Tennessee River Thru Paddle - Day 18 (4/28/21)

River Magic in Decatur Alabama

Start: River Mile: 345

Finish: River Mile: 321

Day Total: 17

Trip Total: 349

For the second night in a row last night, we did not have a fire, and were forced into our tents by 8:30 by the mosquitoes. The good news is that when I go to bed so early, I am awake early as well. Knowing that we would be in a new town for a night in a hotel was a huge motivator for me to get my butt on gear and get on the water. In fact, we were paddling away at 7:15 am this morning! Anyone that has been following along these past few weeks, know how rare that feat really is.

The conditions this morning were perfect. Slight breeze and mostly cloudy sky’s. The scenery was rolling wood hills and absolute flat as glass water. As Jon would say, these are the moments that make all the rest of it worth it. 

A magical morning for paddling

We were able to make a steady 3 mph through varying conditions, which makes me happy. We had a good floating lunch as we drifted under the power lines at RM 308.5. On the menu today was our left overs from last night, rice, black beans and black pepper crusted salami, only today it was served up on a flour tortilla. It was a hit, very tasty. Way better than the Mac & Cheese on a tortilla debacle from last week!

Coming into town, Brad Collett had connected us with Danielle GIbson the President/CEO of the Decatur office of tourism. I had reached out to Danielle yesterday to give her ad heads of that we would be spending the night in Decatur. She was very helpful in getting us a room at the one hotel that is on the river, and working out the details with the hotel for storing our boats. She even stopped by once we were settled in to chat with Jon and I for a bit. What a great lady, and a true friend to paddlers on the Tennessee RiverLine.

Water as smooth as glass

Danielle had originally hoped to join us for dinner tonight what had a conflict come up. She was kind enough to connect us with local paddler Dan Truitt. We had a great dinner at the Rail Yard. Good food and good beer added to the joy of sharing stories with a fellow paddler. Dan is a prolific paddler in the waters in and around Decatur. We had so much fun talking shop with him. After diner he even ran us to the grocery store for a quick resupply.

Entering the Port of Decatur 

Our afternoon and evening in Decatur have been so fun. We truly thank Danielle and Dan for going out of their way to make us feel welcome in their city.

Tomorrow we head out onto the big water and hope for fair winds and a safe place to camp in the evening.