The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Thursday, June 14th. Brent and Dixie are wonderful hosts, making us feel like part of the family. Although, there was a time today when I was waxing Wild Blue that three people (who's names shall go unmentioned) sat in the shade sipping cool ones while I was slaving away.

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Friday, June 15th. Brent and Dixie took us fishing on their other boat. The drive to the reservoir was gorgeous, and their Tracker is just right for this size water.

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As always, Brent is very patient and Dixie is most encouraging. They should be running a guide service. :D Joan's enthusiasm for fishing grows each time, and Brent always makes sure she is having fun with it. We caught our limit of rainbow trout in a couple hours, enjoyed a nice lunch on the water, and then headed for home. There will be fresh trout for supper tonight!

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Now, it's time to pack; Wild Blue and Big Red will part company for a while while we head south in the truck.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
We've had a wonderful 9 days with our little girl, but my feet are itchy... it's time. Oh, there's been plenty of "water time" here in the desert - the kids have a pool at their house and it's a great place to get sun and beat the 110º heat while outside. We've eaten at some great restaurants, got to visit Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop, and had plenty of adoring for Father's Day.

It's been a couple months since we've been home, and we have our mail forwarded here temporarily. There's very little mail these days... bills are taken care of online, the cell phone keeps us in contact with family and friends, and we've cut back from about 30 magazines to just a couple (two issues of Lats & Atts will take care of my leisure reading for the next week or so).

Joan is getting Big Red organized, I am trying to stay out of the way. Tomorrow we head north. The timing is good: there is a "cool down" predicted... from 111º to 109º.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Good to keep up with you guys. I'm still in Anacortes with the new boat. Kathy comes today and we will go to the San Juans for a few days. Weather is good, hope to see you sometime. I have hoked up Warren a couple of times.
Be Safe john schuler
 
Hey Jim and Joan, Are you here in Arizona at the moment? We're in Bullhead City and can't wait to get back to the PNW. Had forgotten how hot it gets here. The temp on the van says that the outside was 116 today. Yuck!

Wishing you a safe journey north. See you in B'Ham.

Ruth & Joe/R-Matey
 
Hi Joe and Ruth,

Yes, we are just outside Phoenix, spending one last night with our daughter. It was a balmy 110º or so here today. We're heading north to Utah in the morning. Figure we'll be up your way in a couple weeks and looking to get with you before the Bellingham shindig if you have time.

Speaking of Bellingham, I made a reservation at Anthony's for that Friday.

So what brings you to Bullhead City this time of year? You lose a bet? You're being punished for some big-time sin and Hell wasn't hot enough? You forgot how to sweat, living in the cool NW? We spent some time in Laughlin in our RVing days; but it was always during the winter or early spring. Friends of ours who visited there during the summer said their shoes would stick to the pavement when crossing the street! :disgust

You know I like the warmth, but there are limits to everything!

Stay cool (I think I wrote that on most of the photos I handed out when I was in high school 8) ).

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
Hi Jim and Joan,

Oh, we got this bright idea that we'd come down to Las Vegas for the 90th birthday of Joe's cousin. We do try to avoid this part of the country at this time of year but this event is for a very special lady. Why wasn't she born in November or March?? Could have flown but wanted to visit other friends along the way, like in Ely, NV and here in BullHead City.

Been looking for C-Dorys but haven't seen a single one. We'll be back in plenty of time for a good visit with you before the B'Ham CBGT. See you soon.

Joe and Ruth/R-Matey
 
Today was a special day for us: one year since we became gainfully unemployed! :D

We left Brent and Dixie's this morning, heading north towards Yellowstone. We stopped at a Cabela's along the way (can't drive past it) to pick up an interesting adaptor for the trailer plug on the truck - 7 pin to 4/5/6 pin and two 12v plugs. We will pick up some wiring to allow the truck to charge the boat batteries while going down the road.

At Cabela's, three young men standing by a Forest Service fire truck asked if we had jumper cables. No, but we have a jumper battery, a generator, and a battery charger. Their truck was 24v, but we made it work, and in 15 minutes had them on their way and me on the way into the store. Hope they didn't get caught "shopping" when they should be on their way to a fire. 8)

The traffic was heavy around Salt Lake City, but thinned out as we made our way north towards Ogden. We turned off the Interstate, headed up the mountains towards the east. Joan found us a campground in our guidebook and I called to make sure we could get a site (hey, it is a holiday weekend). Along the way, we drove past Bear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border - great looking place! If we didn't already have a reservation for down the road, I'd have dropped the boat in there... maybe on the way back through.

