groceries are bought, laundry is almost done and we were able to get rid of used oil from our most recent oil change. Headed south in the morning.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Luna sunning
    MB in the wingsComing back from checking out the County Park trails2This is the graffiti mile wallLots of bridges4Look at MB.. the little boat on the left side of archSt. Louis on the rightClosest bridge is the Chain of Rocks bridge. Served at Route 66 over Mississippi River from 1936-65First lock we were allowed to drift in. Six all bunched up in front playing bumper boats.2First lock on the Mississippi River

    Welcome to Missouri !!

    October 6, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We left the Alton Marina this morning with a herd of seven other boats and did two locks with them before we slowed to enjoy the ride thru St. Louis. There’s a EarthCam that points to the St. Louis Arch so I pulled a picture off of it… But we had to turn and do a second pass because our initial pass had us squarely in the railing on whatever platform the EarthCam was mounted on. This evening we are at anchor in a wing off Cliff Cave County Park. Moki and I went.. we did not see any caves but it’s a large park. Wings BTW are rock jetties designed to slow sand movement. The river is low enough that they are well above water and anchoring between them gets us out of the main river and out of the current which is pretty strong. Beyond that we’ve been pretty preoccupied keeping an eye on Milton. Hard watching from afar. Going down into the 40s tonight. 41 miles today.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Moki making full use of the sand bar
    Passing bargeWildlife 🐢

    Just north of Kaskaskia River

    October 7, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    We had another pleasant cruise today covering 41 miles after a quick stop for fuel. Between Hoppies Marina south of St. Louis where we filled up and Paducah Kentucky ~200 miles away there is no fuel available so this was an important stop. Tonight we are at anchor again. This time we found a really nice spot behind a small sand bar. The bar provides great protection from the main river and we are not feeling the passing barges at all. We are able to let Moki run on the sand bar which he really needs and the view is lovely… no industry in sight. Kashkashia River has lock right before it joins the Mississippi. Boaters are allowed to tie up on the lock wall. There are allot of boats there tonight but there’s no shore access. We are much happier at anchor!! Today’s secchi .4 in 2.4M.. pretty muddy river!Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Tower Rock
    Old power plant just beyond the rockThis whole little area is rockyMB anchored in 19' waterTractor project anyone?Lots of old metalKing of the mountain!Barge passing under old pipe bridge.2Decorated for Halloween 🎃Train 🚂We have a colony of spider webs flapping in the wind off the antenna!

    Tower Rock

    October 8, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Today we traveled 43 miles stopping at lunchtime on another sandbar then making our way to Tower Rock this afternoon. Tower Rock is an interesting feature that sticks out along the river as distinctly different. The rock is made of limestone from the Devonian period, formed around 400 million years ago and towers 60 feet above the water. It has been mentioned in historical journals by Father Jacques Marquette in the late 1600s and Lewis and Clark during their travels in the early 1800s. President Ulysses S. Grant spared Tower Rock from proposed blasting back in 1871. And in 1970 it was listed on the National Register of Historic places. It’s deep here at anchor but not quiet. Lots of trains on the track that runs along shore. We expect to get rocked some by barges too. Fortunately their wake is never bad. Today we’ve also been very preoccupied with Hurricane Milton. Our daughter Sara buttoned things up for us today. Hurricane shutters were already closed when we left but we’re more concerned with water than wind. She is evacuating to my sister’s place in Babcock Ranch which is well outside evacuation zones. It’s going to be a long couple days. Stay safe Florida friends! ❤️Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    First stop
    Evening stopMoki's oasis

    Picayune Chute

    October 9, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    A couple pics from yesterday. We traveled 21 miles stopping first at the Trail of Tears State Park then moseying a few more miles to the Picayune Chute where we anchored for the night. This morning we are getting good reports from neighbors. We did not flood!! Couple trees down that we need to take care of and no power. Sara’s house did well too as did my sisters and James’s sister. We are breathing sighs of relief.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    1Northern lights
    More northern lightsThe princessRomeo and Juliet2Our Anchorage tonight1Sunset4Wow 🤩

