Taco-Blenders, Less Than Awesome, Boating Adventure Thread

PART Eight:


Day 5: Jackson Lake WY, Coeur d'Alene ID, and the San Juan Islands WA.


After another GREAT night at the end of C-dock and it’s time for another day. Surprisingly enough the Mrs sleeps in a little this morning and I’m up quite a bit earlier than normal. So, after getting the coffee and tea ready the Mrs suggests, "It's such a beautiful morning, how about we go for a little walk out to the entrance of the marina bay!". UGH!! Not my idea of an ideal morning, and, especially since I have not yet had my morning poop, (which, combined with walking, can be an issue for a guy my age) I reluctantly agree that this would be a great idea. So, I stuff a bunch of TP in my pocket and off we go!


The Desert Dory Sitting In Her Spot At The End Of C-Dock.








Thankfully, and I’m not quite sure how it happened (or DIDN’T happen), the walk was carried out without incident and the Mrs was happy she got her walk in.

With no real plans again we decide we’re going to check out the northern half of the lake today. There’s another campground/marina up there and we’d like to see what that one is like. Plus, the Mrs would like to do a bit of paddle-boarding today too.

Now, I’ve talked before about the Mrs paddle-boarding skills, and how she’s the master of not falling off the stupid thing and getting a good, freezing, soak, right? Well, not surprisingly, today is no different. The water temp is a balmy 62 degrees, and a little over 500 feet deep (just that is enough to creep me out), and off she goes like it’s no big deal. I do have to say, what a beautiful place to get your paddle-board fix on.



HEY HON! IS THAT A GRIZZLY BEAR CRASHING DOWN THE MOUNTAIN HEADED YOUR WAY!?!!


The Mrs showing off her 4th of July toes:



So, the Mrs gets her paddle-board fix in and we head off to check out the other end of the lake.

Hey! Look! It’s another C-Dory! This one is the 25 foot model. The marina here had no slips, just a mooring ball field. We liked the Colter Bay marina much better.




We head back to C-Dock so we can get showers again before we go out on our B-Day/Anniversary/B-Day dinner extravaganza tonight. After getting ready we headed up the hill to the restaurant. The place was a friggen zoo! With all the Covid BS rules you weren’t allowed to stay inside the doors unless you had a seat, of which it appeared there were exactly ZERO. Suddenly, the eagle eyed Mrs Blender eyeballed a couple of obscure seats at the bar and BANG! we were in. In reality, I think she just stared down some other poor couple until the had enough and just got up and left. Anyway, let the party begin!

Now, my memory of what went down the rest of the night is, for some odd reason, somewhat vague. But! I do remember the man bun wearing, hipster bartender had invented some kind vodka, mint, cucumber, basil, jalapeño, something or other, concoction just that very evening. He was very excited about it and was plugging it as the drink special for the night! Well, I know what I like and usually stick with a rum and Coke, or beer, when we go out but, Hey! With me obviously being the more adventurous half of our little union here, and not wanting to hurt Mr Man-Bun’s feelings, I decide to give it a go.

Well, 3, or 4, or 5, or, I don't know, who's counting, of those things later I decide we needed memorialize this occasion. So, looking at the quality of this photo, it appears I snatched up one of those “potato” cameras I hear people talking about and grab a quick selfie of our little outing.


Thankfully the Mrs, being the Saint she is, helped me get back to the Dory a little later, I think.

And, down goes Day 5.

 

PART Eight:

Day 6: Jackson Lake WY, Coeur d'Alene ID, and the San Juan Islands WA.


Well, after pretty much passing out from the cucumber, vodka, whatever, drink specials last night, we’re (me somewhat reluctantly) up fairly early to get the Desert Dory back on her trailer and get on the road to go spend some time with some old Tucson friends in Coeur d’Alene ID for the fourth of July weekend.

With the Desert Dory all ready to go we had a couple of options to get back on track heading NW. The shortest track being North thru Yellowstone NP and up to I-90, or the fastest, by just a few minutes, back to Jackson and west to I-15. We opted for the drive thru Yellowstone even though with the Park entrance fee it’s essentially a toll road for us since we’re just passing thru.

Off to get the truck! She's SOOOO pretty!



We roll up to the Yellowstone Park entrance, ready to pay the fee and I ask the young man “Hey young Park Ranger guy, we’re just wanting to pass thru to the West gate so we can get to I-90 and get on our way to Coeur d’Alene. Any discount for just passing thru?”

