Demopolis, AL to Columbus, MS

After arriving back in Demopolis, we took a few days to get supplies and wait on better weather as well as river conditions. While hanging out at Demopolis, we toured the local area. We visited several of the antebellum homes and the visitor's center at the Tom Bevill Lock and Dam. This area is known as the Catfish Capital which is obvious by the multitude of commercial fish farms and the processing facilities.

Day One-We traveled 54 miles and transitioned through one lock, Heflin Lock. We anchored for the evening near Gainesville, AL.

Day Two-After an early start, we covered 65 miles and moved through two locks, Tom Bevill and Stennis. We arrived at the Columbus Marina just after 4:00 pm.

Fuel prices on the river are creeping up just like prices elsewhere. We paid $2.29 per gal. We seemed to be asked most often, "Where are you headed?" Our answer is we don't have a true destination. As of this point, we think we'll work our way north to the Tennessee River and continue north to the TN/Cumberland/Ohio rivers intersection. At that point we'll decide which way to turn. Remember our original plan was to boat for two years. We don't have a lot of time left as the end of this year will be the end of our two years.

"Artwork in a field near Demopolis"

"Gaineswood in Demopolis"

"Foscue House, now a restaurant in Demopolis, AL"

"Magnolia Grove in Greensboro, AL"

"Kirkwood in Eutaw, AL"

"Lack of Erosion Control"

"You must always watch for stray refrigerators floating down the river!"

"Can you see the gray fox in this picture? "

"This log was perfectly balanced behind a bouy"

"Corp. of Engineers keeping the channel clear"

Side trip to Las Vegas

We decided to take a short break from the boat and go to Las Vegas. In the Atlanta airport we talked to a young man who said he could only go to Vegas for 3-4 days and then he needed a break. After being there for seven days, we understood what he was talking about. There are so many things to see and do that it soon becomes overwhelming. For instance, while there we visited:
-9 hotels and casinos
-Red Rock Canyon

-Mt. Charleston

-Bonnie Springs-Old West Town

-Fremont Street Experience

-Cirque de Soleils' Mystere Show

-Kenny Rogers Concert

-Hoover Dam

-Lake Mead

-Treasure Island Pirate Show

-Bellagio's Fountain show

-Caesar's Palace Roman Statues

-Spring Mountain Ranch State Park

-Valley of Fire State Park

-Ethel M(Mars) Chocolate Factory

-Four Tops concert

After all of that we could invision being back on the river anchored all alone in a quiet cove!

"Mt. Charleston still has snow on it"

"Red Rock Canyon"

"Fremont Street Experience is a Giant light show on a canopy that covers the entire street"

"Caesar's Palace Hotel contained many fountains and Roman Statues"

"Las Vegas Strip"

"Spring Mountain Ranch State Park's Resevoir"

"Dancing Fountains at Bellagio Hotel"

"Hoover Dam"

"View of Lake Mead from atop Hoover Dam"

"Valley of Fire State Park included red rock formations"

"Cactus Garden "

Mobile to Demopolis,AL

We were finally successful on our third attempt to leave Mobile, AL. The river levels were not totally back down, but at a manageable level and should get better each day of our four day trip. Some rain was predicted but we were hoping not to be in its' path. On our second night out the rains did come through but mostly North of us. This meant we would be meeting all the run-off as we pushed upstream. We were facing a 3-4 MPH increase in current for most of the trip. This decreased both our speed and fuel mileage. Our average speed was 7.18 MPH (slow!) and our fuel consumption was 1.1 MPG. We did arrive at Demopolis, AL in four days as planned. Along with battling the strong current, we also had plenty of debris to manuever around. It was another adventure to talk about!!

Day 1-From Dog River Marina in Mobile, Al to an anchorage in Bate's Lake near McIntoch, AL 69 miles-9 and1/2 hours

"We met this dredging ship in Mobile Bay"

"Water under this house shows the river level was still up"

Day 2-From Bate's Lake to Bobby's Fish Camp near Coffeeville,AL
65 miles plus one lock at the Coffeeville Dam- 9 hours

"Easter Sunrise on the Tombigbee River"

"Bank erosion caused by the high water"

"You can see how high the water had been on these trees"

"We were the only boat docked at Bobby's Fish Camp this time, but it was a good place to be when the storm came through during the night-even though the restaurant was closed"

Day 3- From Bobby's to anchorage in Bashi Creek near Morvin, Al
25 miles-3 hours (Short day in order to reach safe anchorage off the river)

"We anchored in Bashi Creek with another boat-Morning Star"

Day 4- From Bashi Creek to Demopolis Yacht Basin in Demopolis, AL.
71 miles and the Demopolis Lock- 9 hours

It looks like a Go!

