Cruising with Bison?

When we started this adventure 14 months ago I never imagined that a bison prairie would be on our list of sights to see, but you just never know.  We rented a car last week and did the all day tourist thing in Land Between the Lakes.  LBL is a 170,000 acre National Recreation area that is located between Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake.

There are two bison prairies where we saw two different herds.  Please remain in your vehicle!

Turkeys clearly love this place.

We came upon one of the old iron producing furnaces, that is still standing.  If you saw the last blog post, I shared a picture of some rocks sticking out of the lake. Well, this is what that furnace looked like before the lake was flooded.

If you’re interested in how it worked...here’s the gist.

We visited an 1850s working farm and museum.  I think everyone who works here truly believes the year is 1850😁

I found my new tiny house.  Needs a new roof, but there is a pile of freshly cut shakes seasoning close by. Actually, this is the blacksmith shop for the farm.  It has a small fire box with chimney in the back corner, and a huge bellows hanging from the ceiling.

This is the wood shop where one young man recently finished a chair and another was making a pipe.  Everything is built using 1850 technology. I love old tools!

We received a personal weaving lesson, and if Covid weren’t around I could have been in there weaving with her!  In fact, before Covid, buildings were open and people were encouraged to touch everything!  The farm showcases many buildings, including houses, smokehouse, barns, corn crib...etc. It was very interesting to see all of the people going about their day like they really lived and worked on this 1850 farm...cool!

Hummingbirds love this place too!

We ventured ‘off the beaten path’ during our LBL visit, and did a little off roading to find St. Stephen Catholic Church.  The church was not on our map neither were the ‘roads’ leading to it, but with a little luck, determination, and hand drawn directions from the lady at the welcome center we found it!

The church was built by German immigrants in 1900 and held services until 1945.  This is what it looked like in 2000 when a group of volunteers worked 3,800 hours to restore it to its original design and construction.

This is one of the markers in the cemetery of the church where every marker was covered with coins.  I have never seen (or maybe have never noticed) coins on headstones in other cemeteries I’ve visited, so of course, it was time for a little research.  I found that leaving coins on headstones is a military tradition started for the purpose of letting the family know that someone had visited the grave. Each coin has a different meaning. A penny indicates that the visitor was in boot camp with the deceased, and a quarter indicates the visitor was there when the person died.  Since this person died in 1910, I’m pretty sure 15 people who were in boot camp with him have not recently visited...so the jury is still out on the meaning of the coins here.  When we return to Buzzard Rock Marina I will ask the person who originally sent me in search of this church.

On our return trip we stopped at Kentucky dam to see a dam/lock from the land point of view.  This is a turbine used to produce power here at the dam, and you can clearly see the power station in the background.

With our tourist day behind us it was time to get back to boat projects.

I am getting serious about refinishing the teak on the boat.  Of course, my intention was to have it done within 3 months of retiring, but I have several excuses for missing that timeline.  The biggest reason for my delay is the weather has not been conducive. It has either been too wet, too chilly, or too windy.  Also, I have been struggling with the decision regarding which product to use.

I currently have three different products on various surfaces, and I have found serious fault with each of them! Cetol is just too finicky regarding environmental conditions.  Temperature, humidity, and wind must be perfect for several consecutive days, since you can only apply a coat every 24 hours.  Therefore, you need a lot of nice days to get 7 coats on, and if an unexpected shower arrives several hours after a coat...be prepared to sand, or settle for a finish that looks like moon craters (I know this from experience)!

Some friends suggested a product called Le Tonkinois, which is a varnish oil that does not crack, peel, or blister.   I really like this product and currently have it on the stern and bow rails.  It is easy to apply, and self levels into a smooth finish.  With much more lenient environmental requirements, you don’t need 7 consecutive ‘perfect’ days.  It has great color and shine, and is easy to repair.   However, this product is NOT very durable in harsh conditions, and needs maintenance coats re-applied every 3-4 months. So...

Currently, I’m trying a new product called Lust, which is a varnish.  My search for a durable product that only needs maintenance coats once a year, has led me here.  One of the reasons I selected this product is that multiple coats can be applied in a single day. However, I will confess that I am already frustrated, and am considering going back to Le Tonkinois.  Lust has turned out to be very difficult to apply.  It doesn’t flow well, and tacks up instantly making it impossible to get a smooth finish.  The instructions discourage thinning the product after the third coat so I’m not sure how to adjust.  The environmental conditions fall within the suggestions, but maybe it will work better if applied in cooler weather.

