The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

We visited Yellowstone 9 times and loved the drive from the Corn Palace to Wall Drug, the Badlands and Black Hills. We first visited Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore and Wind Cave in 1979 and 2002 going to Yellowstone and visiting CH again and Ruth Z drove up and parked in visitor's lot and entered to her home.

We find it an amazing work of art
 
B²":3u9j8t3p said:
We visited Yellowstone 9 times and loved the drive from the Corn Palace to Wall Drug, the Badlands and Black Hills. We first visited Crazy Horse, Mt Rushmore and Wind Cave in 1979 and 2002 going to Yellowstone and visiting CH again and Ruth Z drove up and parked in visitor's lot and entered to her home.

We find it an amazing work of art
Click to expand...

The first time I visited the Corn Palace, I was VERY disappointed to discover that it wasn't made from corn! :roll: Oh, sure, there was a corn mural... but there was a flea market going on inside it... somehow that didn't seem "palace-like." :wink:

The Badlands are bad! In a cool way. I can only imagine what the first explorers to come through there must have thought. It is a state law that when you first drive across South Dakota, you are required to stop at Wall Drug. Lots of interesting things to see and do in South Dakota.

Regarding water: while the Black HIlls doesn't have a lot of water to explore, the middle part of the state has what is called "South Dakota's Great Lakes." There are BIG lakes formed from the dams along the Missouri River. Lake Oahe is big enough that you can be out of sight of land. When driving across SD on I-90, you get a glimpse of the water at Chamberlain. You can follow the route of Lewis & Clark.

http://www.sdgreatlakes.org/

If this boat captain thing doesn't work out this summer, maybe I can get a job with the SD Department of Tourism? 8)

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
To us the Corn Palace meant we were a few hours away from a campsite with hot showers in the Badlands NP. We eat huge steaks the size of a dinner plate by the Sioux Falls Stockyards, I dont recall the name but always remember the steak had its own plate. Around Chamberlain we eat at a restaurant with a excellent breakfast and was close to a horse park b/c the lot was the packed with trucks and trailers and a large pasture to the NW for the horses
 
Jim

Monday Jo-Lee and I stopped by Colter Bay, Jackson Lake on our way to Yellowstone. It was the 17 of May and all of Jackson Lake was still ice covered except for a very small area where the Snake River enters the Lake. Today on the way back home noticed at least half of the ice was gone, so the rest should be by this weekend. Yellowstone Lake including Bridge Bay was still almost totally ice covered still.

By Colter Bay in dry dock on a trailer saw the boat "Teewinnot". Think this must be the boat you will be boarding to Captain later this month.

Jay
 
Hi Jay,

Thanks for the photo. Yes, that is one of the boats. The other is named Rendezvous (which underwent a complete re-fit this winter). They have twin Perkins 135 engines. 42' LOA, 38-40 passenger.

I was also interested to hear what the ice situation is. It'll be another 10 days or so before we head that way, so the water should be all liquid by then. Did anyone have a "pool" on the ice out day on Yellowstone this year? I think John still owes me a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper or something from last year's guess. :wink:

For those not familiar with the area, the name Teewinot comes from the name of the 6th highest peak in the Teton Range and is derived from the Shoshone word meaning "many pinnacles." Because of its eastern exposure, it is often mistaken for Grand Teton.

No, I'm not the interpreter on the boat, but I have been brushing up on local info. It's been nearly a month since I've seen any serious water... I'm getting anxious.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
We were at Crazy Horse last suumer and it's pretty much as Jim described. Actually, we compared pictures from five years ago and last year and, although we can see some progress, it's obviously a slow go.


Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
We got a call from the marina manager at our summer jobs; he asked if we could come any sooner. "Sure." So, tomorrow, we head west.

Hi-ho, hi-ho...

:wink:

Hey, a person can only take so much of this beautiful RV resort living, motorcycling through the Black Hills, and leisurely lunches out. 8)

We had supper with some old sailing friends last night. They'll be chartering a sailboat in the San Juans in a couple weeks, and they asked if we'd come by their house after supper to look over the charts and recommend "must do" places in the San Juans and Gulf Islands. Joan and I both got excited just reminiscing about it.

Keep those photo essay posts coming on the forum. Remember, I gave you sunsets and dolphins through the winter... I'd appreciate some "turn around." :D

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
JamesTXSD":mqyz4pqs said:
<stuff clipped>

Keep those photo essay posts coming on the forum. Remember, I gave you sunsets and dolphins through the winter... I'd appreciate some "turn around." :D

Best wishes,
Jim B.
Click to expand...