The young Park Ranger guy says “ Sorry Mr. Blender but the entrance fee is $35. But! once you pay the fee you’re welcome to stay for 7 days, that’s if you can find a spot for that tub you’re pulling.”

Well! Mr. Pimple Face, punk a$$ Park Ranger, little do you know, but I can drop that “Tub” right in the water, in the park, at Bridge Bay Marina, without a reservation, and stay FOREVER, just like we did at Jackson Lake. Punk!!!

So I snap right back at him, “Ummm, do you guys happen to do a military discount?”

Young Park Ranger guy answers “Well Mr. Blender, since you have this awesome military ID, this is your lucky day. I’m not only going to let you thru the gate for zero dollars BUT! I’m also going to give you this spiffy National Parks Pass, good at any National Park, or National anything for that matter, and it’s valid for one year. Thank you and drive safe.”

Well, I guess I told him! Pass in hand, off we go. We had taken our kids to Yellowstone for a week, way back when, so we actually did just pass thru. So, no pics of the wonders of Yellowstone. It really is a pretty awesome place and if you haven’t been, you should go. We make it thru Yellowstone without issue and head for the I-90 and Idaho.

Somewhere along I-90.


One thing you will find while pulling a boat thru these NW states is everybody wants to do a “Invasive Species” inspection when you’re rolling thru. Quagga muscles are bad but these “inspections” are a bit ridiculous, as in cursory, and not very thorough. All they really do is ask you a few questions and send you on your way. I could be wearing a shirt literally covered in Quagga muscles and these guys wouldn’t notice. OH! most of these states also want you to go online prior to arrival, take/pass their little Quagga muscle education course, pay your $20-$30 fee to get your sticker/paper that states “Hey! I know Quagga muscles are bad and I’m not going to try and smuggle any into your state on my boat!”.

Anyhow, the signs to stop for inspections are usually pretty soon after you cross a states border. We’re cruising right along thru Montana and finally cross the Idaho border and I’m getting a bit tired. This may have had something to do with my alcohol indulgence last night but I’m not quite sure. We’re a couple of miles into Idaho and I notice a Highway Patrol cruiser coming up fast in my driver side mirror.

Now, I’m in the right lane and chugging along at my normal 65 mph and I tell the Mrs “Hey Hon, we got a cop coming up and he’s in a hurry. I wonder where he’s going and what happened. Maybe there’s a bad accident up ahead”. The Mrs replies “Yeah, I’m sure it has nothing to with you totally blowing by the “Invasive Species” inspection point back there. You know, the one with the giant lit up sign stating “ALL VEHICLES WITH WATER CRAFT MUST STOP”. I’m sure it has nothing to do with that”.

“What!!! Are you kidding! I didn’t even see the sign! Why didn’t you say something?”. Mrs Blender, not amused, hands me her glasses.

Me: Good evening Officer.

Officer: Good evening Mr. Blender. Can I have you license and registration please.

Me: Yes sir.

Officer: Do you know why I pulled you over Mr. Blender?

Me: Would it be that “Invasive Species” inspection checkpoint I didn’t see, and happened to drive right by?

Officer: (chuckle) Mrs. Blender, your husband claims to have bad eyesight. Did you see the sign for the checkpoint back there?

Mrs. Blender: Yes Officer. I don’t know how anyone could miss it.

Officer: (chuckle) Thank you Mrs. Blender. Mr. Blender, I’d like you to follow me a few miles up the highway here to the next exit. We’ll take the exit and turn left back over the highway and take the onramp heading in the wrong direction. We will proceed in that direction until we reach the first exit past the checkpoint, THAT YOU DIDN'T SEE the first time you went thru this area. We’ll take that exit and go back over the highway again, at which point I’ll pull to the side and fall in behind you, and follow you to the checkpoint. I will hang on to your documents until you’ve cleared the inspection checkpoint, at which time I will return your documents and wish you a good evening, and a safe trip. Any questions?

Me: No sir.

We complete our inspection, get our documents and well wishes, and off we go. Man, I could really use a beer about this point.

The rest of the drive to Coeur d’Alene was uneventful and I managed to find our friend’s house without further incident. Did I say I could use a beer by this point?

Our friend's house in Coeur d'Alene.



And day 6 is DONE!!! PTL!

 

PART Eight:

Day 7: Jackson Lake WY, Coeur d'Alene ID, and the San Juan Islands WA

Having arrived at our friends house yesterday we spent the evening catching up and having some adult beverages. We'll call these friends Tyler and Jessica because those are their names.

