A week in now and we've "locked thru" 4 of the TVA's dams (Watts Bar, Chicamauga, Nickajack, Guntersville) on the Tennessee River, each time dropping 40 - 60 feet. Locking thru requires various communication and safety protocols as defined and dictated by our federal government, and with only 2 of us on-board, can encourage anxiety as the boat is piloted into the lock and secured to the bollard "pin" before the water level is raised or lowered. We've gone from 740 feet above sea level at Watts Bar to 558 feet on Wheeler Reservoir and have many more locks to get thru before we get to sea level at Mobile, life is good!
Passage thru the locks is free and provided as a service to support commercial and recreational marine traffic. Most of these locks were built in the 1950-60's to allow barge traffic and we've encountered some big towboats already. Passing or crossing in front of a big towboat barge is also an experience that can raise your blood pressure..........................
Notice the bow wave height compared to what's behind the barges. Meeting and/or passing a tow can involve crossing over an interesting wake!