After being back in Mobile for a few days, it looks like we will finally be able to move North. The bay conditions, the river levels, and the weather fronts are all lining up in our favor. We've cleaned the boat, handled a couple of maintanence items and purchased supplies. We should be all ready to go. During this visit to Mobile we toured Dauphin Island, just 20 miles to the south. As we've crossed Mobile Bay, we had only seen Dauphin Island at a distance. It sits on the west side of the Bay's entrance from the Gulf. The island's white sandy beach has many vacation homes and a few condos. Historic Fort Gaines is also on the island.

"Mowing and Landscaping is not an issue on the Island"

"Oil and Natural Gas Rigs close to shore"

"Ferry Boat takes cars and passengers to the East side of bay"

"Fort Gaines protected Mobile Bay's entrance beginning in 1821"

"We decided these condos must be for tall thin people!"

Travel update/Visit to Naval Air Museum

After evaluating the river predictions and considering some upcoming appointments and meetings, we've decided to drive home again. We'll be leaving Play Dough docked at Dog River Marina in Mobile for another 2-3 weeks. While we were at Dog River we completed our second engine servicing. The service is done every 150 hours. We had a well known boat mechanic do out first service last year. After observing him and taking notes, we were able to do our own service this time. While our first servicing/tune-up costs were $1000.00, we were able to change the oil and both fuel filters for $102.00. Who said you can't make money boating??

We spent one day at the Pensacola Naval Air Station. The Blue Angels winter in California, but stay in Pensacola during show season. Their Tues. and Wed. morning practice sessions are open to the public. We arrived at 8:30 for the first session of the 2009 season. After the practice we spent the remainder of the day there at the Naval Aviation Museum. The museum has so many aircraft on display in their huge building. Even though these are full size actual planes, they appear to be scale models sitting everywhere, some even suspended from the ceiling. Every aircraft ever used by the Navy is on display. We saw everything from balloons and blimps to today's jets. We even witnessed a change of command ceremony and watched an IMAX movie on fighter pilots. This museum is one of the top 10 tourist attractions in the U.S., drawing millons of visitors each year.

"Cargo plane that hauls the Blue Angels' equipment and ground crew"

"The Blue Angels are almost too fast to catch in the air!"

"Jet at Entrance to Museum"

"Aircraft from the World War II Era"

"A Blue Angel jet suspended from the ceiling "

"This propeller from an aircraft carrier weighs 30,000 lbs. It takes 4 of these to power a carrier"

"Rescue aircraft-notice the basket on the side"

"Jet Ranger helicopter, like the one Rodney piloted"

"Change of Command Ceremony"

We're Like the Space Shuttle-Go/No Go

Our timing and rain cycles can't seem to get in sync. As we stated before, once the rain came through and peeked the river levels we went home to let the waters subside. After returning to Mobile, finishing up our maintainence work and getting ready to go, a rainy weekend was in the forecast. Once again the rivers are projected to rise above floodstage within the next week. We've become quite familiar with the Mobile area. We have spent more time here than we had intended to spend in any one town along our voyage.

As we continue to tour the Gulf Coast and wait on the rivers to receed, we are looking at several alternative trip plans. We have a couple of weeks in the current window and our closest marina to the north is at Demopolis, AL, a four day run from Mobile.

There is still a lot of evidence of the hurricanes around the Biloxi area:

- Lots of empty lots along the beachfront with only concrete slabs left in place

-Many partial boat docks that haven't been rebuilt

-Some partial buildings left standing, some of them being worked on and some abandoned

Many of the hotel-casinos have been replaced and are up and running.

"One of many buildings destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi"

"Hurricane damaged home being rebuilt"

"The Biloxi Fire Department still has missing walls from storm damage"

"Biloxi Casino"

On Hold

After we tied up in Dog River Marina off Mobile Bay, the weather got nasty. While most of you had rain and snow, we had mostly wind. We had gale force winds.(Sustained surface winds of 39-54 mph) Even though we were tied to the dock it was bouncy enough that our TV Tracking system could not maintain a signal. We reverted to DVDs for entertainment. The conditions also required someone to nap in the recliner through the night. Not only did we have to monitor our ropes, but those of the untended boats around us. We did discover a rope on a nearby boat that had gotten loose. This boat had gotten pushed within a foot or so of us when we discovered the problem.
The 5 plus inches of rain that fell in central Alabama presented us with another problem. The rivers we were headed up were forecast to crest at 20-25 feet above flood stage later in the week. Not only does this create a strong current that you must work against, it also floats a lot of debris downstream to contend with. At this point, we made a decision to drive home for a week. This will allow the higher water levels to subside and make travel much easier and safer. We will still be leaving Mobile around mid March as we had previously planned.