We met Tyler and Jessica way back when they lived in Tucson. Much like my good friend Ken (back in the Powell trip) we had met thru activities our kids were involved in and became good friends. Tyler, when we first met, was an AF Col, A-10 pilot. He currently drives flying buses for a major airline. Jessica is, well Jessica. In case they ever read this drivel I’ll just leave it at that.

Anyhow, being a higher ranking AF pilot kinda guy they moved A LOT! We kept in touch over the years and met several times in various places for vacations with our kids, the best being the time they were stationed in Garmish Germany (we turned that into a month long tour of Europe). The plan is to spend the 4th of July weekend here enjoying some small town Americana, then head on to Washington and the San Juan islands.

Their house here is located within easy walking distance of all the cool downtown restaurants, coffee shops, and other downtown activities, so I skip my normal morning coffee ritual and we all head down the street to their favorite local establishment (it was OK but I think my brew is better). Tyler and I will go drop the boat in the lake later today (OH! the Mrs and I spent the night in the boat next to the house. One of our goals for this trip is to spend as many nights as we can stand in the confines of the Desert Dory. We’re of the “divorce is never and option but, Murder!? Maybe....” mind set so we’ll see how that works out.) after we do some tourista stuff with our friends. Coeur d’Alene is a beautiful place with lots to see. There’s a huge resort down at the lake where you can catch a really cool, free, shuttle boat over to the golf course.




These are NICE shuttle boats! This lake gets SUPER choppy and these babies are big and heavy and cut right through that slop.






After we get the boat in the water Tyler and Jessica have another commitment to take care of so the Mrs and I jump on the Desert Dory and go get some lunch at the golf course we had visited earlier, and putter around the lake for a bit (it’s a BIG lake!) We’ll meet back up with them later for dinner on the lake.









We pick up Tyler and Jessica a bit later and do a little cruise, then head to the floating resturant for some dinner and drinks.





After a great dinner/drinks we get our friends back to the docks and go to tuck the Desert Dory in for the night. Our home for the night will be the town dock next to the resort.




And, we call it a day.

 

PART Eight:

Day 8: Jackson Lake WY, Coeur d'Alene ID, and the San Juan Islands WA

Happy Birthday America!!!

We had a great sleep down at the town dock last night and today we're going to celebrate Americas Birthday. What better way to get a start on the day than a good old fashioned 4th of July parade. MURICA!!! The Mrs and I put on our 4th of July best and proceed to wander off in the direction of our friend's house.


Tyler and Jessica got an early start and staked out our seats along the parade route, which was only a block from their home. Man! This is my kinda gig! I just love the hokeyness of small town events like this. It's soooooo much fun! I'm sure all the people involved worked hard all year getting ready for this one day! Their shot at small town glory, their day to shine in front of all their friends and family! Yee Haw!

The parade was pretty typical of a small town 4th of July parade. You got your military guys, then the baton twirling young ladies, your first responder guys, some more baton twirling young ladies, local political figures, local celebrities', maybe some beauty queens, local businesses, sprinkle in a few more beauty queens, etc, etc... What's not to like! This is what America's all about!

We park our butts and enjoy the parade for the next hour.


All bow to the Potato Queen!!!


These guys were GREAT!!


The Mrs took like a hundred pics so here's a few more.









After the parade is over we all run up to the house and grab a few things and head for the docks and the Desert Dory. The plan is to spend the day on the lake, waiting for darkness and the evenings fireworks celebration. We'll pick up T&J's (I'm tired of typing out their names so we'll just use T&J from here on out) youngest daughter at one of the down-lake boat ramps/docks a little later in the evening. With everything loaded up we head on out for the day.

The girls decide they want to do a bit of paddle boarding so, we get them squared away and Tyler and I just hang out on the Desert Dory and enjoy the scenery along with a couple of cold beers. It' a beautiful day! Or, so I thought.


We pick up the youngest daughter I start cruising us out to the part of the lake where we can see the fireworks when Jessica, in typical Jessica fashion, asks the young daughter "So youngest daughter, it's the 4th of July! Are you proud to an American?"

OH CRAP!!! Really Jessica!?!!! Knowing very well how the youngest daughters woke, entitled, mind works I quickly shout out to Tyler, who's in the cockpit with my Mrs, "Hey Tyler, you want to come up here and drive the Desert Dory for a bit? I'd like to spend a little time back there with the Mrs. Just head toward the resort over there to the west." PHEW!! Tyler moves forward and I head to the back with the Mrs.