We are now down for the night... a warm day, but nice and cool in the shade of Wild Blue at this higher elevation.

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Tomorrow, we should make Yellowstone Lake (if the fires west of the park aren't a problem). Wild Blue is a bit dusty after today's drive, and is looking forward to getting wet again.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
The Bear Lake Raspberry Milkshakes (available at at least three drive-ins in Garden City) are not to be missed! Have fun comparing them and deciding who makes the best ones.

Got stuck in the Friday PM traffic out of SLC on my way back home after a visit there for a memorial service for a friend (Paul Van Dam's wife, Mary Dawn Bailey, if anyone is interested) and seeing my kids and many friends. Sure am glad I don't live there any more!

Warren
 
Returning to Iowa from CA last week after picking up our new 25, we pulled through Salt Lake City on I-80 around 10PM. There was a lot of 9PM to 5AM construction that closed the ramp for continuing on I-80 east, and we found SLC has greatly simplified the headache of routing detours. They simply don't. You can't use the ramp -- you use the available exit of your choice -- you stop, along with your fellow travelers, at however many convenience stores it takes to find someone who can give you the necessary directions. It must save them a lot of time, money and effort. We did meet nice, helpful people.

Greg
 
We have been following your adventures and dreaming of "some day".

When I finished our convention in Big Sky MT we spent three days in Yellowstone -- 2 Grizzlies with 2 cubs each, 2 adult black bear and one black bear cub among other critters. Yellowstone Lake looked most inviting.

Left the park and headed to Denver via Flaming Gorge -- wife says next time we will have a boat! Flew out of Denver a week ago to return to the workaday world of a meeting in Washington DC and then came to Bethany Beach DE for two weeks of R&R -- wish I had a boat on the bays and ocean -- lots of fish to be caught.

Back to Denver on 7/13 for more meetings then return to Nevada at the end of July. May go to Dulles Airport via Essex MD to compare RF 246 and CD 22/25 side by side.

Bill Uffelman
Boatless in the US
 
Nan-C":24tuct14 said:
Returning to Iowa from CA last week after picking up our new 25, we pulled through Salt Lake City on I-80 around 10PM. There was a lot of 9PM to 5AM construction that closed the ramp for continuing on I-80 east, and we found SLC has greatly simplified the headache of routing detours. They simply don't. You can't use the ramp -- you use the available exit of your choice -- you stop, along with your fellow travelers, at however many convenience stores it takes to find someone who can give you the necessary directions. It must save them a lot of time, money and effort. We did meet nice, helpful people.

Greg
Click to expand...

It's all part of the Utah mentality, from which I am so glad to have escaped. Did you have the pleasure of experiencing the "canyons of death"? These are the temporary freeway lanes of minimal width (and I mean really minimal) bounded on either side by concrete barriers? Ever so helpfully, they provide emergency pullouts every mile or so.

All of I-15 around Salt Lake was rebuilt this way before the 2002 Olympics. Now they are applying the same tactics to the I-15 rebuild around Ogden.

Warren
 
July 1st.

We left Thane this morning, heading for Yellowstone. Along the way, we stopped in Jackson to pick up a few more groceries. This town is growing exponentially - scads of big beautiful new homes. If they have a view of the Tetons, the lots start at a million bucks; the cheap stuff starts at about half that. It is now the most expensive place to live in Wyoming.

Driving north out of Jackson, you drive through Teton National Park to get to Yellowstone. While we’ve seen some pretty spectacular places in the past year, the mountains here still take my breath away.

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There are some steep, curvy roads as you make your way north. As you’d expect on a holiday weekend, the roads were full of traffic. Big Red does a fine job keeping up with the flow of traffic with Wild Blue in tow.

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We stopped in a turnout while Joan made lunch, then back on the road. The first view of Yellowstone Lake is pretty impressive: ringed with mountains and a long ways across.
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The first order of business when we got to the marina at Bridge Bay was paperwork... I started with the marina folks, then had to go to the Park Service office to get a boat permit, then go back to the marina to finish getting checked in. While I was dealing with the beaurocracy, Joan was getting the boat ready to launch.

