Departed Nashville ~ 1930.  It was gloriously overcast and relatively cool.  At least 20 degrees cooler than it has been, which is so welcome.  The part of the Cumberland upriver from the Cheatham Dam is so damn stunning.  I just love the homes scattered along the coastline.

This one had its own motorized lift for a pontoon boat:

Stunning scenery:

We’ve had so little commercial traffic.  Today, we passed by a couple tugs (called tows here) pushing some ginormous barges.  You hail them on Channel 13, identify where you are and ask if they wish to “pass on the one.”  One is the audible whistle which means one passes port to port.  Two would be two whistles meaning to pass starboard to starboard.  Totally different lingo here.

Went back through the Cheatham Lock.  Was much smoother the second time around.  I think going down versus up gives a little less turbulence too.  This time around we also deployed our two ginormous Taylor “Super Duty” fenders…these things are 18″ in diameter and 42″ tall…kept FF well away from the wall.

The gates were open when we got there, so we had zero wait time.  The lock operators have been super nice.  When we were two miles upriver, I called the lock operator (different from the one last week), he told me the lock was closed for 2 months!  I said, “Oh shit” and he started cracking up.  Gotta love these guys’ sense of humor.  I totally marvel at the engineering on the locks.

Pulled into Clarksville, TN around 3:00 after 48 miles.  Super easy day on the water.  Walked a couple miles into the historic town and went to the Strawberry Alley Brewery.  Sampled some of the local beer and spirits and had a great dinner.  We passed the Clarksville Courthouse on the way which I thought was so pretty.

Back on FF.  Tomorrow, plan to head to Lick Creek in Lake Barkley and anchor out with Kent and Heather on Heartbeat, another AT34.

Happy Monday!  M&M