The ensuing conversation, well, the bits and pieces we caught, went about as well as I thought it was going to go. "America sucks. We spend WAY too much on our military. Why aren't we spending more on social programs and college tuitions/scholarships, blah, blah, blah..." (Hey Jessica! You mind closing that door so we don't have to listen to that CRAP!!!)


Friggen BRAT!!! I really wanted to just push her off the friggen boat at that point. Instead, I do what I usually do when the ol BP starts it's elevation process, "Honey, have you seen my bottle of rum? I think I'm going to need a little pull."

Anyhow, and the conversation had turned to more pleasant topics by the time we get to where we need to be, so we settle in to enjoy the fireworks, which were great. Not as great as the ones down in the little town of Patagonia, where we go to when we're home, but great none the less.







After the fireworks were over we, along with about 5 MILLION other boats, make the dash back to the dock where we had picked up the brat. We dump off that whole crew there and the Mrs and I head over to a nice, quite, little cove we had scoped out earlier, and drop the hook for the night. I pour a couple of drinks for me and Mrs Blender and we toast to our being blessed by God to live in the greatest country this world has ever known.

GOD Bless AMERICA!

 

Love the pics , love the stories , can’t wait to see and hear about your next leg! Don’t worry , my youngest daughter is the same way , I have a idea how they are getting that way but I don’t want to get banned! Keep it coming !

 

Yeah, I smell what you're stepping in and it's not worth going to banned camp. I think most can figure it out.

Best of luck with the youngest!

 

All that being said she’s still a great kid !

 

PART Eight:

Day 9: Jackson Lake WY, Coeur d'Alene ID, and the San Juan Islands WA.

Well, another night on the Desert Dory, and another great sleep. I'll have to say, our little boat is pretty darn comfortable, especially when it's just the two of us. The spot we tucked into last night turned out to be a great one. Nice and quiet. After poking around the last couple of days one of our concerns was finding a nice little place with no homes around to drop the hook for a night. It seems the entire shoreline of the lake is covered with homes, which I can understand because it's such a beautiful place, and who wouldn't want to live right on the water. I would! Anyhow, it was a win.

Today we're planning to explore more of the lake and later in the afternoon/evening we'll meet T&J and both their girls at their favorite pizza place for a slice of pie and some cold beers, after which, Tyler will bring the truck and trailer down to the ramp and we'll load up the Desert Dory for an early start tomorrow morning. Our plan (well, my plan) is to launch the Desert Dory at Cornet Bay WA and zip thru Deception Pass on our way to the San Juan Islands. Since we are salt water virgins, and not having dealt with currents, tides, sea-monsters, etc, I'm trying to time our arrival/launch at a time where we can slip thru Deception Pass on a slack tide (meaning, water is not rushing thru the pass at 9+ knots creating weird currents, whirlpools, and a host of other nasty, pucker factor inducing obstacles, for those (ME) without experience), which is the recommended method for newbies like ourselves.

Back to where we were. The Mrs and I go thru our usual morning routine, she hops on her paddle board to go for a little cruise and I get the coffee and tea ready for when she gets back. It's a good routine. She gets some exercise, and I don't have to, and I get loving husband points for having her tea ready when she returns. Win, win!

With that all out of the way we haul up the hook (using the windlass I installed not long after the Lake Havasu trip. This little gem is a GAME CHANGER for lazy sots like myself. Sit right there in my comfy little helm chair, start the outboard, press a button, and BAM!!! Anchor is up and stowed! It looks beautiful too! All shiny and bright up there on the bow. It's like a little bit of boat jewelry for the Desert Dory) and get underway.

Isn't it purty!?!!

We're currently sitting out on the NE part of the lake and will head south to see what's down that way. It'll be roughly 26 miles for us to get to the other end and, since we have most of the day to ourselves, we enter slow cruise mode so we can looky-loo at all the high $$$ shoreline homes that we can't afford.

Like this one! (Notice the Desert Dory like boat at the dock. That's a C-Dory Venture '23)


Oh! Another thing about this lake is, it's like a friggen washing machine most of the time. You get all kinds of boat traffic, large and small, coming from all directions, then throw in some wind and the water gets quite confused. If we lived full time in one of these lake houses here the Desert Dory would be out and some big, heavy, Deep V, gas sucking monster would be sitting at our dock. We love the Desert Dory but it's just the wrong type of boat for this kind of water. You want to cut thru this kind of mess, not bounce around on top of it.

Hey! Where was this guy yesterday on America's Birthday?!!