One thing is certain...this is the LAST time this girl is stripping this teak down to bare wood!  Don’t get me wrong...I enjoy working with wood, but my fingers and elbows are screaming at this abuse (getting old really stinks)!  I probably should have consulted with friends Ken and Barbara, who seem to be brightwork gurus, before plowing ahead with yet another ‘trial’.

Clearly, Keith has more patience with tedious projects.  He is still working on reconditioning the space under the brow on the fly bridge.  His original plan was to chip off old paint and repaint the interior, in addition to reorganizing the wiring mess that you can see in the back.  Progress has been slower than planned due to the discovery of unexpected rot, and the fact that his chipping creates dust that wreaks havoc on my varnish job...so he graciously moves on to other projects.

All of this on top of our new fishing endeavors has made for a busy week.  Our next post will feature some interesting fishing techniques popular in this part of the country.  This lifestyle offers an opportunity for constant learning...and fun!

Travelers

We are currently anchored in Mammoth Furnace Bay (what an unusual name...does it have historical significance) on Barkley Lake.  We have had three people call us ‘travelers’ this week.  They will pull up to the boat and say something like, “we had to check you out, because you look like you are traveling...we knew you were travelers!”  That seems so much nicer than Gypsies or vagabonds😉

It’s another beautiful spot, and the water temperature here is about 5-7° cooler than the water in Kentucky Lake.  Much more refreshing on a hot afternoon. However, we have been incredibly lucky with fabulous weather - high temps in the mid to upper 80s, and humidity between 55-65%.  The locals have told us this weather is extremely unusual for this time of year.  

We found a wonderful marina to call ‘home base’ for the next two months.  The people are very helpful and friendly.  The rate is amazing at .75/ft.  So it only costs us $37.50 a night, and that includes electric and a courtesy car for us to use for shopping...unbelievable!  Of course, we prefer to anchor in secluded coves, but this is the perfect place to visit for a few nights (every two weeks) to get groceries, take care of trash and laundry, and pick up all of our Amazon deliveries👍

Between the marina and our current anchorage, we passed the Kentucky State Penitentiary, also known as “Castle on the Cumberland”.  When this prison was built in 1886 it did not have this view.  The Barkley Dam was completed in 1966, making the Penitentiary lake front property.  A little research revealed that this is Kentucky’s Supermax/Death Row facility.  Definitely not the place for us to anchor for the night😬

Still trying to get the right formula for the garden.  Some plants are doing well, while others definitely crashed and burned.  I think one problem has been mixing plants with different nutrient needs.  The basil, kale, and chard seem to like a lot of fertilizer (I am using an organic chicken poop liquid), while lettuces and some herbs have not done well with that mixture.  Since they all share the same water I have to find plants with the same needs and tolerances.  I am planning to buy some new seeds next week, so the experiment continues.

During the week we are usually alone.  Some boats do come out to play on weekends, but we RARELY see anyone spend the night on their boat.  That’s something I want to ask about.  I know what you’re going to say, but I don’t think it is because of the Penitentiary...we are at least 6 miles south.

One afternoon this week two gentlemen, out fishing, decided to pay us a visit.  They had questions about our boat and our travels, and wanted to know how we ended up in Mammoth Furnace Bay.  One of them happened to be a local, Mark, who regaled us with the history of this location.  Apparently, in the 1800s this location became a prime spot for smelting iron from local iron ore.  A total of 8 furnaces were built in this area, for this purpose.  We happened to be anchored very near the old Mammoth furnace, which was now mostly underwater due to the creation of this lake.  

Mark also told us that the process produced a slag byproduct that was used to make road beds around the furnace.  Interestingly, the slag is blue.  He pointed out two local spots where we would have the best chance of finding some. Fantastic, now we have a mission...research this furnace, and find some slag!

Marks’s location hint was right on the money.  You can see that the beach is covered with rocks and gravel.  There are a few blue rocks behind me that we didn’t see...can you find them?  Keith and I started out in different directions and met back in the middle with our treasure!  Don’t worry, we didn’t keep these blue beauties.  Our research indicated that these rocks are viewed as ‘historical artifacts’ and removing them from this area is prohibited.  We scattered them back along the beach for others to enjoy.