    Browns Bar

    October 10, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 66 °F

    Another 44 miles today puts us 22 miles from the Ohio River. I have to say I’ve really enjoyed the Mississippi River and having the ability to anchor out more. Tonight we are tucked in around an island just far enough to avoid wakes and not see the four boats anchored out in the river just beyond us. The amount of sand on this river is pretty spectacular. The bar here is huge. Tonight we also get the chance to see the northern lights. We are pretty far south now but the sky is clear and we are away from city lights. Those two variables have prevented viewing every time they’ve been on display up until now. Hoping it gets better as the evening progresses.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Coming out of Mississippi into Ohio. Bridge is in Ohio
    Last bridge on Mississippi RiverLost of tugs lined up on shoreAnd barges out in the waterIn stagingDittoComing back from shoreThere goes the sunQuiet night on the water

    Welcome to Kentucky !!

    October 11, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    I forgot to finish my post last night! Got busy reading posts from Colby & Rosanne and then posts from John & Eileen and completely forgot about my own. We have rounded the corner into the Ohio River and into Kentucky. The Ohio River is much clearer than the Mississippi (secchi 1.7 in 2.4 M) but very very commercial. There are barges everywhere. Fortunately we are only on this river for a short spell. Will hit the lock this morning and then verre off into the Tennessee River. While on the Ohio we are also going against the current and this is a big wide river with lots of current. We are at anchor behind a sand island. The sand is grainier than that of the Mississippi but it’s not mud which is good. Most importantly it slows the current significantly and gets us away from the barge traffic and wakes. We slept well. Probably go into a Marina today. If not Paducah which ATM is full then Green Turtle. The latter is a much longer run but bigger Marina and more amenities.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    MB at anchorage this morningSubmerged hazard up there 🤣Had to wait for the barge to get in so we could enter other chamber. Olmsted LockLocked thru soloThere's the barge in the other chamberWe are not quite halfway down. Like a football fieldPower Generating Station on the Ohio River2Metropolis Bridge was once nearly destroyed by the Arctic Monster but Superman saved it!!Dredge on the Ohio River right near the Tennessee RiverTug getting all of his barges lined up. 5 wideUS Hwy 62 right before the Barkley Dam10 of us went thru this lock. All bollards full. Barkley LockOn our walk this evening. Deer have no fear here.

    Green Turtle Bay Marina

    October 12, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 55 °F

    We left our anchorage this morning shortly after writing last nights post and enjoyed a quick and easy lock thru at Olmsted. The Olmsted lock opened in 2019, replacing locks 52. & 53 both of which were removed in 2023. This lock is both the largest and most expensive inland waterway project ever undertaken in the US. From the lock the Ohio River took us past Metropolis, home of Superman!… officially dedicated in 1972. We initially planned to stop a bit further in Paducah but the dock was full so we made reservations at Green Turtle Bay. That should have been 65 miles but the Kentucky lock on the Tennessee was closed for maintenance so we had to go further up the Ohio to the Cumberland River and lock thru at Barkley which ended up being 85 miles! We are pooped!! And poor Moki had a long wait to use the potty. He was ready to get off the boat when we arrived. This Marina is packed with loopers and the transient dock is full. There are close to 50 of us here and they have us spread out all over the place. It’s a bit of a walk to the amenities but James will set up his bike tomorrow and I don’t mind the walk. We are here two nights. Oh… almost forgot… we hit the 5,000 mile mark today! 5,050 to be exact!!Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    In the resort. Called the Bale Trail. I assume there's more somewhere
    Also in resortThe Pink TractorThe bird houses are kind of coolOld Crosley2We went Moonshine tastingSomeone didn't have ID so couldn't partake. But they gave him dog biscuits so all good3Sitting outside waiting on our table3Loopers singing me Happy BirthdayI'm sitting on his lapBack at the resort.