We spend the afternoon puttering around, checking out the lake and decide to stop for a bit so the Mrs can fix us some lunch. She decides on some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, which sounds good to me. We have a great lunch and continue our way back up the lake and the Mrs is suddenly like "Hey Hon, I'm not feeling so good. Can we head back to the dock so I can get back on some land?". I figure it must be the soup sloshing around in her belly because she has never had an inkling of seasickness prior to this. We need to start heading back anyway so we can meet T&J and crew for pizza so I throttle up a bit looking for the best balance of ride comfort vs speed.








I get the Mrs back to the dock and she's much relieved to be standing back on terra firma. We get the Desert Dory secured and head into town.

It must have just been a freak kind of thing because, once we're walking around on the dry stuff the Mrs is right back to her normal self. Weird! (Actually, this never happened again during the rest of the trip, even when we were going thru some pretty sporty water). Well, we're a bit to early to meet up with the friends but we happen to run across a place called the "Bier Haus", which looks like a great place to kill some time. We head on in and order up a nice Hefeweizen for myself, a wine for the Mrs, and a soft Bavarian Pretzel to share. This, along with, maybe a second Hefeweizen should tide us over while we wait for the other crew.

The Bier Haus turns out to be a great little, legit, piece of authentic German culture that reaches back to my roots. I may have mentioned somewhere in this mess of a thread that I was born in Germany, and my mom is 100%, PITA, German. Sooooo, when the opportunity presents itself, I will not hesitate to embrace my Bavarian heritage, especially the "Bier" part. So we snap a little selfie to text to the mom so I can rub in what she's missing out on (not that we wanted her to join us on this trip, but that's a whole other story).


Sidebar: Hey! Since we're talking "Bier", you remember my friend Ken from Lake Powell? I had mentioned at the end of Powell post that we needed make an effort to get together more often. Well, he's currently spending his summers building his SHTF bug-out mansion on a gazillion acres in Montana. But, this winter we managed, with the "encouragement" of the wives, to take a short "guys" trip to Santa Fe and Roswell NM, with a stop in Taos, again, embracing my Bavarian heritage, for some skiing, and maybe some "Bier" drinking. I should write something about that trip too. It was quite a hoot. Anyway, here's a couple pics.





So, we wrap up our time in the Bier Haus and wander off to find the pizza joint. "Well, how about that!!" It's conveniently located right next door to the Bier Haus! And! Whatda ya know, T&J and crew are already there and already got a table for us!


Thankfully, the time spent with T&J and crew was NOT a drama filled, cluster you know what. Everyone seemed to be on their best behavior and a good time was had by all. With everyone being rehydrated and fed, the girls and Tyler head back to the house and Tyler will bring the truck/trailer down to the dock so we can load up the Desert Dory. I head on down to the dock to get the Desert Dory ready to load.

Everything goes as planned, and with the Desert Dory loaded, Tyler and I head back to the house to spend the rest of the evening on the porch with a few adult beverages. Once again, T&J offer up their guest room but the Mrs and I decline, preferring to spend the night in our cozy little boaterhome (Our goal is to get spend all 20/21 nights of the trip on board the Desert Dory). We did use the shower though. We figured it might be a day or 2 before we have the opportunity to use a "real" shower again so why not.




With everything ready to go for an early start the next morning, we call it a night.

 

PART Eight:

Day 10: Jackson Lake WY, Coeur d'Alene ID, and the San Juan Islands WA.

YAY!!! We're headed to Washington and the San Juan Islands this morning! I can't WAIT! Even though Jackson Lake was phenomenal this is the portion of the trip I've been anticipating. Like I had mentioned, we are salt water virgins when it comes to the Desert Dory and we're really looking forward to any challenges that salt water cruising may bring. With that in mind, I think I have resolved my previous shortcomings when it comes to paying attention to some of the weather/planning details. I'm trying to be much more attentive to what may be coming our way.

Oh! Speaking of the weather! We managed to catch the tail end of the worst heat wave the PNW had seen since before the dinosaurs.

Here's a little blurp from the interwebs: "The heat wave that enveloped the Pacific Northwest from late June through early July 2021 delivered unprecedented temperatures to the normally cool region — 108°F (42°C) in Seattle, 116°F (47°C) in Portland — and claimed over 1,000 lives mostly in British Columbia"

By the time we had reached Coeur d'Alene the temps had dwindled down to the mid/lower 90's, which, for us Desert Dwellers, was PERFECT. For our friends T&J, not so much. Everywhere we went the temps were the talk of the town and the locals were NOT happy about it. The funny thing was, when we were planning and packing for this trip we were quite concerned that we were going to freeze our little Desert Dwelling butts off. (And, yes, I did do my due diligence and asked the weather weenies at work for the long range forecast. They responded things should be normal after a few days, maybe a week, but they obviously don't know crap.) So, we packed accordingly, thinking maybe it'll hit 70 and we'll freeze, or maybe not. Who knows, or really cares, as we're going anyway.

