We left Smithsville and continued traveling up the Tenn-Tom Waterway with some stow away May flies, who were making a slow journey to their death. About mid-day most of the flies had met their makers and I gave them a fresh water burial. The weather was nice but humid as we made our way to Cotton Springs/Bay Spring lake. We went through a few locks, the last one being the one with the most lift (84 feet) in the series of 10 locks on the Tenn-Tom. After going through the last lock we arrived at Bay Spring lake. It is a beautiful, big lake that was created when constructing the Tenn-Tom. In the lake there are lots of places to find a protected anchorage and we settled into a cove near the lock, that was close to a visitor center that we wanted to visit.

We anchored and promptly went for a swim in the nice cool, relatively clear water. It was a lovely place to stay but unfortunately internet access was bad. It was lucky that there wasn't a Caps game that night. Kevin would have been very disappointed.


Mid-night the wind picked up quite a bit and we had a nice big thunderstorm. I think there was even a bit of hail. The next morning the forecast was for scattered storms throughout the day so we decided to stay put and take a walk and go to the visitors center.


The visitor's center was small but had some nice information about the construction of the Tenn-Tom. Here are a few things that I found interesting.


  1. The idea of creating the Tenn-Tom goes back to the days of the American Indians and French explorers
  2. .It is the largest project in the history of the US Army Corps of Engineers. It is over five times longer than the Panama Canal
  3. There are very few man-made structures that can be seen from an orbit of the Earth with the naked eye. The Great wall of China is one and the Tenn-Tom is another.
  4. It took 12 years to build and cost $2 Billion. It was completed in 1984 It is 234 miles long.
  5. The barges that we see along the Tenn-Tom can hold the contents of 9 semi-trucks
  6. The Tenn-Tom Waterway has a role in the space program. The M/V Delta Mariner uses it to transport Delta 4 rockets from Decatur, AL to Florida and California launch sites.