Great Loop: Big Bayou Canot

Mike out Exploring

November 18th, 2021

Towboat captains use landmarks to identify their position on the river.  Sometimes they make sense and correspond with features on your charts.  Then sometimes they don't, so you have to use your imagination.  Here is one of those features where the reference name differs from that noted on the charts.

The "Dolly Parton Bridge"

I would like to share that the north entrance to Big Bayou Canot  is to starboard, as you head downriver, and just beyond the Dolly Parton Bridge.

Big Bayou Canot  was our final anchorage on the Black Warrior River.  The shores were lined with cypress trees streaming long strands of Spanish Moss.  The north opening was deep and wide.  We anchored a quarter mile short of an island with some old fishing cabins.  The water was moving faster than expected, but we were under tidal influence from Mobile Bay, about 20 miles south.  To contend with the current, we deployed both a bow and stern anchor.  

The sounds were those of the bayou, cicadas, birds, frogs and wind in the trees. As the sun moves lower in the sky and the shadows lengthen it all starts to take on a spooky feel.  With an hour till sunset, we launched the dinghy to do some exploring.  Being careful to keep track our our turns, we headed out to see what we could see.  A large blue heron startled us when our presence caused it to take to flight with much loud squawking.  In the sun, the temperatures were pleasant.  In the shade, with the sun approaching the horizon, the temperatures were already dropping.  We watched the time carefully to insure our return to Amy Marie would be prior to sunset.

Cypress Trees

Sunrise with Full Moon

At this point we were close enough to Mobile Bay and the Gulf we could smell the ocean.  It was a clean crisp smell and we looked forward to returning to salt water.