Time move South. It’s cold!

Time move South. It’s cold!

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October 21, 2018 Sunday Bashi Creek, AL Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway 145.0 to Bobby’s Fish Camp, Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway mile 118.9 24.4 nautical miles

31°45’50.6″N 88°09’27.7″W
31.764067, -88.157702
Elevation: 36 feet

On to the Looper legendary Bobby’s Fish Camp!

Good Morning!
Please feel sorry for us. It was 51 degrees this morning when we rolled out of bed at 8:00 am.
Waking up in this crisp weather reminds me of sleeping on the porch at our Lake Elmo home. At least there we could dash into a warm house.

Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bashi Creek mile 145 – Anchorage. Morning sun hitting the tops of the trees.

Along the way
The day was bright and sunny but we needed to wear our jackets all day. Mary wore her gloves.

Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Beautiful stand of Loblolly pines
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – I think the poles in the front of the barge that look like fangs are for sonar.  Not many barges have them.
Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway – Always something new -Butane storage bullets – Barge is being pulled and pushed! Pulling aids maneuvering around the bends and ox bows
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Weather monitoring station. It kinda looks like it has a smilely face on it.
Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway – Tug pulling into dock for a load – more skill than we have!

Bobby’s Fish Camp

Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Approaching from down river heading up river.  It’s a lot easier to dock heading into the current.
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – GOOD LIFE coming in to raft up.
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Rafted up
GELIK in front FELIX, BRIZO rafted  and YES DEAR/GOOD DAY rafted. BLUE MOON is on the end but not in the picture. Rafted boats pay the same price as not rafted boats. No deals here.
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – The dock holds four boats, maybe 5. Any more need to raft.
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp Restaurant. There was a big fight at the restaurant!!!! Three fish got battered.
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp Restaurant – Alligator gar
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp Restaurant – outside back door

Check this one off my bucket list. (Don’t worry about it not being on yours)

Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Playing football with the kids from GELIK

Out for a Walk

Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Out for a Walk
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Out for a Walk – House boat on land
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Out for a Walk – House boat on land – pontoons
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Why does he mow so much yard? Around trees too!
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Out for a Walk – Spanish moss on tree
Long legged daddy spider
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – Out for a Walk – Road to Bobby’s Fish Camp
Tombigbee Black Warrior Waterway – Bobby’s Fish Camp mile 118 – looking at the dock

Tales from the Loop
This is why we do not have a dog on our boat. We have traveled with the below people and become friends. We had our first Looper docktails with them on ESTHER GIRL.

Subject: Alabama River Cutoff anchorage Mile 53—A cautionary tale
Posted by: Edith Mason on 10/19/2018 at 10:10 AM

After leaving Bobby’s Fish Camp, we anchored here overnight on October 18th. We are not fond of anchoring, which usually involves threats of murder, plane tickets home, divorce or all of the above. As you can see from the photo, it was a beautiful anchorage, with plenty of depth and good holding. Plenty of room. Lots of wildlife—including alligators. Ideal for Loopers without 4-legged crew who need to go ashore. And therein lies the story.

About 9pm our ship’s dog Bee needed her nightly trip to shore. We had read on Active Captain about having to go back out to the river to take a dog ashore, and about the alligators—verified by a local fisherman. So we head out in the dinghy with Bee, flashlight, leash and an honor guard of mosquitoes. Seeing a likely-looking patch of river shore, Pat bumps the dinghy ashore and Bee and I hop off.

The likely-looking ground was actually mud—quicksand mud—and I immediately sank to my thighs. Which then caused me to lose my balance and fall backwards into it, all the while holding onto Bee’s leash and the dinghy line and projecting some very salty language into the quiet evening. I couldn’t seem to extricate myself from this dire situation-every time I moved, I went down deeper. I knew that alligators had heard my distress calls and would be coming soon to eat both me and Bee. Pat could not get off the dinghy or we would both be in the same fix. Finally, I was able to pull myself up and through the mud with the dinghy line and get on board. Bee got on too, both if us covered in mud that looked like chocolate coolwhip and stuck to you like tar. (There was no opportunity or inclination for picture-taking, so you’ll have to create your own visual.)

Back at the boat Pat hosed us down on the swim platform with some very cold water, just to add insult to injury.

To top it all, Bee was so traumatized by all this that little or nothing was achieved ashore. And thus ends my tale of the Alabama Cutoff.
Edith Mason
Esther Girl

Brain Clutter:
If you ever used the phrases, “kill with kindness”, “neither rhyme nor reason”, “into thin air”, “one fell swoop”, “sweets for the sweet”, or “tower of strength”, then you’ve quoted Shakespeare!

I have heard there are NO MORE SPIDERS once we hit salt water 😊 Can this be true?

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