This morning we left the marina about 6:10 am and headed downstream on the Tombigbee River. At the Demopolis lock, we were taken as soon as we got there, and lowered 40 feet to the Coffeeville Lake Pool level. Our destination for the day was Moscow Landing, a well known fossil site that extends to the riverbank. Abby had wanted to go there ever since Glenda and I told her about it after our trip there in November of 2012.
About an hour south of the lock, Glenda spotted a large doe getting a drink from the river. We slowed the boat and watched her walk calmly up the bank until I yelled (too loudly) for Abby to get a picture. At that point she decided it was time leave, and scampered into the tree-line.
Just before we got to the US 80 bridge, Glenda yelled "eagle" and pointed just as a bald eagle landed in a tree on our left side. We made 3 wide circles in the boat trying to get a good picture, but he was mostly hidden behind the tree leaves. He finally tired of us being too close and he flew downstream past the bridge and out of sight! I did manage to get a slightly blurry shot of him in flight. We also saw a large hawk and several kites on the trip to the landing.
Once at the landing, we found a soft spot and nosed up to the bank. I tied the anchor rope to a tree on shore and Abby, Glenda and Daisy joined me. We walked for about 45 minutes and found lots of interesting fossilized tree branches as well as fresh tracks from deer, raccoon, and coyote. We had seen fossilized sea shells imbedded in rock at the waterline in a couple of places, but there was no way to secure the boat there, since the bank was solid rock.
After being lifted back up the 40 feet to Lake Demopolis again, we returned to the marina and drove into town for a BBQ and a trip to Walmart.
Abby says: today papa and GG woke me up a little before 6:00!! That's a little too early for me so I crawled in the V-berth and slept until we got to the demopolis lock and dam. Shortly after we went through the lock, we saw a deer (that I got a really good picture of), a bald eagle, a red-tailed hawk and a kite. Further down the Tombigbee river, we stopped and nosed up to a sand bank. There we picked up and brought with us some fossillized tree branches and quartz. When we got back, we went and ate at smoky joe's for dinner. After dinner we came back and swam in the pool again.
Daisy says: Today we got out of the boat and went for a walk. It was soooooo hot!!!!! And when we got back I couldn't go inside because my paws were muddy. But my momma sat with me so it wasn't so bad.
GG says:
We woke early this morning and got off for our adventure. We were hoping to make it to the fossil site before it got too hot but we didn't make it. It seems I never tire of being outside and observing God's creation. The heat is not really bad as long as we are moving but when we get back to the marina it gets intense. The air conditioned washroom/shower/ lounge is very nice. We have also enjoyed the pool area. But evening get stressful in the heat trying to get everything ready for bed.
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