The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...
- Thread starter JamesTXSD
- Start date
B²":38aaurob said:
Not familiar with the Mangy Moose bar in Moose (Dornan's gift shop/bar/restaurant is there)... but I know the Mangy Moose at Teton Village at the base of the ski area is open.
What do I look like - the Visitor Information Center???
One of these days when the weather is good on my day off, I'll take my motorcycle all around the area. So far, I've seen the lake from the helm of the boat (a LOT) and the road to and from Jackson from the windshield of the truck. 8)
A slightly fuzzy shot of the Fierro family (maybe I was shaking from the cold or maybe the snowflakes faked out the camera?) this morning just outside the marina office...
It was a very chilly windy day here today - hoping they have found a good place to anchor out of the wind and waves. The wind has died down tonight, but it is supposed to get down to around 30º. :xseek
It was a very chilly windy day here today - hoping they have found a good place to anchor out of the wind and waves. The wind has died down tonight, but it is supposed to get down to around 30º. :xseek
The Wilson Sleek cell phone booster/cradle...
We are in the Tetons this summer, and the cell/wireless broadband signal is pretty dismal. We have been able to call out if we hold the phone just right, use it on speakerphone so we don't move it, stand on one foot, and swing a dead chicken over my head. OK, I'm kidding about the chicken thing, but it ain't good! :wink: My Mifi card has been better than the phone, but frustratingly slow.
I ordered a Wilson Sleek this week to see if there would be any improvement. The Sleek is a combination booster and cradle. It comes with a mini antenna and 12v/USB power source. It arrived today, and I have been able to test it out.
We be connected again!! :thup :thup
Previously, I had about a half of a wussy bar and speeds about equal to dial up. Connected to the Sleek, I have 3 to 4 bars and around 400k up and download. Not exactly blazing speed, but after the last couple weeks, it is wonderful. A definite improvement! Same with the phone. We are able to make calls with a bluetooth headset and not say, "Can you hear me, now?" :wink:
The antenna seems to be happier connected to a decent ground plane... it's designed to be used on the roof of a metal car or truck. I stuck the little (and it's really little) antenna to a cookie sheet and moved it around the coach to find the best signal strength. We're still experimenting, but this seems to work pretty well. I figure the antenna needs at least a square foot of metal for decent reception.
So, initially, two thumbs up. The Mifi no longer goes into terminal sleep when dormant and web pages load MUCH faster. Instead of using the 12v adapter, I plugged the USB connection into the laptop. The instructions say to keep the cradle at least three feet from the antenna, and there is enough cable to do that. For fringe areas in the HitchHiker or the boat, I think this is going to be a good solution to improved wireless broadband. So there's no confusion, this has nothing to do with campground/marina wifi - it's a booster for your cell phone or Mifi card.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
We are in the Tetons this summer, and the cell/wireless broadband signal is pretty dismal. We have been able to call out if we hold the phone just right, use it on speakerphone so we don't move it, stand on one foot, and swing a dead chicken over my head. OK, I'm kidding about the chicken thing, but it ain't good! :wink: My Mifi card has been better than the phone, but frustratingly slow.
I ordered a Wilson Sleek this week to see if there would be any improvement. The Sleek is a combination booster and cradle. It comes with a mini antenna and 12v/USB power source. It arrived today, and I have been able to test it out.
We be connected again!! :thup :thup
Previously, I had about a half of a wussy bar and speeds about equal to dial up. Connected to the Sleek, I have 3 to 4 bars and around 400k up and download. Not exactly blazing speed, but after the last couple weeks, it is wonderful. A definite improvement! Same with the phone. We are able to make calls with a bluetooth headset and not say, "Can you hear me, now?" :wink:
The antenna seems to be happier connected to a decent ground plane... it's designed to be used on the roof of a metal car or truck. I stuck the little (and it's really little) antenna to a cookie sheet and moved it around the coach to find the best signal strength. We're still experimenting, but this seems to work pretty well. I figure the antenna needs at least a square foot of metal for decent reception.
So, initially, two thumbs up. The Mifi no longer goes into terminal sleep when dormant and web pages load MUCH faster. Instead of using the 12v adapter, I plugged the USB connection into the laptop. The instructions say to keep the cradle at least three feet from the antenna, and there is enough cable to do that. For fringe areas in the HitchHiker or the boat, I think this is going to be a good solution to improved wireless broadband. So there's no confusion, this has nothing to do with campground/marina wifi - it's a booster for your cell phone or Mifi card.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Doryman":7s2wxbg2 said:
Hi Warren,
A search came up with the same as another Brat recommended:
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scripts/pr ... 6&REFID=FR
I paid for rush handling, but they were apparently freaked out by our unorthodox shipping address here in Grand Teton National Park. It took them a couple days to get it out. Their Customer Service folks didn't have a clue what was going on. But, the on-line order thing with them worked just fine as long as people weren't involved. :wink: The price was $79.39, with insurance and rush handling, it came in under $100. If it had been available locally, I would have bought it in Jackson.
