Tag: Cumberland River

Music City U.S.A.

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about Paducah Kentucky, Grand Rivers Kentucky (the actual port-of-call), Kentucky Lake (part of the lower Tennessee River), Kentucky Dam (which creates the artificial lake), Land Between The Lakes, Barkley Canal (which connects the two lakes / rivers), and Lake Barkley (part of the lower Cumberland River).

Continuing upstream for 158 miles on the Cumberland river on my upcoming American Cruise Lines paddlewheeler ship cruise – it’s the final port-of-call – Nashville AKA “Music City U.S.A.” AKA “NashVegas” !

I’ve been to Nashville once before in my life, and that was back in August 1992 for a few hours. (I wrote about that in a recent #TravelThursday). It took me 34 years to get back there.

Actually – for the record – I should mention an incident that occurred on Saturday November 18TH 2017. I took I-65 northward from Montgomery Alabama to south of Louisville Kentucky (Brooks) on that day. In Nashville I was in the wrong lane, and I was forced to exit off of I-65. I ended up driving right through downtown Nashville in what appeared to be an entertainment district with lots of restaurants, bars, and rowdy college kids. (It was a college football day.) I eventually found I-65 further up the road, and I continued my trek northward.

We’ll actually be docked on the downtown riverfront for the final two nights of the cruise. On our full day (after the first night) in Nashville I’ll be on a shore excursion exploring the historic Ryman Auditorium. It was built from 1885 to 1892, and it opened in 1892. It was the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, and from 1963 to 1974 it was officially known as the Grand Ole Opry House. I’m looking forward to touring “The Mother Church Of Country Music”. (It was built as a tabernacle by Riverboat Captain Tom Ryman. Its original name – the “Union Gospel Tabernacle”.)

Finally – here’s some Breaking News for you on this publish date of Thursday October 08TH 2026. Yesterday evening I returned home from Nashville (where I was since we arrived on Monday afternoon). My inaugural American Cruise Lines paddlewheeler ship cruise is now in the books. I’m looking forward to sharing as much as I can remember about my 9-day / 8-night experience. I took lots of notes in real-time. I’ll probably be reenacting this cruise in writing through the end of the year, so get ready for that. I’ll get started from the very beginning – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Barkley Canal, Catfish, Cruise, Cumberland River, Grand Rivers, Kentucky, Kentucky Dam, Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, Nashville, Ohio River, Paducah, Savannah, Tennessee, Tennessee River

Animals Blogging Geography History Military Nature Photography Travel

Village Between The Lakes

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about the other Savannah – the one on the Tennessee River known as the “Catfish Capital Of The World”.

Continuing downstream on the river on my upcoming American Cruise Lines paddlewheeler ship cruise – it’s Grand Rivers Kentucky down in the southwestern corner of the state. It’s about 167 miles downstream from Savannah, and the journey is scheduled to take about 17½ hours, for an average speed of about 9½ MPH. There is no elevation drop between Savannah and Grand Rivers, as the entire journey is actually on Kentucky Lake – created by Kentucky Dam at Grand Rivers. At 160,309 acres it is the largest artificial lake by surface area in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River.

I’ll be part of a 3-hour-plus shore excursion that afternoon in Land Between The Lakes – the federally-protected national recreation area between Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) and Lake Barkley (Cumberland River). Our first stop will be the Woodlands Nature Station. Our next stop will be the Elk & Bison Prairie.

Paducah Kentucky (“Quilt City U.S.A.”) is another option on this day while docked in Grand Rivers. It’s about a 30-minute luxury coach ride into downtown, and then you’re on your own to do your own thing there for up to 3 hours before the coach returns back to the ship.

That night back on the cruise ship we will officially transfer over from the Tennessee River downstream to the Cumberland River upstream. (Both rivers flow into the Ohio River.) The 1.75-mile Barkley Canal essentially acts as a short-cut between the two rivers near their closest approach to allow vessels to bypass the Ohio River some 22½ (Tennessee) to 30½ (Cumberland) miles downstream. The Barkley Canal was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) from the late-1950s through the mid-1960s. It was completed and filled in 1966. The water depth runs from 11 to 15 feet depending on rainfall.

Once on Lake Barkley our 22-hour journey upstream on the Cumberland River begins. The river narrows into a traditional river and winds its way southeastward towards downtown Nashville, and that’s where I’ll be – next – #TravelThursday. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Barkley Canal, Catfish, Cruise, Cumberland River, Grand Rivers, Kentucky, Kentucky Dam, Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, Nashville, Ohio River, Paducah, Savannah, Tennessee, Tennessee River

Blogging Geography Travel

The Bluegrass State

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date August 27, 2026

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I’m looking forward to my upcoming cruise on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. The two rivers actually connect via the manmade 1.75-mile Barkley Canal in southwestern Kentucky. It was built by the U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers, and opened in 1966. Both rivers flow northward into the Ohio River about 25 to 30 miles north of the canal.

