Fall Colors along the Tennessee River

The word is out. Gary Kramer, contributing editor of Heartland Boating magazine got wind of the Color Cruise Festival, and came to our marina last October to do a story on the event. The result is "Glory of Autumn on Display," which appeared in the magazine's October issue. It touched on the history of the festival, the beautiful Tennessee River Gorge, and the boaters who cruised here for the party every year.

Tennessee River Gorge from atop Signal Mountain, early September

Fall colors along the river near our marina last weekend

We had the Color Cruise party last weekend. It was a tad smaller. The weather wasn't exactly boater friendly. Most boaters had cruised in the rain on Friday to get to our marina. Some of these die-hard boaters have been making the trip here for the last 15 years, no matter the weather, and Color Cruise Festival or not. That Friday evening, the rain stopped, but it got windy, and the temperature went down to the 40s. We huddled around the stove top fire (from Steve's homemade burner) to keep warm while eating our potluck dinner.

The next day, the sun came out and the afternoon got warmer. The marina had continued the tradition of the Color Cruise Festival with a bluegrass band and a handful of vendors. There was chatter about fried Oreo cookies. This is one cookie even the French crave. Now we have to fry it? Give me a break!

Thanks to Ronnie and Sharon, we were treated to a cruise on their 37-foot Sea Ray Killerbees. This year's fall color is prettier than years past. And this was the perfect weekend to see it.