My bluetooth earpiece died, so I picked up another at Staples this week, so we are good to go with cell and wireless broadband. I may even post a photo or two, just because I can. 8)
Best wishes,
Jim
We had a situation on the docks today where the welds on a dock winch broke. Nothing dangerous, but it is part of the system that keeps the docks in place, so it had to be addressed. It was my day as "second", so I went to work replacing and repairing. I mentioned to one of my first mates today that people treat you different depending on how you're dressed... I was in coveralls and greasy. I still say "Hi" to everyone I pass, but the reaction is different than when you're dressed in a white captain's shirt with epaulets. :wink:
At the courtesy dock by the ramp, I saw some familiar faces... Bill, El, and family. I walked down to that dock and said, "Hey you people! If you aren't going to buy something, you need to get your boat off this dock!" It may be the first time I've seen Bill speechless... until El said, "Oh, Jim, we didn't recognize you in that get-up!" We visited for a bit; sounds like they've been having fun here, and they were on their way to Signal Mountain Lodge for some of that pulled pork that I had recommended (and Texans know BBQ). 
The timing didn't work for us to spend a lot of time together, but it was nice to see our friends again.
Back to the docks, it took all day, but the busted dock winch is whole again. I told the assistant manager of the marina to not tell Joan that I was doing fix-it projects... sure wouldn't want her to expect that around the house. 8)
Tomorrow I am "first on" again (white shirt day), so it will be boat driving all day... I can use the rest. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim B.
At the courtesy dock by the ramp, I saw some familiar faces... Bill, El, and family. I walked down to that dock and said, "Hey you people! If you aren't going to buy something, you need to get your boat off this dock!" It may be the first time I've seen Bill speechless... until El said, "Oh, Jim, we didn't recognize you in that get-up!"
We visited for a bit; sounds like they've been having fun here, and they were on their way to Signal Mountain Lodge for some of that pulled pork that I had recommended (and Texans know BBQ). The timing didn't work for us to spend a lot of time together, but it was nice to see our friends again.Back to the docks, it took all day, but the busted dock winch is whole again. I told the assistant manager of the marina to not tell Joan that I was doing fix-it projects... sure wouldn't want her to expect that around the house. 8)
Tomorrow I am "first on" again (white shirt day), so it will be boat driving all day... I can use the rest. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Happy Father's Day. For only about the 4th time in the past 38 years, I didn't get to see my little girl on Father's Day. But, I did get to talk to her twice. Once when we were out on Elk Island for the breakfast cruise (we get cell coverage there), and the second time after I got off work and got back to the HitchHiker where our Wilson Sleek did its job getting a good phone signal.
Lots of cheerful folks on the cruise boat today. The weather was beautiful right up until the last 20 minutes on the sunset cruise... and the the wind blew like stink. Waves on the stern made for some sloppy steering and a LOT of input from the helm. I described it as: having to do push-ups for 20 minutes straight... and the end of a long day. It was nice to come home and be adored by my wife and kitty in person and my little girl (only 38 years old) long distance.
I did see Bill and El from a distance out on the lake today (even from a distance, C-Dorys are very distinctive) and spoke with them on the VHF. Sounds like they have been having a good time here.
Hope your day was eventful in a fun kinda way.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Lots of cheerful folks on the cruise boat today. The weather was beautiful right up until the last 20 minutes on the sunset cruise... and the the wind blew like stink. Waves on the stern made for some sloppy steering and a LOT of input from the helm. I described it as: having to do push-ups for 20 minutes straight... and the end of a long day. It was nice to come home and be adored by my wife and kitty in person and my little girl (only 38 years old) long distance.
I did see Bill and El from a distance out on the lake today (even from a distance, C-Dorys are very distinctive) and spoke with them on the VHF. Sounds like they have been having a good time here.
Hope your day was eventful in a fun kinda way.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Today was supposed to be "short" day for me... didn't work out that way. Not a problem; it just means that we were very busy. I wound up driving 4 cruises today, including the breakfast cruise and the dinner cruise. We had a lot of very nice guests onboard and the weather was absolutely beautiful - a pretty fine combination.
I took a moment to take in the silhouetted Tetons during the dinner cruise...
Steak and trout, all the fixin's, blueberry cobble for dessert, and this for a view. Yes, they pay me to eat supper. ;-) I enjoy visiting with our guests. The chefs do a great job. It's a lot of work, but a job that I truly enjoy. The people I work with are friendly and supportive. And the best part of my day today: coming back to the dock after the dinner cruise, my Honey was there to grab a dock line for us. Nice way to end the day.
