Why did the deer cross the river?

At four o’clock this morning we heard the first and only tow to pass by.  Ray got up to make sure we were clearly visable to the down bound tow that he assumed was “Lisa Michelle” as it looked like the same cargo as when we passed it yesterday.  About another hour of sleep was barely had and another hour after that we pulled up anchor.  Sometime later we had confirmation, it must have been “Lisa Michelle” that passed us, as we were looking at the stern.  We overtook “Lisa Michelle”, hoping that the steering was fixed and that we would get ahead enough to lock through Coffeeville without messing anyone up.  We sighted our first alligator of the trip just before Bobby’s Fish Camp.  Then we had to laugh near Bobby’s Fish Camp there was a swing set in the water to where the kids would be dangling their tows to tempt the alligators. 

All missions were successful and we were in Coffeeville Lock at 12:50 p.m. with a large yacht, “Bella Vita” that easily caught up to us since they were traveling at about 15 knots.  According to the lower gage at Coffeeville Lock, our last lock of the trip south, the water level was up three feet higher than normal in this brackish water.

Once out of Coffeeville Lock we spotted four more alligators sunning themselves on the shore, once being just before our destination where we would go to shore.  That was the same shore that just previous to that last gator, we saw a deer cross the river and run up the embankment.

A couple sun bathers

At about 3:30 p.m. we pulled into Old Lock #1 to find two other vessels already anchored, “Tumbleweed” and “Motu”.  Obviously we remember “Tumbleweed” from yesterday, but also thought we remembered “Motu” from somewhere.  In our typical fashion we were making up stories that maybe we saw that boat here in the spring on the way up and it was still here living for free.  We even decided a vehicle parked up on shore must be that owner’s truck.  Come to find out the truck belonged to a local fellow who had been out hunting.  He came and talked to us for a spell while we were making our grilled ham and cheese sandwiches in the pie iron over the campfire.


The lady aboard “Tumbleweed” came to shore about s’more time to walk their dog one last time for the evening.  She indicated that they also plan to anchor at David Lake tomorrow, but she did not like this part of their trip, that it was just a ditch.  I guess that is true for those who do not see the beauty in nature.  I guess that is also why I frequently mention the wildlife we see.

Some of that majestic wildlife