Besides the "sleeping on the boat every night" goal, a week into this adventure I established a new goal. I will not wear pants, or shoes (foot prisons is my term for them), flip-flops and shorts only, for the ENTIRE trip (It's good to have goals, right!?!!). Obviously the Mrs is not allowed to share in this new goal as she put her foot prisons on way back on the first day. WEAK!!!!

Okay! Back to Day 10. Everybody is up early, coffee/tea is made, we say our goodbye's and hit the road. Well, almost. The Mrs decides she wants to hit the local coffee shop/bakery to get a few treats to go with her tea for the ride to Washington, so that's what we do.




Okay!!! With that out of the way, now we're off! We're looking at what should be about a 7.5 to 8hr drive to get to Cornet Bay at our normal 65mph towing speed. We jump on the 90 and start heading west. The drive is pretty uneventful and beautiful, especially the trip thru the Cascades. I did manage to spot the "Invasive Species" inspection station as we entered WA. I show them my "$24 WA State Invasive Species Permit" and we go thru that without a hitch. The Mrs comments that she is pretty impressed that I even noticed the inspection station this time. I leave Mrs Blender at this rest stop and continue the trip on my own.


Haha... Not really. "We" arrive in Cornet Bay without issue and get the Desert Dory ready to launch.

I picked Cornet Bay as our departure point after getting advise from the "locals in the know" on the C-Brats.com forum. They say it's a good departure point with a lady living onsite so the truck/trailer should be fine for the time we're in the islands. We get the Desert Dory launched, pay our parking fee, and I go park the truck as close as I can to the onsite living quarters of the lady who watches the park.



Yes!! FINALLY! It's not quite 5:30 pm and we're in the water and ready to start this leg of our adventure. We're pretty well stocked on provisions, ditch bag is ready to go, and I'll leave the paddle board on the roof as a kind of emergency floatation device in case we have, well, and emergency (If that happens I have in my mind that it'll be exactly like the scene in the Titanic movie were the beautiful "Rose" is floating on some wreckage in the cold, cold, ocean and poor "Jack", being the gallant gentleman he is, is just hanging onto the edge of said wreckage, freezing his butt off in the cold, cold ocean, only to eventually slip off into the abyss never to be seen again). We also agree to wear our self-inflating life jackets any time we're underway.





Our plan is to get across Rosario Strait and make our way to the Friday Harbor Marina where we will get some dinner and spend the night (haha... I bet you were thinking we didn't have a plan, since it seems like we never do). It seems our timing for the Deception Pass slack tide window is spot on and we have no issues getting thru. However, I did check out some YouTube videos of boats going thru the pass during a max ingoing/outgoing tide changes prior to us leaving home. After watching a few of those, I think this was a good call. Especially for us newbies. We get thru the pass without issue and we point the boat west to begin our 10 mile jaunt across the Strait and into our entry point into the San Juan's.

Wow! I don't think it could have been any better as far as weather/water conditions for our crossing. Apparently if you cross this area during an outgoing tide, with a good wind coming out of the south/south west, it can get a bit sporty and may take awhile to get across. We were blessed and were able to cruise across at about 20mph. So, it only took us about 30 minutes to get into the islands.

My C-Brat friends also warned about the abundance of "dead-heads" floating around out there. And, no, I'm not talking about dead-heads of the "Grateful Dead" followers variety. These dead-heads are water logged logs that are floating mostly beneath the surface of the water, and they can do some serious damage to your boat if you happen to hit one at speed.

Anyhow, Mrs Blender is in the back of the boat taking a few pics and helping me to watch ahead, and I'm pretty focused on driving the boat, and also keeping a lookout for birds "standing" on the water, and getting us across without hitting anything that might put us under and cause us to cut the paddle-board loose (Me playing Jack's part: Mrs Blender, promise me you will survive, that you will never give up, not matter what happens, no matter how hopeless, promise me now, and never let go of that promise, and, of course, this paddle-board).

Being pretty focused on things in front of us we both TOTALY MISS this little something. In fact, neither of us had any idea we missed this until I was going thru our pics, a year later, to post on this thread.

Well, what the heck is THAT!! Can you see it in the pic?