Not C-Dory related, but certainly about boats... and driving boats. Hope you don't mind the occasional "work" post. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim B.
I took a moment to take in the silhouetted Tetons during the dinner cruise...
Steak and trout, all the fixin's, blueberry cobble for dessert, and this for a view. Yes, they pay me to eat supper. ;-) I enjoy visiting with our guests. The chefs do a great job. It's a lot of work, but a job that I truly enjoy. The people I work with are friendly and supportive. And the best part of my day today: coming back to the dock after the dinner cruise, my Honey was there to grab a dock line for us. Nice way to end the day.
Not C-Dory related, but certainly about boats... and driving boats. Hope you don't mind the occasional "work" post. :wink:
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Captains Cat
New member
Jim, anything YOU do is C-Dory related. I think I can speak for many if not all of us, we :love your posts and pictures. Sounds like this summer is a blast for you and the Blonde!
Charlie
Charlie
Captains Cat":2kgih5rb said:
Thanks for the kind words, Charlie. Even though they are JOBS, Joan and I are truly enjoying this experience. My "commute" to work is truly breathtaking; the vast majority of guests are awestruck at the sheer beauty of the cruise.
For those who dream of retiring and saying "take this job and shove it :wink: ", it may be hard to understand that something we want as a seasonal experience is another job. Joan loves what she does - she says she gets to help people have fun on their vacation. She sells cruise tickets, books fishing guide trips, sells fishing licenses, books canoe and kayaks... people come to her and ask, "What should we do here?" and she guides them to a fun experience.
I certainly miss being on Wild Blue, but this is very different. To spend an entire season here on my boat... well, I know I would get very itchy feet. This is more about sharing a unique boating experience with guests... and I get the best seat in the house. I know how my first mate and I approach our jobs will make a real difference in the experience the guests get. I had one young man (first mate) who was a little tired and cranky yesterday before one of our cruises and I told him, "Leave it on the dock. There are NO bad days on this boat." He did his best narration ever that trip. I see the pride these young people take in their job... and I help them make good tips.
I'm on the water or around the docks all day. The air is crisp, the views are some of the prettiest in this country. The guests who come along on our boats are looking for something besides the "view out the windshield." I get support and encouragement from the marina management and I'm able to freely give my input to make the operation better. It can be hard work and long hours, but it is a good experience.
I don't want to bore the good folks here on this forum with "Look what we did today," but if not for our C-Dory experience, I really don't think we'd be doing this. The boat and water are in our blood.
Best wishes,
Jim
Best wishes,
Jim
A day off...
What a spectacular day - sunny, warm (that's relative, but for this elevation it was mighty nice), a great motorcycle ride, pizza, and a leisurely walk to the lake.
Here's the details: http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2010/06/day-off.html
And a preview...
Best wishes,
Jim B.
What a spectacular day - sunny, warm (that's relative, but for this elevation it was mighty nice), a great motorcycle ride, pizza, and a leisurely walk to the lake.
Here's the details: http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2010/06/day-off.html
And a preview...
Best wishes,
Jim B.
The Wilson Sleek is doing all we hoped for. Both phone and Mifi signals are very functional.
One other interesting tidbit: if I put my Droid on top of the cradle with the Mifi IN the cradle, it gets 3G and 4 bars for the phone, too! :thup You can use a bluetooth earpiece with the phone AND be on the computer at the same time. I gotta try that while driving the truck... while eating chili cheese fries and drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper. :shock: Yeah, I'm kidding. I did download an app for the Droid while uploading some photos on the laptop. 8)
We've had coverage with Verizon almost everywhere we go... this may help with that "almost" part.
One other interesting tidbit: if I put my Droid on top of the cradle with the Mifi IN the cradle, it gets 3G and 4 bars for the phone, too! :thup You can use a bluetooth earpiece with the phone AND be on the computer at the same time. I gotta try that while driving the truck... while eating chili cheese fries and drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper. :shock:
Yeah, I'm kidding. I did download an app for the Droid while uploading some photos on the laptop. 8) We've had coverage with Verizon almost everywhere we go... this may help with that "almost" part.
Levitation
New member
Of course we know you are joking... No one in their right mind would drink DIET Dr. Pepper while eating chili cheese fries...
:huh:
:huh:
Bear Spray...
We carry a canister of bear spray on both cruise boats. It's mostly for demonstration purposes, but we do the meal cruises on Elk Island and there is the possibility of bear activity there. We call it "Bear MACE" so people know it is a completely different thing from "bug spray." Still, every year someone will spray it on their children, thinking it is bear repellent. It is not. You use it for self defense if you have a close encounter with a bear.