No problem Jim - here's a picture you took of some of them FD dolphins. (I'm always here to help out).
TXDolphins1e.jpg :wink
 
Roger, my healthy skinny friend, if I wanted re-runs, I could turn on the TV. :roll:

PS - Joan took that image of the dolphins with a little point and shoot. Good timing, great dolphin "show."
 
The Love Shack has landed. We don't fit in the employee campground, so we are in the "real" campground. Not a problem - we have 50 amp service, ran a cable WAY out to get satellite TV, and (as you can tell from this post) we have a wireless broadband signal... weak, but if it's always at least this good, I will be content. The campground manager is our next door neighbor, so if we need anything... There is room for the HitchHiker, motorcycle trailer, and the truck on our paved site. It's snug; anything would be after Hart Ranch.

I check in tomorrow. It sounds like it may be more hours than originally discussed.

It turned out to be a beautiful ride up, over, and down. No ugly wind! (Yesterday we had 40+ mph head or crosswind all across Wyoming!) Spectacular views of the Tetons on the way in! No precip, until just now (6:00 pm). If the signal holds up, I'll get some photos posted.

Little Izzy isn't sure about all this... LOTS of trees, no wide open grassy area. There are little critters (ground squirrels) running all around.

We had the opportunity to go down to the marina, meet the folks there, and check out the boats. Looks like a good situation.

44º here right now... I have a feeling this rain may turn a bit more solid before the night is over. :shock: The fireplace is running, Joan made us a great supper, and we're settling in.
 
jkidd":22nkhrxg said:
Hi Jim

So is the ice all off of the lake or our portions still frozen?
Click to expand...

The ice is off Jackson Lake. People are putting boats in slips and the scenic cruise trips start in a couple days. Early indications are showing it will be a busy season. The lake level is still rising, since the cool spring has slowed the melt/run off in the mountains.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I got as far as I could with the check-in process today... they were having some computer issues. So, I start tomorrow. It gave us a little time this afternoon to do some poking around.

At the Leeks Marina just north of Colter Bay, I saw this...

CDoryE.jpg

Yes, a C-Dory 22 on a mooring ball. My apologies for the mediocre image (camera phone, low light)... just wondering if any of the Brats here belong to this boat? At this distance, I couldn't see a name on the side.

As you can see, cold and cloudy today. Low ceiling and vis, occasional spit of rain. Springtime in the mountains.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
My first day on the job. I went on one cruise as an observer, a trip to the clinic to pee in a cup and blow in a breathalyzer, back to the boat, where I drove and one of the other captains was an observer, another cruise.

Here's a look at the cabin...

CabinE.jpg

And my "office" for the summer...

HelmE.jpg

Certainly, quite the view! The Tetons are magnificent. The boat is comfortable and stable... and a surprising number of passengers this early in the season.

Tomorrow - my first breakfast cruise.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Busy, Busy...

Nothing like jumping right into it. I have been checked out on both cruise boats and have been putting in some long hours. One of my favorite parts of the job is the breakfast cruise... not meals served on the boat, but taking the guests to an island where they are treated to an outstanding meal, prepared on-site. Here's the details...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2010/06/busy-busy.html

And a preview...

ViewE.jpg
The view from my "summer office" window.

GrilleE.jpg
One of the chefs preparing breakfast.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
So, is this what it's like living in the PNW?

RainE_001.jpg

That's the "view" of Mt. Moran, about 6,000' up, right off the lake surface. Yeah, you can see the bottom 100' or so. The rain has been pretty steady the last few days. This morning makes three days in a row that the breakfast cruise has been canceled. The day previous to that, guests ate in a slight sprinkle. After the meal, I gave them the option of hiking around the island a bit (in the rain) or heading back to the boat and spend more time cruising. Yep, cruising; and we did see a pair of bald eagles. Folks have been very understanding.

On the bright side, the precip has been liquid, not the white stuff. :wink:

I've only had one day off since we got here, but we should be settling into more of a routine soon. And some sunshine... if you can believe the weather weasels. 8)

Yesterday, a family bought tickets for the scenic cruise, with visibility of less than a mile and low ceiling. I did say to them, "You do know you won't see the mountain tops? In fact, you might not see the mountain bottoms."

The Dad said, "We'd just like to go for a nice boat ride, so we're OK with that."

"Well, let's go for a really nice boat ride," I told them. They did get to see some elk and eagles, too. And it was a lovely smooth ride.

Sunny wishes,
Jim B.
 
Back
Top