Here, let me help.


I can't believe nether one of us saw this friggen whale. Our FIRST whale of the trip (well, besides our visit to Walmart back on Day 1) and we TOTALY MISSED IT! Unbelievable! It's like missing a big, giant, lit up "Invasive Species" checkpoint sign! Oh well, we take solace after the fact that we at least didn't get pulled over for being too close to a whale.

We enter the islands thru a little pass between the south end of Decatur Island and one of the fingers of Lopez Island, which puts us in Lopez Sound. We then turn north and go up around Lopez Island to get to Friday Harbor, which is on the west side of San Juan Island. The scenery is fantastic and we're starting to get used to reading what the water is doing. It's really pretty fun trying to figure out where the currents are the heaviest and where the preferred, slack water, lanes are.


Once we're within a mile or so of Friday Harbor I get on the VHF and hail the harbor master to get a slip assignment. As I find out a little later, Mrs Blender is quite impressed with my VHF etiquette/knowledge/skills.

Mrs Blender: "Oh! WOW! You actually sounded like you know what you're doing. Have we ever used this thing before? I don't remember us using it."

Me: "Well, actually, we've never really been anywhere where we've needed it, and, no, I've never used a VHF radio in my entire life, up until this very moment. Yeah, (chuckle) that was pretty good, huh.

Mrs Blender: "You're my hero! Now, lets get this thing docked. I'm STARVING!!"

There's a LOT going on in the Friday Harbor area, and it's all VERY COOL! Seaplanes coming and going, the ferry coming and going, boats like ours (except usually WAAAAAY bigger) coming and going. I like it A LOT!


The Harbor Master assigns us to a spot on one of the transient docks and we get er tied up. We head up to the Harbor Master office to pay for our overnight stay and head off to find some food. One thing we noticed immediately is San Juan Island, and pretty much all the islands, are still living in fear of the Rona. At the office I had to wait outside until the person already in there completed his business. Once he was done and out, only then could enter to take care of our business. It was the same thing all around the town of Friday Harbor. We found a restaurant that looked good and had to mask up to get in and get a table 100 yards from any other diners. A lot of the places were still in the "Take Out Only" mode. Oh well, what are you going to do, just a sign of the times I guess.


Let's play find the Desert Dory!



We end up having a mediocre dinner, and a couple of drinks, then take a little time to walk around the town. We're definitely adjusting to the longer daylight hours this far north and find ourselves not being in a hurry to get anywhere, and becoming ok with the later bedtimes (was never an issue for me as I usually don't go to bed until 11 or so).

Once we do wander back to the Desert Dory we are greeted by this gal. She's a friggen swimming football! Like they say "round is a shape". One of the locals walking down the dock informs us "This is "Popeye", the official mascot of Friday Harbor, and she's looking for a handout, if you're so inclined to give her something". I decide that I'm not going to contribute to her morbid obesity so I reach into my pocket and toss her a cigarette butt and she's on her merry way (NO! Not really). I think the Mrs threw her a cookie or something.


By this time the sun is finally starting to go down so I pour us a couple of cocktails and we get the Desert Dory ready for her first night in the San Juan's.


It was a great day!

 

HA!

 

PART Eight:

Day 11: Jackson Lake WY, Coeur d'Alene ID, and the San Juan Islands WA.

Morning comes to Friday Harbor and the Mrs is out and about somewhere by the
time I drag myself out of the cave. It's a beautiful morning and, once again, we have come up with somewhat of a plan for the day. To be honest, Mrs Blender is very much a planner. She plans and schedules EVERYTHING. She likes to live her life in an "orderly" fashion, so this works well for her.

Me, not so much. I usually just wing it and see what the day will bring. Although, this sometimes bites me right square in the you know what, it's the way I usually roll.

Well, not today my friends. The Mrs and I had done a little pursuing thru our "San Juan Island Cruising Guide" and today we will visit Shaw Island, then go cruise some parts of Orcas Island. The Mrs returns to the Desert Dory and we go thru the usual morning routine and decide to go check out "The Whale Museum", which was closed last night when we were walking around town.


The whale museum is pretty cool. They talk about all the different types of whales found in the "Salish Sea" but are primarily focused on Orca's (killer whales) and the different "Pods" that are found around the San Juans. Of course they have a huge environmental agenda wrapped around the whole thing (UUGGG...). Anyhow, there's a lot of neat things to see in here, and the bio's from the different Orca's from the different pods were pretty cool to read. They also talked about the differences between the "transient" pods (mostly eat marine mammals) and the "Resident" pods (which pretty much eat fish/salmon). If you're ever in Friday Harbor this is a good place to spend a little time.