Very cool, especially when you realize they were made by manmade processes, and have been on this ground for almost 150 years.  If you are interested in learning more about the furnaces in this area, visit https://www.fourriversexplorer.com/center-furnace/ for additional information...spoiler alert...part of this process was an environmental nightmare!

We Googled Mammoth Furnace and found a map with the approximate location, and a description that simply said “some of the rocks are visible just above the water line”. 

Look at this strange pile of rocks in the cove.  We believe this to be the old Mammoth Furnace.  

We scanned the water’s surface looking for a pile of rocks, but didn’t see anything that matched our mental picture.  We cruised around the cove in the Whaler looking for a pile of rocks...nothing.  Oh, wait a minute...why are those trees growing out of the water? Upon closer inspection we saw the rocks and bricks...this has to be it!  This picture might make you think we are blind, but picture land to the left and the deeper water of the cove to the right.  The rocks really weren’t visible until we circled around behind.

One of our constant joys is watching wildlife, and this Baltimore Orioles butterfly was happy to wait for his/her picture.

We have a new friend who visits us by plane.

When he opened the door he yelled, “This is how we do it in Kentucky!”  

What a hoot😁

Fish In My Shorts

We are currently anchored in Sugar Bay on Kentucky Lake.  Since leaving Chickamauga Lake we have transited 6 locks all going down!  This was a slightly different experience than going up.  Going down is MUCH easier!!  There are no currents at the top of the lake where you wait for the lock to open, and there is no turbulence when you are inside the lock.  We were very apprehensive prior to our first down lock, because we imagined the experience would be equivalent to being trapped in a big toilet bowl during a huge flush.  We pictured holding on for dear life as giant whirlpools tossed the boat to and fro...clearly, someone has an active imagination, (NOTE from Keith, Deb has the “active imagination”). In reality, the process was almost undetectable...the surface of the water remained perfectly calm.  To our surprise, the boat didn’t buck or bounce...in fact it felt as though we weren’t moving at all...very different from our ‘up’ experiences. 

This is the satellite image of where we will be living, and exploring, for the next two months.  Kentucky Lake is the body of water on the left, and Barkley Lake is on the right.  They are connected at the top by a canal.  This picture also clearly shows the two dams that were built to flood these river valleys, and form each lake.  The most interesting part of this image is the bright green area between the two lakes.  Land Between the Lakes (that’s really what it is called) is a 170,000 acre National Recreation Area.  It is essentially a HUGE park, which means no houses along the shoreline.  We have never seen so many beautiful anchorages in one location! I will share additional information about this park, in future posts, as we hike and explore.

We saw evidence that living along the Tennessee River can be dangerous.  The brown house is undercut so badly that it is certainly condemned, as well. This sight prompted a little research, and we discovered that this area experienced a devastating flood in February 2019 when the Tennessee River crested 29 feet above normal.  

This house looks ready for the next flood.

We have never seen anything like this before.  From a distance it looked like a crazy metal spider in the middle of the river.  We believe this is a self contained dredge that scoops sediment off the bottom and sorts it onto different barges as the sediment comes up.  The contraption was surrounded by barges with different size substrate on each barge.  We have passed many dredge operations in our travels, but usually the dredge is connected to a pipe that is pumping sediment to a ‘dumping’ location. This contraption seemed to be mining sediment for the purpose of sales.

As we travel this river system we can’t help but think about how all of these dams have changed the landscape over the past 100 years, and this sight was the eeriest of all.  When the TVA flooded each portion of the Tennessee River, whole towns were removed.  People were relocated, and buildings, bridges, and roads were destroyed and cleared away.  No one seems to know why this building was left, but it certainly was a sight to see, and of course, I had to know how it originally looked.

“It is known as the Old Danville Grain Elevator as well as the Danville Wharf and Danville Transfer Station.  Located in Danville, Tennessee, It was built on the banks of the Tennessee River about 300 yards from the L&N Railroad in 1914.  The purpose of the building was to transfer barges of grain and other goods from the river to railcars above.

It contained six levels with the bottom three being open for boats carrying cargo to unload their goods from the river. The lower levels accommodated the water level fluctuation of the river. Two twenty-horsepower elevators carried cargo from the lower levels to trains docked at the fourth level. Primary commodities were peanuts, grain, limestone, iron, and cotton.

