Riverwalk Marina is on an island opposite downtown Decatur. While we could have borrowed the Marina’s loaner truck, we really didn’t want to site-see in the pouring rain…Yes, it rained steadily both days! Our food stocks will filled, except for milk. We both have a penchant for a more-than-average amount of milk in our coffee (and our NEED for coffee has already been mentioned) and the thought of running out was more than we could handle. However, a big shout-out to Riverwalk Marina’s owner, Steve Connor, as he was headed to the marina and picked up TWO gallons of milk for us along the way! We would survive!
Decatur lift bridge
Right outside the marina, there is a lift bridge used for train traffic. Knowing we are way too tall to fit under it, we radioed the ‘Decatur Drawbridge’ (technically the Norfolk-Southern Tennessee River Bridge), stating we were just inside the marina and would like a status on lift opening. The Bridge Operator said to come on and he would open it when he could. Well, as it ended up, there was a short train coming and we got to idle around the river until it came and passed through. All in a day on the water.
In the photos, below, notice the vertical distance between the concrete abutment and the tracks when the train is passing and after it was lifted for us to pass under. The operator is in the ‘office’ in the center of the bridge.
Leaving Riverwalk we were really looking forward to Joe Wheeler State Park. It is the site of the Fall Rendezvous of the Association for those doing the Great Loop. Being a State Park it has its own large lodge with lovely rooms, nice walking trails, great buffet in the dining room, pool, docks, etc. All-in-all, a marvelous place to stay. We have been reading about it for a decade; it did not disappoint.
A view of the River from the trail
I was thrilled to actually get to take a hike. It was nearing late afternoon, so I dared not dally too long in the woods. This photo is from a point overlooking the River.
Joseph Wheeler
A Confederate General, Joe Wheeler, a West Point graduate, fought from Shiloh (Mississippi) all the way to Appomattox (Virginia), and, well after the Civil War, as a General in the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars.
When the Civil War ended, he was active and influential in bringing the Nation back together and, between 1885 and 1900, served as a US Representative from the State of Alabama.