    Green Turtle Bay day 2

    October 13, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Today Moki and I walked to Patti’s 1880s Settlement and then James and I went back for dinner. Kind of a quirky place, touristy but fun to walk through. They are decorated for Xmas with the official lighting on November 1st but the lights are on regardless. Patti’s is modeled after an 1880s settlement complete with period pieces but it actually dates to 1977. It is western Kentucky’s most famous attraction and it is very pet friendly. James and I ate at Patti’s restaurant with both of us having their world famous 2” pork chop. We brought enough back for another meal.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    MB thru the trees
    Good access to shore here2Pup walk. He wants to sniff all the carp carcasses on the shoreline. There's several2Passing barge loaded3

    LBL Nickell Branch

    October 14, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    We went 2 whole miles today and what a change from the Marina resort! We are now anchored in one of the many bays within the Land Between the Lakes National Park. We visited this same bay last year when we cruised with Tom and Joyce on C-Otter. It has great access to trails which I hope to visit tomorrow. Today was busy for me so Moki and I just did a quick walk up the road… no pics either as my phone was on the charger. Fortunately James took a few so I’ve got something to share. Weather has definitely changed. Yesterday’s high was in the low 80s. Today’s high was 64 and tomorrow’s high is 58. Today’s secchi .8 in 2.4 M.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    Let's goo!!!
    There's Molly!And againLooking like Fall 🍁Future loop boat?Remnants of days gone byWe went in. Just some graffiti.This was a pretty large cemetery. Usually they are pretty smallForest roadMushrooms growing along the trailSunning... without the sun ☀️US Army MHG-47 Chinook

    LBL Nickell Branch day 2

    October 15, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    Baby it’s cold outside 🥶… tonight will be the coldest night thus far for our trip. Getting down to 37 degrees ❄️. The Wallas stove is heating up the cabin as I write but we’ll turn it off when we go to bed. It wasn’t exactly balmy today either…. Cloudy and windy with a high of 57. With the winds we could see white caps out on the river and watched several people launch and soon after retrieve bass boats. Although not a great boating day it was a very nice day for hiking. Moki and I hit the trail by our boat this afternoon and did a 4.5 mile out and back. A portion of the trail we did last year but we also got our feet on new to us parts. We are in the Land Between the Lakes (LBL) which is a National Park but previously was several small communities. When the Tennessee Valley River Authority took the land for a recreation area they removed all the structures but left the cemeteries…many are still being used by the families who used to live here. The forest roads were once local roads for the many communities. We are at the very northwestern part Lake Barkley a man made lake created when a dam was built on the Cumberland River in 1966 to alleviate devastating flooding. Prior to the dam construction entire communities were moved to higher ground. So we are now boating over old roads, bridges, and homes. Where we are anchored previously was a river valley.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    2Kentucky State Penitentiary. Kentucky' oldest and only maximum security prison. Built in 1889
    I did take this photo. From Moki and my walkLuna enjoyed her shore timeAfter she decided it was ok to get out of the kayakMB at anchor2Moki checking out that full moonMoon is pretty big tonightGoing to be a calm but cool night. Going down to 36 degrees.

    LBL Clay Bay

    October 16, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    We are enjoying not having to be in a hurry to get to Nashville. We are scheduled to arrive on the 27th so I can fly out on the 28th. That gives us a week and a half to get there which is more than enough time. So today we went 16 miles to Clay Bay which has a boat ramp (aka kayak landing which is also an old road). This is part of the waterway trail. The water level on the lake and river is almost at winter pool making shore access easy. Your pics today are compliments of James as I worked pretty steady.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    This is 9am.
    Trail blazingWe came upon the remains of this old structureAn overgrown road led from the structure to along side and beyond the churchAnd there it is!A gate tells me the road used to service the church. Although main entrance is up frontFront of the restored church2Fully restored inside. A labor of loveSmall cemetery in the backHuge grassy area is the old river bed. We saw two trail cams mounted to trees here2MB at anchor in Honker BayPatiently waiting for her turnPretty trailRemnants of the old Center Furnace. This one operated from 1840-1912This part of the trail, a berm separating Honker Bay from Honker Lake, was a tad bit overgrownTonight after sundown

