Our night in Clifton was a lot of fun. A group of Loopers stayed over and Miss Susan, the marina owner, made us feel very welcome and had a DJ playing music from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s! We sang and danced until Looper midnight (2100 hrs!).

In spite of threatening weather, we got up and were underway shortly after 0800 hrs. The 57-mile run was quiet and uneventful, we saw only one tow, the CB Ford pushing a 3 wide by 3 deep barge filled with riprap (broken concrete or rock chunks used to stabilize soil and prevent erosion). We called the Pickwick lockmaster and he emptied the chamber to let us in. Pickwick is a very large lock and the dam is quite wide. On the other side (upstream) is Pickwick Lake, a huge lake created by the dam. About six miles upstream is the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Tennessee - Tombigbee Waterway, where we first entered the Tombigbee in March 2018! We crossed our wake about 12 noon, some 18 months later! The marina is still managed by the same woman, Neeley, and the dock hand Bailey was also here. In fact, they remembered us and welcomed us back to Grand Harbor.

We’re in a covered slip and the forecast of rain and thunderstorms are still predicted. Fortunately, all we encountered was a brief shower while we were locking through. In the meantime, I’ve checked the engine room and had a celebratory Bloody Mary! Loopers fly one of three different colored burgees while looping. White signifies you’re in progress of your first loop. Gold signifies you have completed the Loop, and platinum indicates you’ve done the Loop more than once. Although we’ve crossed our wake, we’re debating whether we should fly the gold burgee or wait until we return to our home port and change burgees. What do you think?

We’re here for one night unless we decide to stay another day. If we move on, we’ll be in Rogersville, AL tomorrow.