Looping NZ Style: Mile 145 to Mile 52.8

Mile zero is the Convention Center in downtown Mobile, Alabama. This is yet another Mile 0!
So..this tells you that we started the day 145 miles north of Mobile City. These are long days, my friends...and the river isn't getting any prettier, I have to say. You will see why, shortly.

What a magic hour, 7am is, lol...here is another one. No fog to speak of, which is fantastic, and the sun is rising enough to let us get on our way, and see where we are going. You can just see a little fog to the left of the photo, below the trees, on the water!

Ok..so we left BEFORE 7am! JUST!

Did I say there wasn't any fog?? silly me!! of course there was, and it only became evident the further down the river we went, until we could hardly see in front of ourselves.

Then the sun came up and all was revealed.

until we went around yet another corner, and more fog rolled in....Oh look!!! a Hill!! wowowowow!

and the sun came up some more, and the fog rolled in some more....

....and just as well it cleared enough for us to see this log sticking straight up right in the middle of our path! Phew!

Signs of civilization, the closer we get to the big city.

and we have finally come to Bobby's Fish Camp. Our aussie friends, Richard and Diane stayed here a night on their way down river. It is a bit like Hoppies (on the Mississippi) only better.

Oh joy...yet another tow...and what fascinating things does he have on his barges ??? At least if was something different to look at. Life was getting a bit boring till then:)

And another lock to relieve the boredom.

An egret in mid flight, trying to fly into the doors to get the tasty morsels left behind every time the lock fills and empties of water.

Gene on Galene, is still with us. He is a trooper, and we have had some long conversations with him. He left from Hammond Marina, Indiana (besideChicago) and he has two friends aboard who have never taken a boat trip before. They are brave folks! They have to get to Tampa to catrch a flight back to Illinois, on Nov. 11th. That means they have to cross the gulf asap. Silly people having an agenda. There is such a thing as WEATHER! to watch for, on the crossing. He may have to rent a car and drive them there from Panama City.
Anyhoo..ours not to reason why!
We are coming out of the second to last lock, on our journey south.

Now we are coming to more bridges, which also means greater civilization.

There are now sand hills on the banks, and large beaches that make us want to drive the boat up onto them...but they aren't really beaches in the true sense....just large sandy corners where the river has left her mark.

Like this...

Low and behold! a bridge we have to wait for to get it to open.We didn't wait long, fortunately.

and yet another tow to pass, going our way this time.

The vegetation has changed again. These trees line the sandy shores, and look soft and lovely in the waning light.

Just another bend in the river?? well, almost. We have been travelling these windy bends for several days now. They can get a bit old, actually.

I went back to sit on the sofa on the fly deck and finish my irritating book! Why keep reading it, you ask? Well, there are some books you just have to finish...and that is my excuse! Waz carried on down the river.

We couldn't get over the devastation on the river banks, in this part of the river. Shocking! What could possibly do such damage to the banks? Well, it wasn't flood, let me tell you. It is the tows.
You see, the rivers are narrow here, and we watch in horror, every time we meet a tow on the corners, as they are almost touching the banks, and their thrust and wake is washing well up the shore line and the bank just keeps getting undermined.

Miles and miles of damage. We don't see how there is anything that can be done about the problem, frankly.

Another day is over, thank goodness, and we are setting the anchor yet again. Normally we love being out in the middle of nowhere at anchor, but this is getting tedious. There is weather coming, and we aren't sure we will like it...wind! and gale force too.

Gene is parked up around the corner a bit. We are in mud still, and the anchor sticks without much trouble. We will be backing out of here, however. This is yet another skinny river that we are hugging the entry of. No point to us going much further in.