Right Hand Life: Sweet Mountain Air

We are currently sitting 682 ft. above sea level on Chickamauga Lake in Tennessee, and I must say...I am thoroughly impressed! For some reason (again, it is possible my poor understanding of geography plays a role here) I never imagined we would be cruising in the mountains. I remember having numerous conversations, with a variety of people, regarding retirement plans, and they usually ended with a mountain retreat dream or an ocean front dream. I never realized one could experience both settings from the same home!

Wow!

And still wow! Ascending into the mountains has been an awe-inspiring experience.

Getting here has been a lesson in human ingenuity and engineering, with a strong foundation in environmental destruction. The Tenn-Tom waterway is essentially a canal created to connect the Tombigbee River with the Tennessee River. The idea was first explored in 1874, but was set aside as the resulting study showed the cost of construction would far outweigh any economic gain. The idea was revisited several times over the next century, and in 1974 construction finally began, as what many called a ‘pork-barrel’ project. “Construction proceeded over the next 12 years, consisting of 10 locks and dams and 234 miles of navigable waterways and the excavation of 310 million cubic yards of earth, more than was excavated for the Panama Canal.” (Encyclopediaofalabama.org)

Surfs up in the ‘Divide Cut’. This is the 29 mile portion of the waterway that is a narrow canal, but is filled with fun seeking surfers. There are numerous boats (we could see at least 20 boats at one time) intentionally making a big wake so a person can let go of the tow line and ride the wave. It was fun to watch at first, but quickly grew stressful with so many boats, waves, and people in the water, in a very narrow canal. As you might imagine this was not our favorite part of the trip. I’m not sure why, but this has been the only place we have seen this particular activity.

We have transmitted 17 locks to get here. This picture nicely captures the currents created when the lock is being flooded. The water seems to boil.

We have had the opportunity to explore several beautiful anchorages. Did you know there are mountain clams? I was surprised to find this specimen while paddle boarding. It actually was a clam that had recently died (hopefully of natural causes and not a toxic waist spill) and was floating on the surface. I pried the shells open to show Keith, and he shoves his finger into the fleshy part of the clam. Ewww...what are you doing? He said, “I’m looking for a pearl”. My response, “get your finger out of there, you’re not going to find a pearl!”. After a little research, I learned that harvesting pearls from fresh water clams was ‘big business’, in this area, during the 1920s-1940s. Also, Tennessee is home to the only working pearl farm left in the U.S.

We spent two days tied to a dock in Chattanooga. This is a wonderful town to visit! This town has clearly designed their waterfront so people can easily access and enjoy the beauty.