October 31, 2022

Bay Springs Marina, New Site, Mississippi to Midway Marina, Fulton, Mississippi

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!  💀

We set the alarm for 6:30 a.m. because we are calling the Lockmaster to see if we can get into the Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam as soon as possible (to avoid tow and barge traffic).  The Lockmaster told us it would be 45 minutes before we could get in, so everyone was relaxing drinking coffee.  Suddenly we got a message for "anchors up" and we had to be at the Lock in 20 minutes.  The green light was on (telling us we could enter the Lock) and we went down 84' (the biggest lock we have ever been in).  

Heading toward the Lock and Dam

Going into the Lock with the other boats.  Notice where the wall is in this picture - the boats are right at the top.

Going down...  water was dripping off of the walls AND it was starting to rain!

Doors opening (notice how far down we are from the top).

These are pictures looking back at the boats still coming out of the Lock.

We were in a skinny canal and a barge went by.

The second lock was the G.V. Sonny Montgomery Lock and Dam.  This one lowered us 30'.  The third lock was the John Rankin Lock and that also lowered us 30'

When this area / lake was created they had cut trees down and left the stumps.  Some of the stumps decided that they were still going to grow, so there are trees growing out of stumps in random places on the river.

Here is our home for the night.  We found out that they are having a Halloween party to night, and everyone is bringing something.  We always enjoy walking to the towns close to the marinas, but the marina said that there are "vicious dogs" roaming the street and they have actually bit some people.  Ah, no thanks.  We tried to get a courtesy car, but they were already being used.  The only thing we could find on the boat was chips, used salsa, and candy (kind of lame, but we don't have much space).  

As we debated what we should do, we walked around a bit.  The marina has an outside wedding venue and cabins for rent.  The kitchen was open, so we looked in the fridge and there was left-over potato salad in there (we laughed at the idea of bringing leftovers from the wedding to the party but decided against it).  There is a pond with a swimming float and a dock.  We walked a bit further and there was a tire swing on a huge tree.  We had to try it out!  It was really fun.  

We ended up bringing a bowl of candy to the party.  The marina purchased chicken and pizza, and everyone brought things like salad, cheesecake, meatballs, brownies, and much more.  A few of the people even wore costumes.

We only traveled 28 miles today and went through three locks.  A short day, which is nice because some of our days get long.  Kip LOVES sunsets, so we will end the blog today with a picture of the marina at dusk.