The active ingredient in the bear mace is about 10 times more potent than the mace used on human attackers. It is nasty stuff.
Today, my young first mate picked up the bear mace that we keep on the boat, got a shocked look on his face, then stuck his hand towards my face and said, "I think this stuff is leaking!"
It took about a nano-second before I got the first whiff... my eyes and throat started burning - I could see that my first mate was in pain. I told him to pull the plastic bag out of the garbage and quick double wrap the container. I sent him to the aft deck on the boat to flush his eyes out with water... of course, he had touched his hand to his face. I explained the passengers that we had a "situation" and asked them to open all the windows and for those close by where my first mate had been to move towards the back of the boat.
None of the passengers even got a hint of that stuff since we got it double bagged ASAP. As soon as we got back to the dock, I had one of the dock hands do the first mate's job of assisting the passengers down the steps and sent my first mate inside to flush out his eyes and get his hands washed and something on them to take out the sting. With the passengers off the boat, I went in to flush eyes and scrub up good... and I hadn't touched the stuff.
Neither of us is the worse for wear, but he will have an interesting story to tell, being able to speak personally about how nasty that stuff is.
Other than that, it was an absolutely beautiful day here in the Tetons... brisk in the morning for the breakfast cruise, but with the clear blue sky and abundant sunshine, it warmed up nicely. Mid-70s... short sleeves. Being maced not included, it was a lovely day. :roll:
Best wishes,
Jim B.
We carry a canister of bear spray on both cruise boats. It's mostly for demonstration purposes, but we do the meal cruises on Elk Island and there is the possibility of bear activity there. We call it "Bear MACE" so people know it is a completely different thing from "bug spray." Still, every year someone will spray it on their children, thinking it is bear repellent. It is not. You use it for self defense if you have a close encounter with a bear.
The active ingredient in the bear mace is about 10 times more potent than the mace used on human attackers. It is nasty stuff.
Today, my young first mate picked up the bear mace that we keep on the boat, got a shocked look on his face, then stuck his hand towards my face and said, "I think this stuff is leaking!"
It took about a nano-second before I got the first whiff... my eyes and throat started burning - I could see that my first mate was in pain. I told him to pull the plastic bag out of the garbage and quick double wrap the container. I sent him to the aft deck on the boat to flush his eyes out with water... of course, he had touched his hand to his face. I explained the passengers that we had a "situation" and asked them to open all the windows and for those close by where my first mate had been to move towards the back of the boat.
None of the passengers even got a hint of that stuff since we got it double bagged ASAP. As soon as we got back to the dock, I had one of the dock hands do the first mate's job of assisting the passengers down the steps and sent my first mate inside to flush out his eyes and get his hands washed and something on them to take out the sting. With the passengers off the boat, I went in to flush eyes and scrub up good... and I hadn't touched the stuff.
Neither of us is the worse for wear, but he will have an interesting story to tell, being able to speak personally about how nasty that stuff is.
Other than that, it was an absolutely beautiful day here in the Tetons... brisk in the morning for the breakfast cruise, but with the clear blue sky and abundant sunshine, it warmed up nicely. Mid-70s... short sleeves. Being maced not included, it was a lovely day. :roll:
Best wishes,
Jim B.
Jim
Having first started carrying bear spray 13 years ago I have had and seen several mishaps with it and knew well your concern and pain. One of the worst was the first and it occurred while on a horse pack trip near the border of the Washakie and Teton Wilderness about 40 miles north west of where you are now. Had the can of spray on my belt hanging near the front pocket. In the process of mounting my horse and swinging my right leg over the saddle somehow it started the can spraying almost directly up into by face. There was no visible spray and at first I had no idea why I couldn't breath. Thought maybe I was having a heart attack and then the burn started. Took at least 30 minutes to recover with no help only laughter from the old cowboy types I was with. They of course had their pistols for bear protection and had been laughing about me carrying bear spray from the start.
Jay
Having first started carrying bear spray 13 years ago I have had and seen several mishaps with it and knew well your concern and pain. One of the worst was the first and it occurred while on a horse pack trip near the border of the Washakie and Teton Wilderness about 40 miles north west of where you are now. Had the can of spray on my belt hanging near the front pocket. In the process of mounting my horse and swinging my right leg over the saddle somehow it started the can spraying almost directly up into by face. There was no visible spray and at first I had no idea why I couldn't breath. Thought maybe I was having a heart attack and then the burn started. Took at least 30 minutes to recover with no help only laughter from the old cowboy types I was with. They of course had their pistols for bear protection and had been laughing about me carrying bear spray from the start.
Jay