It was in operation until the early 1940s when TVA began clearing out the area for the creation of Kentucky Lake.  The lake would be created by building a large dam downstream at Grand Rivers, Kentucky.  The waters would permanently rise 55 feet which would flood most of the building and the surrounding area.”  (All text quoted from fourriversexplorer.com)

There were very interesting sights along the way, but now we are enjoying peace and tranquility in the amazing anchorages on Kentucky Lake.  There have been very few boats here, but the coyotes have joined us at dinner time the past two night...howling😁. Makes me super happy we are sleeping on the boat and not in a tent👍

There have also been large schools of fry (baby fish) seeking refuge under our boat.  I’m not sure this strategy worked in their favor, as it seemed easier for larger fish to devour them from below.  However, the super smart ones must have realized that our ladder provided some protection from below and above.  Of course, when it was time for my afternoon swim I said to myself...”they will certainly go away when I jump in the water...right?”  Wrong, in fact not only did they remain under the swim platform, but they refused to part enough to give me access to the ladder.  

After a short attempt of splashing and shooing, I decided to just barrel through the mass...surely they will get out of the way.  Or not! Immediately upon exiting the water I realized there was a strange sensation in my bathing suit top.  Looking straight down revealed two little fish, where they shouldn’t have been!  While quickly working to extricate the fish from my top I sensed some unusual movement in the back area of my shorts...UGH...now I was running and hopping to get my pants off without crushing the tiny fish.  Keith was still in the water and was trying to figure out what could be the cause of the delirious yelling/laughing/squealing sound coming from the cockpit.  Once my clothes were off, I was left to try to save 10 tiny fry flopping around on the deck.  Thank goodness for secluded anchorages!!

Please don’t let this story deter you from taking a nice swim in a natural body of water.  I have been swimming in bays, rivers, ponds, and oceans for 50+ years and I have never...EVEN...before, come out with fish in my shorts!  This was a one time fluke, and I’m sure you are safe from the humiliation😉

The schools of fry have been a minor inconvenience, but this has become our nemesis.  I know I should be thankful for this opportunity to witness nature in this ‘up close and personal’ way, but enough is enough!  It just so happens that we have witnessed the swarm hatching of Willow-flies in three different locations in the past month.  

This insect takes up to a year to develop underwater, then when conditions are right, millions hatch and create swarms, in a frenzy to mate.  This stage of their lifespan is less than 24 hours.  Next year at this time, the eggs deposited in the water (because many egg masses ended up super glued to our decks) will hatch and repeat the cycle.

The mess they left on the decks of our boat is disgusting!  They are attracted to light, so our anchor light caused most of our problems..  Every morning, for several straight days, we had to pressure wash the whole boat...yuck!

BUT...when we sweep all of the bodies overboard we are thoroughly entertained by the feeding frenzy that ensues.

We have found time this week to get back to work on boat projects.  I tackled a sewing project...most of you know how I feel about sewing...let’s just say that my low skill level causes me stress!  However, I love my ‘lazy girl’ chairs that I use frequently in the Whaler, and Keith and I love to sit in them on the swim platform while dangling our feet in the water.  The frames and cushions were still good, but the sun destroyed the material...so, let’s see if they can be saved.

It only took me 4 days to re-cover them...yay me...way to save $60.00, but more importantly...way to save the landfill!  I know, if you do the math you think that was a total waist of my time, but remember...I have a lot of time! Actually, it took me 3 days to cover the first chair and only one day to cover the second one...so there was improvement. Additionally, throwing things away and getting new thing is very difficult when you have no trash pickup, no car, no stores (within walking distance), and no address for shipping.  It also helps that I have a bin full of ugly fabric - Sustainable living at its best!

Keith also chose a project that he thought would be fairly quick and easy, but has turned into 5 days of hot sweaty work (except for today, it’s a chilly 71°), and he is only about 1/4 done.  He was going to clean up the surface in a large storage area, inside the brow on our flybridge, and repaint it.  However, once he started scraping old paint chips, he discovered an area of rot from water leaking into the coring material.  This led to cutting, grinding, epoxying, fiberglassing, and cussing!

All in all...it’s been a great week with numerous rainbows...

And pretty cool sunsets!