Sunday, October 22 - Nickajack Lake

Sunday, October 22 - Nickajack Lake

We got an early start so all us Loopers could go through the Nickajack Lock at the same time.

On the way to the lock, we passed under the South Pittsburg highway bridge. It features the suspended arch type of construction.   The horizontal clearance is 730 feet, the widest of any bridge on the Tennessee. 

Nickajack Lock is the newest dam on the river, completed in 1967. 

I got so excited seeing the “See Rock City” sign.  Reminds me of road trips as a child.  This is obviously aimed at boaters - there is not a road close by.  

The old Hales Bar hydroelectric plant was begun in 1904.  My guide book says 5,000 workers worked on it for eight years.  From the the beginning water leaked through the rock strata under the dam, and it was replaced with Nickajack Dam. 

Just past Hales Bar, we saw this barge along the bank.   As we got closer, we could tell it was parked in a canal, and had CocaCola signs on it.  We later found out it is the “Coca-Cola Stage” that is used for festivals in downtown Chattanooga.  That’s over 30 miles away.  I guess parking is cheaper far away from town. 

 

The stretch of river from Hales Bar to Chattanooga is

sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of the Tennessee.”  The river makes a dozen turns during the 32 miles as it twists through the mountains.  Loopers talk about this stretch as one of the prettiest of the entire Loop.

Close to Chattanooga we passed the Aquarium sightseeing boat, I’m guessing it was supposed to be a fall color tour but there’s no color! 

This was the first tow we have seen in a long time.  And it was a long one! 

Deb and I took lots of pictures of brightly colored Adirondack chairs in Canada and New York.  Turns out the trend has made it down south.  

This is not a good picture, but I had to take it because these are the first deer we have seen on the entire trip.  

As we rounded Moccasin Bend, two jet ski’s came roaring around us.  One hit our wake just right and got soaked!  It was so much fun to watch him. 

Deb had called the marina in Chattanooga, so both of us pulled in along the wall just past the Aquarium and tied up with several Loopers.

  

Deb’s cousins, Faye and Johnnie, came up from Calhoun, TN, to meet them, and we all went to lunch.  They were so much fun, we appreciated being included in the group.

We were docked between two bridges, the lights were beautiful!