    LBL Honker Bay

    October 17, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 45 °F

    This morning we woke to 35 degrees and dense fog. We were socked in until 9am then headed one bay over so I could visit the St. Stephen Catholic Church. This church served German Catholic families in the area from 1900 until 1945. Last year we also visited this church but we did so from a bay south and walked the 3+ miles on Forest roads. It was hot 🥵. This year the temp was 50, great for hiking, and we just plowed our own path thru the woods from the closest bay. Much faster 👍.. maybe half a mile. It’s thought that this Church was overlooked when other structures were being torn down because it hadn’t been in use for 20 years so was on no one’s radar. In 2000 a group of volunteers restored it. After this adventure we pulled anchor and went a few more miles to Honker Bay. There’s a nice 4.6 mile loop trail here with easy shore access. Half way along the trail is a nature center, a few other trailheads and an old iron furnace called Center Furnace. LBL was home to 6 furnaces from the mid 1800s to early 1900s. Most are long gone but this one still has some of the structure intact. All of these furnaces produced pretty blue slag as a byproduct. I have a beautiful blue slag lamp at home from that time period. It’s interesting to see so much blue slag on the ground. Total miles traveled by MB today 7. Moki and I also traveled 7 miles on foot.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    2Moki and me enjoying the morning at drift
    The moon on one sideThe sun on the otherNot ready for the day!!White pelicans and either cormorants or loonsMB at the dock at Crooked Creek Bay. Energy Lake dam in backgroundLake Barkley BridgeMB at anchor in her own quarry holeRock wall behind us.Forest road walk this afternoonMB from atop of the rock wallLots of these little water bugsSunset this evening thru the trees and on the hatch window2Boatsinker Pie Moonshine 😋. Made in Paducah.

    LBL Elbow Bay

    October 18, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 43 °F

    Another nice leisurely day! Left Anchorage at 9am and did a brief stop in Crooked Creek Bay. This bay has a dock big enough for three Dory sized boats, a bathroom and a dumpster. We went for the latter. In addition, there’s a couple nice loop trails here. Moki and I did the longer one last year but did not do any this year. From this bay we went in search of an island for Moki to run on. Not just any island.. it needed to be large enough for him to run but not so large he’d get into trouble, deep enough to access and high enough not to be muddy. We tested a couple but didn’t find what we were looking for. So we headed into Elbow Bay where there was a trailhead. To our surprise right next to the boat ramp is an old quarry. It’s small but big enough for us to tuck into. We are right next to the road that runs West to East thru the LBL and across both rivers. It was pretty busy today but less so this evening. So the trail was a disappointment. Paved and ran alongside the road… no shade. We walked it long enough to take a pic of MB then turned around and walked a forest road… much better. Total miles today 14.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    The American Splendor River boat.
    180 cabins and very expensiveAlways the princessThis is how we roll on weekendsFort Donelson from the river.Narrow entrance into Hickman BayMB at anchorMoki on his private islandWith beach 🏖️MB at anchor. From our last pup run to shore

    Welcome to Tennessee !!

    October 19, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    We went 34 miles today crossing into Tennessee. We are now out of Land Between the Lake and anchored in a really pretty bay called Hickman Bay that will hopefully give me access to a trail tomorrow to visit the Fort Donaldson National Historic Site. Worst case scenario I kayak in from the river but I think I can find the trail that runs close to here. We are about 45 miles west of Clarksville.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    MB from trail this morning
    There's a trail here somewhereThe River BatteryOne of several cannonsLooking out over the Cumberland RiverThe upper battery. Lower elevation but looks up riverLog hutConfederate Monument. Erected in 1933Headed back to boatThere's MB... and James... and LunaComing out of the woodsBack to our kayakNap timeIn Guices Creek. Tiny turtle... about 4" and never movedMB at anchor this evening

