View Larger MapLocation: 34 34 49.00 N, 86 04 46.00 W - Goose Pond Colony Marina - Scottsboro, AL

We topped off our fuel tanks last evening and filled our water tanks this morning for a 50 mile run today. Ditto Landing was very affordable. Fuel was reasonable at $2.50 /gal. but the overnight tie-up was a bargain at $0.50 /ft.
We were back on the Tennessee this morning at 7:55 AM and had a one and a half hour run to Guntersville Lock. This lift was only 39 ft. and we were instructed to use the auxiliary lock. We normally tie-up on our starboard side and we were rigged that way as we entered the lock. We were advised by radio that only two bollards were available and they were on the port side. So our crew had to do a quick shuffle to move all fenders to the opposite side. It is nice to have the extra crew on board to keep our 40,000 pound boat off the wall. The ladies did a great job of protecting the forward section of the boat.

We entered Guntersville Lake and found it to be expansive. The feeling was like a large lake and certainly not a river. There were lots of islands and coves to explore but we couldn’t stop on this trip. We were warned in Fred Myers Tennessee River guide that the lake was being over-run with hydrilla and milfoil weed which was not obvious until we entered the channel to this marina for fuel. We were going to top off our tanks and then move on to the anchorage. The channel was clear and the weeds outside of the channel and in the area of the marina were intimidating. The TVA had a barge nearby “mowing the lawn” to keep the weeds under control. We topped off our tanks at $2.39 /gal and found that overnight tie-up would be less than $0.75 /ft. We decided to skip the challenge of anchoring in the weeds and tied up at the marina. The bonus was a nearby restaurant called The Docks for dinner. We all had a good meal and retired to Persistence for the evening.