San Juan Islands June 2014

Yellowstone Park is BIG. Plan an hour and a half or more from the West Entrance just to get to the lake... may be considerably more than that depending on traffic. The marina is at Bridge Bay. The lake is about 120 square miles, some of which is for hand propelled craft only. Check at the Ranger Station at Bridge Bay for a park boat permit and particulars.

While working there and at Grand Teton National Park (just south of Yellowstone, and also has a great lake for boating - Jackson Lake), I often heard people say something about "doing the park" with only one day. If you spend a week there, you may begin to scratch the surface. A couple months there will give you some good familiarity. An afternoon there... you are not going to see much. 45 mph speed limit through most of the park (some slower than that).

Yellowstone has some amazing diversity, and much of that is away from Yellowstone Lake. One of America's true treasures.

And if you want to see something even more beautiful (IMHO), go south to Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park.

Jim
 
MMSI Numbers will show in the profile at the left of the post IF the members is willing to share it. Well maybe not. I thought they did sometimes. They are listed in the profile.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Thanks Jim & Harvey. There is so much beauty in our country, that I think it's hard to scratch the surface no matter how much time one spends on vacation. I've been to many of these places I ask about before, but some time ago, and not with boat. :-) The San Juans are going to be the high point of our vacation, but there is so much to see and enjoy along the way getting there and back, even if it's for a very short time while pulling over to spend a night. A week or two, little own one evening, anywhere in our national parks or country's treasures will never be enough time to see everything... Colby
 
Just a brief update while I sit here eating a Big Mac at a McDonalds with Wireless access. :-) No smart phone for me, so I'm pretty much "no com" as far as computer use goes, unless I run across wireless access. Did hit the road yesterday, but didn't get very far (Wisconsin Dells) before I blew a trailer tire. 90 minute delay while I bought some new tires. Got to Buffalo River State Park just out side of Fargo that first night. Hit some pretty heavy rain in Minnesota. The State Park is ok. But if anyone else ever uses it, stay out from under the trees. They make a mess!!! Sitting in Miles City MT now. Probably find somewhere around here to camp out for the night. Will try to get to Flathead lake tomorrow, but I'm finding 500 miles a day is barely doable, at the rate I travel. 400 a day would be more ideal, and considering I'll be hitting some real mountains tomorrow, that may be more in line..... I am only towing at 60mph, a very pleasant speed. Still planning on launching at Anacortes on the 17th, and heading over to Friday Harbor the next morning. I'll try to put some updates here now and then, when I have internet access. Gas has run anywhere from 3.39 to 3.62/gal. I think the cheapest was around Fargo. Highlander was doing well yesterday at 12-13 mpg. This morning it was headwinds out of Fargo for a ways, and that knocked me back to 8mpg. But as the day progressed, so did my mileage as the winds subsided.
 
Thanks to Jim and Marti Stow, I have internet tonight. :-) Stayed at a nice state park on Flathead Lake in Montana last night. Finley Point, small park, but with some nice campsites and boat slips. Lake was kind of rough today. Forgot to mention this in my last post, but I have now gone thru 3 invasive species inspections. First one was just after entering Montana. Second one was just before getting to Flathead, and last one was half way thru Idaho, just before Coeur D'Alene. All pretty straight forward for my boat...but I really wonder if they are going to keep the Zebra Mussels and other species out? The whole inspection thing reminds me of airport security. All looks good cosmetically, but will it all really keep the bad guys out? Flathead lake is very scenic. But personally I'm not sure it was worth the extra miles to drive off of the main interstate, just to check out more nice scenery. However, it was also rainy most of the day and as I started out above, pretty rough. Had a good time out with Jim and Marti tonight, and they gave me some more pointers on the San Juans.
 
its fun to read your updates, enjoy your trip! sorry about the blown tire, but it sounds like it wasn't too big of a set back for you.

yes, 500 miles a day is a lot. I'm not sure I could maintain that pace for very long either. at 60mph you're running pretty long days. it'll be nice to start cruising the sound. :beer
 
Only had to do 330 miles today. Much more likeable. At my brothers now in Graham. Will launch at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes Tuesday afternoon. If any C-brats in the area want to lead me across Rosario Strait and to Friday Harbor Wednesday morning, I'd be hapy to follow! :-) Otherwise, guess we'll see how well my planning pays off! :roll:
 
Don't sweat Rosario Strait. Unless the wind is against the tide, it is just another stretch of water. By the time you get to the Anacortes Ferry Landing (4 miles west of town), you can see across the strait. If it looks lumpy, take it slow. If it is smooth or light chop (more likely), you will be across it in 15 minutes, at speed. It is a beautiful trip - take the time to enjoy it.

