The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Jim and Joan --
What a great adventure you folks are having and it's such fun to read your posts. Thanks for sharing. We sure don't have to say, have a great summer -- we know you will!!
 
Hi Bill and El,

Thanks for the kind words. We have been enjoying our experience here so far. I almost chuckled out loud as I fueled up the Lake Queen... the $$ part of the fuel pump was a blur, it was spinning so fast; all I had to write down was the gallons. :wink:

We have to look at the calendar each morning to know the date - there is no sense of weekdays, weekends, etc. The calendar said June 6 today. I looked outside and saw this...

SnowJune6E.jpg

The snow was gone yesterday. I am beginning to wonder if Mother Nature has a calendar???

Today is the first day I have to dress like a grown-up. I put on the uniform for the first time this morning, and the Blonde said, "Ohhhhh..." Apparently, she goes for a guy in a uniform. I may wear this later for... well, nevermind. 8)

UniformE.jpg

For those who asked if there is a "captain's hat" involved... yep. I'm not required to wear it; we have ballcap type staff hats, too.

Well, it's about time to head out for a paid day on the water. :D

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Mr. Howell, errrrr I mean Jim (but you do look like Mr. Howell in that photo - I guess that would make Joan - Ginger, or Mary Ann).

I'm enjoying the adventures of you two in Yellowstone. I hiked around a bit of that lake with the boy scouts about 7 or 8 years ago. Beautiful country. We had a great day or two. We hiked in by the river's entrance to the lake and camped nearby. There was a HUGE bull moose near our camp site who then spent most of the day grazing on the plants near the river. We fished the river and some feeder creeks and caught a couple of trout for dinner. Spent the better part of the day with half a dozen scouts just throwing rocks at sticks, playing in the water and watching sticks float downstream. Typical "boy stuff". Nice memories.

Have a great time out there this summer.
 
Jim I've never been to Yellow Stone and chances are I never will. Your post are allowing me to visit through your experiences. Thanks for posting. What a great adventure you and Joan are having I'm happy for you. I can't wait to see how your son-in-law fits this into his cartoons.
 
Jim
I believe the snow is over for the summer. The small low pressure is moving your way slowly and should be by shortly and then your weather will become normal for Wy. :D You look good in uniform. So did I when I was as young as you :roll: .
I know you will take advantage of your days off and when you do, please get some pictures to post of the amazing wildlife around there. Wolfs, Bison and such. Would love to see your great abilities with the lense post wildlife photos. :shock:
Take care.
 
Jim and Joan:

Keep the pictures and narrative coming. As has been noted so many times, there are many of living your adventures vicariously from offices and dens. Thanks so much for being kind enough to share.

Steve Frisch
 
Steve Grover":sjkep9h8 said:
Jim
I believe the snow is over for the summer....
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I thought the snow from this morning would go away...

I was wrong. Well, it kinda disappeared. Then, while out on an afternoon cruise, a snow squall moved in... the viz went down to about 200 feet and the snow was accumulating at over an inch an hour. I'm glad I had my portable chartplotter, 'cause this boat doesn't have much in the way of nav equipment (certainly not what I'm used to on Wild Blue). I was told, "You won't need that GPS; it's a lake. You can't get lost; and besides, the visibility almost never gets so low you can't see."

I wasn't the only one wrong. With an island and some shoals (that I couldn't see) between me and the marina, I was glad I had laid a track on my GPS. It took me around the island, north of the shoals, and right to the opening of the marina. The passengers didn't get to see anything for the last half of the trip. But, I got 'em back, didn't get disoriented, made a nice landing at the dock... and cancelled the last trip because of the snow and low visibility.

Here's what it looked like when we got home...

SnowE.jpg

A friend asked if the snow was getting me down? Nah, I don't have to shovel it; it doesn't affect MY business; it is pretty; and it was my choice to be here. He asked, "Are you going to have to shovel the boat out tomorrow?"

That's why we have dock hands. :xnaughty
 
Jim

My youngest son and family are heading up to camp in a tent at the Bridge Bay Campground for a week starting this Sunday. Called Him to look at your latest photo. He was still aliitle shocked even after all the time he has spent there. Really shouldn't have been being as he and I have been on the other end of the lake in a RIB in conditions similar to what you described today.

