Cumberland River - Nashville to Celina Oct 2 -8

We reached downtown Nashville on the afternoon of October 1. We were on a City Dock right downtown. Any tour of Nashville is not complete without a picture of the temple of country music - the Ryman Auditorium. We were only there one night so it was a quick visit.















This is the waterfront view of downtown. The city dock is in the lower left hand corner of the view. The bridge overhead at the top of the picture is an old bridge converted into a walkway which goes over from the center of downtown to the Tennessee Titans football stadium.















This view of downtown as we are leaving shows the contrast of high rise commercial buildings with the industrial side illustrated by the tow boat.

As we headed east from downtown we came to the sternwheeler General Jackson that is part of the Opryland Park. We saw it doing a tour of the Nashville waterfront with dinner guests on the night we were there.

The first lock and dam just east of Nashville was the Old Hickory built in 1957.

I read that the birds have learned that fish can get caught in the lock doors when the water is let out of the lock. Supposedly, at some locks the birds know to listen for the sound of the horn signaling a lock emptying and they would come to sample the smorgasbord of fish.

These pictures show some of the natural beauty of the rock bluffs that border the river.

Birds decided to come along for a ride.

These three pictures show the intricate patterns and textures that are so delightful in this 100 foot tall formation called the Seven Mile Bluff.

There were 14 locks built on the river in the 1890's, which were later replaced by modern locks and dams. This old lock wall (Lock No. 7) was available to tie on to to spend the night. I had to climb to the top of the wall to tie lines. We were now 300 miles from the Ohio River. As a consequence of late September storms in east Tennessee the current flow downstream was very high. Due to high water releases from the dam upstream, the water levels went up about three feet during the night and back down before we left the next morning.

We passed the town of Carthage which was the home of Al Gore. Before leaving Nashville we had to request weekend lock passage for the last lock on the Cumberland River the Cordell Hull lock. Named for Cordell Hull, who rose from humble Tennessee roots to become Secretary of State from 1933 - 1944, the longest tenure in history. In another 56 miles is the Seven Sisters Bluff formation named by Daniel Boone. There are seven rock bulges.

Not far from this bluff is where Abraham Lincoln's grandfather operated a saltpeter mine and within a few miles is the cemetery where Lincoln's grandparents are buried. Mr. Lincoln owned land in this area until he was killed in 1814 in an Indian Raid.

We reached the end of the navigable portion of the Cumberland River at Celina Tennessee. We have come 381 miles from the Ohio River and now turn around to head back downriver.