9 weeks ago in late-June I wrote about Kentucky in the build-up to my originally-scheduled cruise via American Cruise Lines. That cruise was unfortunately cancelled, and now I’m rebooked on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers cruise. Kentucky is the only common denominator between the two cruises. My originally-scheduled cruise would have started in Louisville and sailed upstream along the Ohio River to Pittsburgh.

My new cruise spends much of a day in Kentucky – sailing down the Tennessee (towards the Ohio), docking alongside Grand Rivers for about 8½ hours, traversing the Barkley Canal, and then sailing up the Cumberland (away from the Ohio) towards Nashville. I’ll write about the Grand Rivers and Nashville ports-of-call in a few weeks.

Incidentally – I’ve already booked my next cruise after that for the Summer of 2027, and it’s the same Ohio River cruise that I was supposed to be on this past July, but on a different ship. (American Cruise Lines runs 28 small ships with an active order of 10 new ships to be delivered through 2028.)

An extra day and night has been added to the Ohio River cruise itinerary. It starts in Louisville. I may actually opt to fly in a day early so that I can do some sightseeing in downtown Louisville for a full day prior to the cruise. There are a few museums that I’d like to check out including the Frazier Kentucky History Museum and the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. Both are about a 15-minute walk from the hotel that the cruise line uses.

Louisville – “Derby City” – is by far Kentucky’s largest city with a population of almost 650,000. It’s located in Kentucky’s most populous county – Jefferson – where about 800,000 residents call home. Over 1.6 million residents live in the Louisville metropolitan area including adjacent counties in southern Indiana.

Next #SundayScripture – I’m visiting Homestead Florida. Check it out here at revchrismday.com.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about Chattanooga Tennessee. Let’s keep traveling together.

Tags Barkley Canal, Chattanooga, Cruise, Cumberland River, Grand Rivers, Kentucky, Louisville, Nashville, Ohio River, Tennessee River

1990s Blogging Driving Geography Nature Travel Weather

The Volunteer State

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. My first trip into Tennessee occurred with my little brother exactly 34 years ago in early-August 1992. I picked him up at the conclusion of Advanced Space Academy at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama. The next morning (Saturday) we ventured on a fun road-trip northward along I-65 into Tennessee – starting with Nashville. Neither one of us were country music fans, but it was still fun to walk around Music City U.S.A. – even if it was only for a few hours.

From there we drove eastward along I-40 to Knoxville where we spent the night. The next morning (Sunday) we checked out the main tourist district of downtown Gatlinburg – not knowing much of anything about it. We saw the aftermath of the terrible downtown electrical fire that consumed much of an entire city block on the night of July 14TH 1992. The area still smelled like smoke some 3 weeks later.

The high-point of the road-trip (literally) was driving from Gatlinburg into Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S. 441 (Newfound Gap Road). We stopped at Newfound Gap Overlook which straddles the Tennessee / North Carolina state line at an elevation of 5,046 feet. From there we drove the 7-mile road up to Clingmans Dome (which also runs on both sides of the state lines, but mostly the North Carolina side). Once there we parked in the parking lot, and then we walked the steep (12%-grade) half-mile paved trail up to the top of the observation tower. (That was a tough walk going up – much easier coming down.)

The 45-foot concrete tower – built in 1959 – stands at the summit of Clingmans Dome – the highest point in Tennessee (but not North Carolina) at 6,643 feet. The tower actually stands just across the border in North Carolina. The summit itself is the third-tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River, and it’s the highest point along the Appalachian Trail.

The views can be spectacular from the tower (and even from the parking lot 330 feet lower than the tower) on sunny and clear days. I remember it to be very cool up there on that early August morning – in the low-to-mid-50s – about 25 to 30 degrees cooler than it was in Gatlinburg Tennessee and Cherokee North Carolina at both park ends of U.S. 441. Of course on many days you may not see much of anything – because you’re in the clouds. You’re on top of old Smoky.

Here’s a webcam from high atop Clingmans Dome – now named Kuwohi. (It was officially renamed to its ancestral Cherokee name on September 18TH 2024. Kuwohi means “mulberry place”.)

I hope to make it back to Gatlinburg – and Great Smoky Mountains National Park – and Newfound Gap Overlook – and Kuwohi – sometime on a future summertime road-trip – maybe in conjunction with a river cruise.

Subsequent trips to Tennessee were less impressive, as they were mostly Interstate drive-throughs to and from the Cincinnati Ohio area where my brother and his family lived for 6 years from 2013 to 2019.

I’ll soon be returning to Tennessee for my most extensive trip ever, as I fly to Chattanooga, embark an American Cruise Lines ship, and take a week-long journey along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers into northern Alabama, southwestern Kentucky, and then back into Tennessee ending in – Music City U.S.A.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll look back at past visits to “The Yellowhammer State” – the state where I was born – Alabama. Let’s keep traveling together.