A snow squall with high wind caught Jo-Lee and I in the c-dory between Promontory Point and Frank Island in June 2005. I was trying to capture on video the high confused waves and near blizzard conditions resulting in me getting disoriented for a short period even with the gps. The slow speed and moving in what I thought was a circle with the delayed timing of my old gps contributed much to the disorientation. Jo-Lee wasn't pleased being she was still in the process of recovering from shoulder surgery and being tossed around wasn't helping the recovery.

You sure made a good choice in going by your own instincts and bringing along the portable gps today.
 
Hunkydory":81z2607x said:
Jim

My youngest son and family are heading up to camp in a tent at the Bridge Bay Campground for a week starting this Sunday. ...

You sure made a good choice in going by your own instincts and bringing along the portable gps today.
Click to expand...

Hi Jay,

When we drove home last night, Joan looked towards the Bridge Bay Campground and said, "I feel bad for those people in tents." I remember our younger days of tent camping, and don't recall that it was a bad time. The gear is better now. That certainly doesn't mean that I want to try it again, though. :wink:

This snow wasn't forecast. Folks think that I am just an island boy, but I lived in Wyoming and spent much of my life in the Black Hills. Our truck is equipped for winter survival, and we dress in layers. As I've, um... matured, I've found that I prefer fewer layers. 8) I knew what to expect when I accepted this gig.

I've often quoted Bob Bitchin (editor of Lats & Atts): "The difference between adventure and ordeal is attitude." While I don't want to live in snow country ever again, this is a bit of a novelty. I can't say that I've done much boating in the snow... well, not intentionally, anyway. This was freaky because of how fast it came on and how it hammered the viz. We were 100 yards off Stevenson Island, and the island disappeared in about 30 seconds. I've flown plenty of "hard" IFR ( including icing conditions) and I've boated in the fog. But I always had good instrumentation. This was my first shot at near white out and icing in a boat. The other captain onboard said he'd never seen the lake like this. Given the choice, I'd rather not see it like that again.

Remind me when we get together, and I'll fill you in on "the rest of the story." :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim

PS - Light snow through the night, probably another inch or two. Still coming down lightly. It was warm enough when the snow first started that there was some melting, now freezing, so it's "crunchy" and icy.
 
Damn! I should have taken a picture here at Birch Bay yesterday afternoon - BLUE SKY and BRIGHT SUNSHINE...no dolphins but sunshine nevertheless...enjoy the snow, Jim!
 
Captains Cat":3f0lb7nh said:
Jim, that's just great! Do you need a Chief Engineer? I'm qualified on Aircraft Carriers and Destroyers!

Charlie
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I'd love an experienced hand onboard! We have a 50 person liferaft on the stern that people ask, "Is that a depth charge?'

"Yes, we're blowing the lake trout out of the water. Redneck fishing technique." :mrgreen:

Maybe would could mount a helipad on top? That's gonna be hard to get under the bridge, though.
 
Yep... it snowed. I took out 6 scenic cruise tours today, and had good weather and visibility on 4. One was nearly a white-out for the last half. GPS is certainly a good thing! :wink:

Joan shot some photos...

Here's a look at the dock hands cleaning off the docks on the way to the Lake Queen...

DockHandsE.jpg

And a view over the docks, looking towards the bridge and the lake...

MarinaSnowE.jpg

And, bringing in the Lake Queen after my last run today...

LQSnowE.jpg

Yep, that's Captain Jim at the helm. We had some spectacular views today... seeing the mountains shrouded in clouds, The Lake Yellowstone Hotel surrounded with snow, bits of sunshine in between the snow showers. Nice folks onboard.