Weather for Wednesday is supposed to be: partly cloudy, high of 65º, 0% chance of rain, wind south @ 6. An absolutely beautiful forecast!

SanJuans_zps28d8abcc.jpg

A quick routing - feel free to drive it straighter than I drew it. :wink:
 
Thanks. That red line looks pretty much like the purple line on my GPS route page! :-) Jim and Marti Stow gave me some pretty good info the other day also! I'm probably worried about nothing! But excited to get on the water. Wife will fly in to SEATAC tomorrow, and we'll be off on our San Juan Adventure!
 
colbysmith":1p2wynts said:
Thanks. That red line looks pretty much like the purple line on my GPS route page! :-) Jim and Marti Stow gave me some pretty good info the other day also! I'm probably worried about nothing! But excited to get on the water. Wife will fly in to SEATAC tomorrow, and we'll be off on our San Juan Adventure!
Click to expand...

I am always nervous in new water myself. my experience in the San Juans was fantastic though, have fun!! :beer
 
Glad to see you have made it to your jumping off point. It was great to meet you on your way through and we hope to see you again on your way back. As DuckDogTitus said, its fun to follow along on your adventure so be sure to give us some updates from the San Juans.

Jim and Marti
 
Crazy night back at home as severe storms hit the area. :(
But wife ways everything fine at our home, and she's now on her flight out here. A few more hours and we'll be launching at Cap Sante Marina. :)
 
Ok, doesn't take much to entertain me, but all I can say about watching the marina sling Midnight Flyer in the water is, COOL! ;-) Now if I could just upload the video for anyone else interested in seeing how they do it. (Ok, not that much different from any other hoisting operation...but first time I've ever had any of my boats hoisted!) I was concerned earlier about how they would get the sling under the stern as I have a bunk trailer without cutouts. The guy simply used a floor jack with about a 18" section of hard rubber under the boat's keel to jack it up high enough to get the sling placed. Pretty quiet today, so no wait to get the boat launched. New VHF radio with the AIS receiver in it works well in regards to showing AIS transmitting boats around me. IN fact, the information is also repeated on my Garmin GPSMAP 541S, and I had to turn the alarm feature off due to numerous boats transmitting here in the marina. (I'll turn the alarm back on when I get out of the marina...) Colby
 
Ok, need some nerd help. Had a hard time naming my new nested album, and in the process managed to rename the main album page. How do I change the base album page back to it's original name? When I click on the album actions under the main album, it does not have a link to rename or edit.
 
FYI for those unfamiliar with sling launching, it has its pros and cons.

For me, the major pro is that it keeps your trailer from the exposure of water immersion as experienced with launch ramps. However the major con to me is that you can only launch and retrieve within the operating business hours of the launching facility. (So don't arrive late in the evening expecting to be able to get your boat back on it's trailer). The other con is the cost differential of launch ramps vs. sling launching.
 
Dustin, it did go very fast. Took me longer to prep the boat. (Unhook bow strap, tie downs, raise motor and put in plug.) The video was about 2 mins long. It only took another minute or two for him to get the sling positioned! Dave, it was worth the cost to me. $87 for the sling ($47 round trip) and parking. (1 week @ $30). Rest tax. :-( Plenty of parking room. Guess I'm still early for the season. Colby
 
colbysmith said:
Ok, need some nerd help. Had a hard time naming my new nested album, and in the process managed to rename the main album page. How do I change the base album page back to it's original name? When I click on the album actions under the main album, it does not have a link to rename or edit.
Click to expand...

Ignore this. DaNag got me going again...
 
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