    Guices Creek

    October 20, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Success! This morning after the fog burned off enough to see we went to a spot along the Hickman Creek shore that I was pretty sure would lead to a trail without too much trailblazing. As we navigated the shoreline we saw stakes… trail markers maybe? No Park boundary markers. But the trail was not much further. This trail dropped us off at the Fort Donelson River Batteries. We checked out both upper and lower Battery, then the log huts. From there we walked the road to the Confederate Monument and Union Camp then back on the trail to the boat. 3.5 miles. Fort Donelson was one of three forts in the region conquered by General Ulysses S. Grant and his troops. The other two are on the Tennessee River at about the same latitude. One on each side of the river. The forts were built to protect the rivers and railroads but were easily taken in early February 1862. From the fort we traveled 23 miles and are now up a skinny creek that leads to a boat ramp. The ramp has a big parking area although only one truck and trailer. There’s also a big grassy area and picnic tables with grills. Although skinny getting in ~2.5’, the water inside is fairly deep… we are anchored in about 5’ of water with easy access to shore.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    2Tic-tac-toe anyone? I'm X...lol

    Clarksville

    October 21, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    It was a busy day for me today. Mondays always are but today meetings started at 7am… we’re in the central time zone and my colleagues are all in the eastern time zone. While I was worker 🐝 ing, James was at the helm navigating the 24 miles to Clarksville Marina where we will stay two nights. I like this Marina. It’s outside of town but there’s a great park that circumnavigates the Marina with a walking path. It gets allot of action right before sundown. Not many pics today.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    I guess she's getting ready for her afternoon conference call.
    Cheatham Lock... going up !Pretty trail. And shady. High today was 83.Layers of sandstoneThere's MB!!These guys were flying low over the river2Signs of Fall.MB again. We're a little closer to shore now.There goes the sun !!

    Cheatham Lock Campground A

    October 23, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    We are slowly making our way to Nashville. Today we enjoyed a late start leaving the Marina about 10:30. We went thru one more lock again all by ourselves. Not allot of traffic on the river. Tonight we are anchored off the main river at the USACE campground. It has easy access to shore via a boat ramp and access to the Cumberland River Bicentennial Trail. Good shore access on this part of the river is tricky. There is a creek nearby that’s deep with a boat ramp but looking at Google no real good place for walking. And there’s another creek where the trail crosses over but we’re not certain we can actually get to it. Will check that out tomorrow. 31 miles today. Steaks soon to be on the grill. Life is good 👍.Read more

  • betty stauglerTravelerMolly’s Great American Loop
    8Great sunrise this morning!!
    This guy spent the night right outside the boatExploring this morning2These are Cliff Swallow nests.Luna doing some hood ornament viewingThis bridge is the Centennial Trail but one would have to do some rock climbing to get up thereLeaves really changing now!I really love these storybook trails. Such a great idea!Nice dock at the parkThis is a nice waterfront park. Has boat ramp, disk golf, a trail and playgroundEnjoying one of several swings in the parkHeaded to the restaurant across the river2Hydrating!This little fella was enjoying dinnerRiverview in nautical lettersThe bar was the high water mark in the 2010 floodMB at dock for the evening4Melanie and her fam

    Ashland City

    October 24, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 48 °F

    Today was a fun very low key day. We did some exploring up Sycamore Creek early then spent the afternoon on the dock at the Riverbluff Park in Ashland City. This is a nice waterfront park. From there we went straight across the river to the Riverside Restaurant. They have a floating dock and will let you stay overnight for free if you eat at the restaurant. Super friendly folks! We went for drinks and appetizers then went back for dinner after feeding the animals and walking Moki. This evening we got a nice visit from a young lady name Melanie who is 5 and needed to see our boat. Very nice family and we enjoyed the visit. 10 miles total.Read more

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