Day 20 - Demopolis to Bobbys Fish Camp (part 2)

Now that I'm back in civilization I'll add a few more pics covering our journey for Day 20.

The Demopolis Yacht Basin.  A pretty mice marina with lots of big boats hidden away in another harbor. I heard these boats come up from the gulf during hurricane season to get a break on their insurance rates. The Blue Fin is sitting down there in the cheap section. 

Hey, look here!  A picture of a barge tow that I promised I wouldn't take. This big boy was being repaired at the gas dock where I fueled up the Blue Fin. The clutch went out on the left engine and it was stuck in gear. The cap said they handle real bad when that happens. I asked him how long it takes to be trained to handle one of these and it's about 4 years. You must start working at the lowest level and work your way up through ranks so when you're the cap you've experienced every job. Pay at the top level is well into 6 figures but the schedule isn't for everyone with 20 days on and 10 days off as typical.

This is the dash board of the courtesy car at Demopolis Yacht Basin. The courtesy car is available for use by anyone paying to stay at the marina and it can be had on a first come basis.  This poor car was so neglected that the only lights on the dash were warning lights. I felt sorry for it and thought of that TV commercial where they try to get you to donate to help unloved and abused dogs. Mary and I used it to go to Walmart to buy eight bottles of HEET to add to the water laden gas in the Blue Fin. We made it OK and it was fun to drive again as it was 20 days since I was behind the wheel.

This is just downstream of the lock and dam at Demopolis with the morning fog lifting. After we got underway we immediately came upon this dam and were delighted to see the lock gate opened and waiting. I didn't tell Mary this dam is a complete spill-over dam and from upstream you see nothing but smooth water and the horizon beyond. The only clue that the river ends is a sign and a few buoys that if approached closely enough to read would be too late. 

As the morning wore on the skies cleared up and the temps went up quickly to near 90 degrees. The forecast was for afternoon thunderstorms but you'd never know it from this pic.

We came upon these two kayaker dudes paddling along at a nice clip. I slowed and asked them where they're going and where they came from. Virginia is where they started and the Gulf is their goal. They didn't take the water or pop we offered them and said they planned to get 25 miles further downstream today. They should be them in the gulf by this coming weekend.

The ride was long and this is the first time in our travels where Mary was driving and I almost nodded off. After 5 hours of constant motion we arrived at the welcome sight of Bobbys Fish Camp. This is the only fuel stop that sits smack dab in the middle of the 220 mile stretch from Demopolis to Mobile. Nobody passes here without stopping to put on fuel. I'm sure there are many times when the value of the boats at the dock exceed by a considerable amount the value of the entire place.

The welcome sign at Bobbys as you come off the dock. Our little cottage was the one on the left. I believe they might have the longest gas hose in the world. The attendant up the hill at the office resets the pump and you operate the nozzle down on the dock about 500 feet away. I didn't realize this and just grabbed the nozzle and pumped away. After filling the 6 gallon tank the fuel sputtered out and it became apparent the pump up above was not even on and I had just drained the line. My first thought was "free gas" but since I still needed to fill the main tank I in fact had to pay to re-fill the long gas line I had just emptied. To be fair to Bobbys the gas line to the docks is an industrial grade buried line that has good integrity but the flow dynamics are as I stated. 

Inside the store/restaurant at Bobbys Fish Camp.

The nice blue skies a few pics up turned to this in a couple of hours. The Blue Fin tied up at the dock right behind the trees.