I Smell Salt Air!

We took off early again on Wednesday morning and within 10 minutes we were entering the last lock of our trip--I couldn't help but recall how nervous I was at the Virginia Cut, our first lock, over 2 years ago. More than 140 locks later, the old adage, "Every expert was once a beginner", rang true as Chip overshot the bollard and I had to lasso the line and work harder than usual to pull Ithaka in and secure her...

While cruising along the Waterway we've seen our fair share of wildlife...we witnessed a young buck swimming across the river, just his head and antlers above the water's surface, we had to look through the binoculars to figure out what it was! We've continued to see beautiful birds, never a shortage of egrets and herons, and seeing an eagle perched on a lonesome tree top or an osprey soaring high above us is always a thrill. It was fun to see wild turkeys and wild hogs scurrying along the river's edge...and of course, the playful otters and busy beavers a treat as well.

Wednesday night we stayed at a very well protected anchorage at mile 41.5 of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Rivers called David Lake. We set the anchor within minutes of complete darkness--it was a long day, nearly 9 hours. We highly recommend this as a great stop between Bobby's Fish Camp and the Dog River Marina in Mobile. The anchorage is about 3.5 miles past the junction with the Alabama River on the descending starboard side. The entrance is narrow (not as narrow as Bashi Creek) and we had 17' below the keel. The lake itself was big enough to accommodate 25 boats...but it was just us and the Alabama stars.

Thursday (today) we were underway by 6:15 AM and were rewarded with another breathtaking sunrise. This last leg of the river cuts through the Mobile River Delta, 2nd only to the Mississippi Delta in size, it measures approximately 45 miles long by 16 miles wide. The Mobile River is the southern most river on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. We are getting close now, I can smell salt air! Ithaka hasn't been in salt water since July 2007!!! WOW!

I must add, our cell phone and internet coverage has been much better than we expected...Thank you Verizon! *I'll be posting more photos and Youtube videos once we get settled in at Dog River!

For more info about this area Click HERE.