Cumberland River and Bumpus Mills TN Final day on the river - 578.1 total river miles

  The Cumberland course is south and then southeast from the Ohio. The two rivers parallel each other for about 40 miles south and are up to eight miles apart making a huge recreation area called Land Between the Lakes.

  We headed across the five-mile long Barkley Canal and turned south across Kentucky on the Cumberland. Our run from that day will be about 50 miles, an easy day.

  Eight miles upstream from the canal is the Kentucky State Penitentiary, locally known as "The Castle on the Cumberland". It is built in the style of an English castle and was completed in 1888. It is the only Kentucky maximum security prison and more than 160 inmates have died in its electric chair.

  As we traveled, we gained confidence, an we now run at about top speed, which is 35-40 miles per hour. It is not possible to run at high speed at all times. Some days there has been wind on the water which roughs it up, sometimes to small whitecaps. The river is actually a series of lakes backed up behind dams. The lakes are up to several miles wide.

  We stopped for the night at Bumpus Mills, Tennessee, Marina, the only marina in this section of the Cumberland River. This was to be the minimum level of accommodations we encountered.

  Somewhere there was a town around the marina, but we were unable to get to it. Our rooms were an ancient mobile home with an air conditioner that brought the temperature inside just barely below that outside. There was no restaurant. Our meals were frozen sandwiches heated in a microwave oven.

  July 1 was our ninth, and final day on the water. We made a run of 80 miles to Ashland City, Tennessee.  Nine miles upstream from Bumpus Mills we passed Ft. Donelson, a Confederate stronghold. Gen. Grant encircled Ft. Donelson and forced the surrender of 13,000 troops on Feb. 26, 1862. This was Grant's first major victory and a prelude to the battle at Shiloh. The was the first and only time during the Civil War that a large army surrendered unconditionally. The prisoners were taken by steamboat to Cairo, Illinois, and then sent by railroad to prison camps in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Massachusetts.

  We passed through Cheatham Lock & Dam, the last we were to pass through, and the only lock where we were lifted instead of being lowered.

  We had arranged to meet Sam and Betty at the Riverview Marina at Ashland City, Tennessee, 14 miles from Nashville. We arrived at Ashland City about noon ready for lunch but found the restaurant closed. Rob and Chris walked a couple of miles into town and brought back sandwiches.

  Sam and Betty arrived with our pickup and trailer as scheduled and we loaded our boat and pulled out of the water a total of 578.1 river miles from our starting point. This is by far the longest trip we had ever taken in a small boat.