Madison to Turtle Creek, marina

Since we couldn't get pumped out yesterday, that was our quest today. Our first stop to get it done was just a half mile up river at the Madison Town dock. It has a pump out.  But, alas, we could not get it to work.

One of these days I'll teach her how
to use her bed.

We wanted to get all the way to Rising Sun, but they do not have a pump out. Moreover, between the kickin' current which remains a burden and the Markland Lock which has a broken chamber, that would make for a really long day. So we decided to stop at the Turtle Creek Marina, who's only real claim to fame is a shuttle that takes you to the nearby casino. We'd had a couple of great meal out lately so eating Impossible Burgers on the boat with my homemade steak fries was just dandy.

Markland Lock was a bit of an issue. We arrived wanting to go up just as they were loading in a tow heading down. We stood station for about 30 minutes, which is not the worst we've done even on this trip.

Upon leaving Madison we went to the town dock. You an see Russ getting out the gear but nothing is working. So, we jet off.

Getting into Turtle Creek was a little exciting. We were warned it was thin. But, boy howdy! Was it thin. At one point I read 1.5 feet beneath the keel. And the pool is 5 feet over normal levels. They have plans to dredge but said they did it just last year. Rains and floods all year long have silted it back up in no time. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is the new norm for them.

Here's something odd. In the last couple of places we met folks who live in Indiana (in these quaint towns) in the summer then snowbird to Florida for the winter. That's not the odd part. What's odd is a number of them go to Bradenton. Not Miami, not Tampa, not Jacksonville -- Bradenton. I think that's odd.

This video is longer. It shows from when we got the go to enter the lock (you can see the tow leaving) to just beyond the lock where we dock in Turtle Creek.

Total Lock Count: 19