Armed with a slip number, we walked down to the docks to see where we’d be. Nice docks, but a strong wind blowing right across our open slip. We went back to the truck, finished getting Wild Blue ready, and backed her down the ramp. Joan parked the truck and trailer while I started the motor. The slip isn’t far from the ramp; we swung wide to allow an excursion boat room, and made an interesting arrival at our slip. Fortunately, there was no one next to us and we have big fenders.

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We got the boat set to be a water vessel again, then settled into the chairs in the cockpit. With the gusty wind, we decided to wait ‘till morning to head out onto the lake. Instead, we took a short drive in the truck; up to the Lake Hotel then along the lake. At the turnoff to the marina, Joan got to try her hand at wildlife photography with this big ol’ buffalo standing by the road. Then back to the boat for supper and some relaxation.

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July 2nd
There is no phone or internet reception at the marina... right now, we are idling off some steam vents (pretty, backlit in the morning light) and have a signal. More to come next time we have a signal.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Jim, Great pictures and great memories for us. Last time we were at the same spot on Yellowstone lake it was frozen solid and blowing 30 Kts or so.
Merv & Kathy
 
Here's a quick update to show the steam vents:

Left the marina early this morning; here's a view of the bridge as we were heading out...

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Across the lake, past Stevenson Island (lots of nesting birds) and towards the steam vents...

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Then around the north side of the lake, down toward Dot Island, and a decent signal as we head towards West Thumb.

Yes, we are posting while underway:

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Love that wireless broadband!

More about the lake in a day or two.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
About the Lake... Monday, July 2nd. Yellowstone Lake is North America’s largest mountain lake. The lake is 20 miles long, 14 miles wide, and 430’ deep at its deepest point. It averages 140’ deep. The water temperature was 55º today, so you don’t see recreational runabouts here (skiing, pulling a tube, etc.); in fact, we saw fewer than a dozen boats while we were out most of the day.

The only marina on the lake, Bridge Bay Marina, does a brisk business with rental boats: row boats and small motorized boats, 22’ Grady-Whites that are available as a captained charter, a larger cabin-cruiser that does charters, and a 40 passenger fast excursion boat.

The floating docks are in perfect condition and have seasonal as well as transient rentals. It is actually less expensive to rent a slip with power and water than an equivalent RV site. We are here over the 4th of July, and the transient slips are less than half full.

There is a bridge you have to pass under to go from the marina harbor to the lake; 16’ at this lake elevation (7775 according to our GPS). We have to lower our VHF antenna to get under.

Once out into the lake, there are beautiful views in every direction. Today, we made our way to the east side of the lake to start the morning... we could see steam rising from the steam vents on the far side. The prevailing winds are from the southwest, so when that builds up, the east and north ends of the lake can be rough; better to explore those areas in the morning before the wind comes up.

We cruised by Stevenson Island, but you aren’t allowed to land there this time of year to protect the nesting birds there. Then past the historic Lake Hotel (great views of the lake and hand-dipped ice cream at the nearby store).

From there, we turned south west and cruised to the West Thumb Bay. Along the way, we saw that we had a phone signal (none available in the marina which sets in a valley), so I made a couple phone calls to let family know where we are, made a service appointment for the boat a couple weeks down the road, and posted and update on our travels on the internet. Yes, you really can connect to the net while cruising along. Joan made us lunch and we cruised slowly along, enjoying the scenery.

Just as predicted, the wind came up mid-afternoon, making for some whitecaps and chop. An easy ride for us since we ran southwest; we ran with the wind and waves coming back in.

Our slip is located directly across from the rental boats... we have been enjoying our afternoons in the cockpit, watching the antics with the rentals. Even Molly enjoys the show... here’s a shot of her sitting on top of Wild Blue, taking it all in.

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By late afternoon, the solar shower is plenty warm, and we each take our turn. Drinks and snacks in the cockpit round out the day.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

July 3rd
When we get off the water today, we'll be heading out in the truck to see the sights. We've been to Yellowstone many times over the years, and it never fails to impress. Time to get out on the land and do some hiking.
 
Wednesday, July 3rd. We were up early and out on the lake. The wind was light, the water calm, and bright sunshine warmed up the cool morning. Joan made us a great breakfast while we were underway, and we ate with the water and mountains out our “picture window.” White pelicans watched closely as we slowly motored by.

We made our way south on the lake to Frank Island, the largest island on the lake, about 2 miles long. At the southeast end of the island is one small dock - the only place on the island where you are allowed to land. There are two backcountry anchorages here; you can only anchor out with a backcountry camping permit.


