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.
- The idea of creating the Tenn-Tom goes back to the days of the American Indians and French explorers
- .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
- 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.
- It took 12 years to build and cost $2 Billion. It was completed in 1984 It is 234 miles long.
- The barges that we see along the Tenn-Tom can hold the contents of 9 semi-trucks
- 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.