Traveling the Tennessee - Day 27 - New Johnsonville to Clifton, TN

Saturday, we awoke to ground fog, which I suspect is typical of this time of year.  The water temperature at New Johnsonville is 65 degrees while the air temperature is in the low 40s.  The good news is that the fog burns off rapidly and we could have been off safely as earely as 9:00AM.

Typical morning fog

Instead we went for a walk with Kodi.  On the way out of the marina we passed this unusual steel sailing vessel sitting on the hard.  It would be the perfect prop for a horror movie or perhaps the marina put it there for Halloween.  Note the bilge keels.  These enable the vessel to settle on the bottom when the tide goes out. Brittany and Scott. We had you in mind when we shot this photo.

Unloved sailing vessel sitting of the hard

The marina is immediately adjacent to a civil war battleground site, The Johnsonville State Historical Area.  So, we chose to explore it on our walk.

This was the site of an 1864 battle where the Confederate General, Nathan B. Forrest, attacked and destroyed a Union Railroad depot that was critical to Sherman's March to the Sea.  It was also unusual in that it is the only instance where a cavalry force defeated a naval force.  According to the locals they are still diving for and retreiving artifacts.

Historic Area details - Wroth Reading

The trail wound upward passing redoubts (i.e., a small defensive fortification used to defend a promintent point) and rifle pits to a scenic overlook where we could see the Tennessee.

View of the Tennessee from the scenic overlook

On the way down we passed and old cemetery and learned about the consequences of damming the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers to create the Land Between the Lakes from the marker below.  This explains the name "New" in the New Johnsonville city name.

We departed at 10:00 AM and 45 minutes later was passed through the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge, an area consisting of 50,000 acres of water, forests, farmland and wetlands that supports hundreds of birds, annimals and fish.  Like the Land Between The Lakes this is pristine wilderness.

Exiting the wildlife refudge we began to see homes along the banks.  Some were very attractive and well situated on bluffs.

Unusually attracive group of homes along the Tennessee

The calm water and absence of debris afforded the opportunity to test the new props.  We ran the engines slowly up to 2400 RPMs and to our joy found no vibration.  At 2400 we were moving along at 28.2 MPH, which adjusting for the current, yields our normal cruising speed of 30.  It felt good.

As we approached Clifton we passed a group of 8 homes along the left bank, which caused us to specualate as the what the developer had in mind.  Note the absence of trees or anything elso that would make them desirable. 

Strange group of new homes

At 3:12 PM, some six hours and 61 miles after departure, we arrived at our destination, the Clifton Marina,  a small but very well maintained marina immediately adjactent to the city.  We shared the harbor with a 70 foot Neptunus named Andiamo, which according to the gal at the marina was owned by the owner of Gene and Georgetti's restaurant.

Guided Discovery on an UNCOVERED slip.  The TV worked just fine

We then explored the city which we found small with well maintained homes.  Dinner, thanks to the loan of the marina's courtesy car, was at the restuarant at Ross Creek Landing, a Jack Nicolaus Signature Golf Course.  It was delicious and like everything so far, inexpensive (by Chicago standards).  Below are photos from our walk in Clifton.

Downtown after hours



Scenic overlook



Tricked-out and ready for trick or treat

The Confederacy is alive and well

Halloween is big everywhere

End to a perfect day