After enjoying Grand Harbor Marina, Adeline and I headed to Florence, AL. We stayed at Florence Harbor Marina, MM256. This is a great marina right before the Wilson Lock. They have a restaurant that is part of the floating docks, a three mile long bike path along the river which goes through a neat little RV park, and a courtesy vehicle. Florence is a quaint town with all types of local food and sites to see. Across the river on the southern side is Muscle Shoals. This is an area filled with music history with several famous music studios that we were lucky enough to tour and learn some history from. The music that came from this area is rich in soul and funk. You can’t tell if the singers were black or white because of the soul they put into every lyric and beat. We have been listening to the CDs we bought here and both agree it is perfect music for cruising the Tennessee River.
The first lock after Florence Wilson L&D was closed during the day due to repairs so we left around 6 PM and headed through the first lock at sunset. We decided to keep going the 20 miles and make it through the second lock Wheeler L&D. This was a new opportunity to be driving the rivers at night. I paid close attention to my navigation systems and radar and used my ARC spotlight when buoys were in sight. We made it smoothly through the two locks, luckily this night wasn’t as cold as the night before. We anchored at Joe Wheeler State Park. This was a quiet anchorage and it was nice to be back with nature after staying at marinas. The anchorage was one from Active Captain called MM275.8 which was the first little cove past the Wilson lock. Depth was 18 feet 100’ from the bank ¾ of the way back with plenty of swing room. Today we are headed to Huntsville, AL. The weather is nice and cool yet beautiful. Enjoy the pictures and we will be standing by ch. 16
the Yamaha piano freebird was recorded on, plus many more
Pura Vida Loop 