The lake is big and beautiful, but Yellowstone is best known for the amazing scenery and wildlife: geysers, hot springs, mudpots, waterfalls, rugged mountains and deep canyons.

Our favorite place in the park is the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone... Upper and Lower Falls and the Yellowstone Rilver have cut this amazing canyon over eons. The walk back to Artists’ Point isn’t far, but the 8000+ foot elevation keeps you moving slowly. We walked to several viewpoints on both sides of the canyon.

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The crowds were big, but manageable, considering the holiday week. We were fortunate to be able to drive to Artists’ Point - starting July 9th, the area will be closed for the rest of the season while the parking area is rebuilt.

On the way back to the boat, we saw lots of buffalo, ducks, geese, and a coyote; no bears or moose yet, but we’re still looking.

As the afternoon wore on, I was up for a walk; I started off down the path to Natural Bridge. There were no markings stating how far away it is. Here’s a look at the path. I was thinking it was less than a mile... I was wrong. One path lead to another, then what used to be a road. Finally, about two miles later, I came to the sign pointing out Natural Bridge.

Compared to Rainbow Bridge at Lake Powell, this isn’t much; but when you consider all the other natural wonders in close proximity at Yellowstone, it’s pretty amazing that Mother Nature decided to toss in a natural bridge at all.

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The path to Natural Bridge.


When I got back to the boat a couple hours later, Joan made chicken alfredo for supper and then we took the boat out for a relaxing sunset cruise. After a couple days of windy conditions, it was nearly still. I put the autopilot on, set the throttle for about 6 knots, and we sat back to enjoy the scenery... with some Jimmy Buffett playing as a soundtrack. After showers, it was bedtime. Another nice day on water and land.

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Best wishes,
Jim B
 
When we originally made the reservation here, it was for two nights. We extended that by two more nights. And today, we decided to go for another night.

Of course, we went out on the lake today. It was beautiful, sunny, and nearly calm. Today’s route took us to the far end of West Thumb, past the geyser basin, along Grant Village, and then a slow cruise back.

As we motored near the geyser basin, we saw an unusual phenomenon on our depth sounder: you can see the thermals rising from the bottom of the lake.

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Since the water was so flat, we took the opportunity to shoot some images of the clouds reflecting in the water.

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Again, we enjoyed lunch onboard, soaking in the scenery. Back at the marina, we took in what has become our favorite activity here: watching the antics at the rental dock. We are close enough to hear what is being said there, too... the following is an actual conversation:
The dock hand went through his whole speech about how to start the boat, run the shifter/throttle, speed in the marina, where to go, the danger of the cold water, watching for changes in the weather, and finished with the standard, “Any questions?”
The Japanese renter responded with, “No speak Engrish.”
The dock hand shrugged his shoulders, gave him the clipboard to sign his name, and said, “Have fun.”

Employment Opportunities... When I went to the marina office to get another night here, the woman at the counter said, “Oh, you’re Mr. Bathurst. I’m Mary Ellen. I took your reservation on the phone.”
We visited for a bit; she asked the usual “are you on vacation?” question. I responded with the “no, we’re retired and traveling with our boat” stuff. After a bit more talk, she asked, “Would you like a job here?”

“Well, we do kinda have plans for the rest of the summer and fall.” She encouraged me to apply for a job in the marina next year. Yeah, it’s a thought... we do love this area in the summertime. Hmmmmm.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

While Joan made breakfast this morning, I hooked the trailer to the truck and put it by the ramp at Bridge Bay. After cleaning up, we made a stop at the pump-out, loaded the boat on the trailer, and hit the road around 8:30. Yeah, these boats are easy.

The traffic was reasonably light through Yellowstone. Joan picked great roads, and we saw some beautiful Montana scenery as we made our way towards I-90. The original plan was to make it to Missoula, but when we called ahead, we found the campgrounds were full. To add to the fun, it was downright hot (we saw the thermometer in the truck top 100º a couple times)... we decided to roll on until closer to sunset. We made it into Idaho (after some really crappy roads the last 50 miles or so in Montana) and pulled into a friendly campground with decent shade trees.

Now the plan is to head for Bellingham, plunk in the boat, and do a week or so in the San Juans before the big Bellingham gathering. We're looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones at Bellingham.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
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