I got a private message from Bill and El, telling us that they are coming to Yellowstone for the month of August. Looking forward to seeing them again, and any other C-Brats who can make it this way.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Pat Anderson":1n890gx3 said:
Damn! I should have taken a picture here at Birch Bay yesterday afternoon - BLUE SKY and BRIGHT SUNSHINE...no dolphins but sunshine nevertheless...enjoy the snow, Jim!
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Well, turn-about is certainly fair play, Pat. :mrgreen: Glad to hear you had some sunshine there - and it isn't even July, yet! I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed the snow, but I can certainly deal with it, considering the circumstances and surroundings. I doubted that I would ever say this, but it is pretty... not bikinis on the beach, dolphins playing in the water kinda pretty... but, the boat has good heaters, and I have been entertaining myself with our passengers and the scenery.

Maybe when we get back to south Texas, I'll look into captaining a dolphin watch cruise... or maybe we'll just head out on Wild Blue. :D

Best wishes,
Jim
 
We don't have many of our rental boats in the water, yet. The dockhands don't have a lot to do. Here's how they spent their morning...


DockhandsE.sized.jpg

And a better view of their handiwork...

SnowmanE.jpg

June 8th... whoda thunk it?

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
A day off today. While I'm enjoying running the boat, after 8 straight days on, I was ready for a break.

The other captain gave me these photos that he shot a couple days ago. Here's Captain Jim at the helm...

AtHelmE.jpg

On another thread, there's been some discussion of Yellowstone weather. Here's a look at me docking in the snow. Notice the guy standing next to me with the squeegee - he's clearing the window so I can see to dock. With the cold and snow, the defrosters couldn't keep up.

DockingSnowE.jpg

And at the stern of the boat, here's a dockhand ready to tie off the boat. Check out the snow on the dock... that's how much snow fell in just an hour.

DockSnowE.jpg

When the other captain came on mid-afternoon yesterday, he said to me, "I felt bad for you, with all the weather you had to deal with the past few days."

"Bad enough that you wanted to swap with me?" I asked.

"Um... no, not that bad."

I felt the same way today when we went to the Lake Lodge and I looked at the whitecaps out on the lake.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
A fellow on a sailing forum where I participate lives near Yellowstone. He told me that June 10th is the "magic date"... after that time, we should be above freezing at night and the snow should be behind us... flowers would bloom... birds would sing... and all would be warm in this high elevation world.

Lies, more lies, and damn lies!

Here's a look out our window on Wednesday, June 11th...

MoreSnow1E.jpg

Everybody sing: "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow..."

It was clear and cold when we went to bed last night; I thought the snow might miss us. I am so silly.

Today is a day off for us; Joan made cinnamon rolls, and we're toasty in our RV with the heat turned up. It was 23º when I got up this morning, but the sun is out and it's already up to a balmy 28º at 8:00. I may just sit around and read this morning... now, where did I put that copy of "The Shining"? ;)

:xseek

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Boy was I wrong :!: The fronts are going over us through Wash. Oregon coming from the gulf of Alaska and dropping right in on you :cry: Tahoe is beautiful. Shorts and flip flops. Don'tcha love it :?: :roll:
 
Steve Grover":2hexya40 said:
Boy was I wrong :!: The fronts are going over us through Wash. Oregon coming from the gulf of Alaska and dropping right in on you :cry: Tahoe is beautiful. Shorts and flip flops. Don'tcha love it :?: :roll:
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With all the odd weather that is happening around the country, I'm glad to hear someone is getting some good stuff, Steve. I'm wearing shorts, too... it's just that I have my longjohns on under them, pants over them, and foul weather pants on over those! :wink: The only flip-flops are in my stomach when the viz goes down to nuthin'. I'm wearing tall boots and thick socks.

I would say, "Well, it's gotta get better," but I just know Mother Nature would put me in my place. :roll: We're taking it as it comes and trying to enjoy... the snowcapped peaks are beautiful... the snow piling up on my motorcycle kinda sucks. If/when it gets better, I'll send some photos of something besides snow; in the meantime, send some photos of that beautiful weather at Tahoe! :hot

Best wishes,
Jim

All the way up to 31º now, and the snow is letting up... I think I'll take the Blonde out for lunch. :D
 
UniformE.thumb.jpg


Ok this is my favorite pic of the bunch. I can't get the love boat theme out of my head now :cry

Oh and I can't help but wonder, in delight, if the amount of snow is proportional to the number of dolphin pictures posted this winter????
 
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