The Mrs has a thing these English phonebooths and MUST have her pic taken in them if we run across one. I think this came from her and our daughter visiting our son a few years ago when he was TDY to England.


(Pic not posted in the Havasu write-up but here's further evidence of her obsession)



Finished at the Whale Museum, we hit a couple of shops and the grocery store, because someone needs more beer, then wander back to the docks.

Back at the Desert Dory we hop in a head out for Shaw Island. Our San Juan Island Cruising Guide doesn't say a whole lot about Shaw Island but it's a "must stop" for us as we have some very dear friends who's last name happens to be Shaw, and we need to get a pic to send. Shaw Island is one of the smallest of the populated islands, with a population of about 170. But! It is one of the stops on the Washington State Ferry route and they seem to get a lot of folks coming out to the island to camp.







After spending a bit of time at Shaw we hop back in the Desert Dory and head over to check out the "West Sound" area of Orca Island. It's getting a little later in the afternoon and the Mrs is starting to get a bit hungry and states she could go for a little "Read" time (code for a siesta). We find a sweet little cove (Bear Cove) on the west side of West Sound and drop, and set, the hook with the intention this will be our home for the night. The Mrs has a little snack and goes to "Read" in the cave and she's out in about 2 seconds. I plant my butt in one of the cockpit chairs and have myself a Rum as I watch the world go by.




As I'm sitting there doing my thing I happen to notice a larger, aluminum catamaran boat going by in a northerly direction. I really didn't think much of it until a couple of minutes later another large boat goes by with a bunch of people lining the rails, then right behind that one is another one. Then it hits me! Those are Whale Watch tour boats!! I run inside and shake the Mrs from her "Reading". "Hey Hon, a couple of Whale Watch boats just went by. I think they may be chasing some whales!". Well, that sure lit a fire! The Mrs: "Oh! Oh! Let's go! Let's go!". I start the engine, pull the hook, and we're off!!

Now, we both have been praying we'd get the opportunity to see some whales on this trip but, for the Mrs, it would be "THE HIGHLIGHT" of the trip for her. Anyhow, we blast out of Bear Cove and head north after the tour boats. It only takes a minute to catch up with them because the whales had turned and were now heading south. I get the Desert Dory close to the tour boats figuring these guys actually know what they're doing, and they'll keep us at a legal distance from the whales. I REALLY don't want to pulled over by the "whale police" so we just hang with them. Then, here's the kicker, the whales go right by the entrance to Bear Cove where we were just anchored! Had we just sat there on the hook those whales would have been within 20 yards of the Desert Dory. Lol... you just never know.






With the Mrs watching thru the binoculars, and me driving the boat and trying to get some pics, we end up chasing the whales for a good couple of hours.







By the time we're done we both realize it's almost 8pm and we still haven't eaten dinner (dang these extended daylight hours!). I motor us back to Bear Cove and, of course, another boat has taken up residence in "our" spot.

So we motor north up to Massacre Bay and find a spot to drop the hook for the night, again!


And we're done with day 11.

 

@Taco-Blender I just spent way too long going through this thread. Looks like awesome adventures and lots of fun, nice commentary also!

 

Thanks @Azblue

I've been boating in one form or another pretty much all my life and just LOVE being on the water. I'm also blessed that the Mrs is all in and puts up with my BS. Makes it much more fun.

 

It looks like you guys have fun together. We got into a travel trailer a few years back and my wife loves it, bonus for me cause I get to hang out camping/fishing/drinking beer.

 

Living life, as it should be. Enjoy!

 

Your thread has inspired again:
I remember some old photos a friend showed me of his family exploring Hells Canyon up the Columbia River.
Will definitely plan to head east rather than the usual west -- at least once when the weather improves (ie: when it gets above 50).

70 and you're going to freeze to death... LOL, LOL!

As I read I thought, you likely have a 30 gallon tank and burnt at least $500 in fuel during your adventure around Powell. You couldn't have honored the mariner's code of 1/3 out, 1/3 back and 1/3 to spare. And bar-b-que on the deck is dangerous. Gas was likely be the death of you; not frigid 70 degree temps.

It's late (or early) and I've read through Part 5 (Page 1).
Looking forward to sequels (pages 2-4) but, sad there aren't any for some time beyond that. Hope all's well and life / adulting isn't getting too much in the way of the important stuff, like Dory boating!

My 90 hp Mercury came from a 1982 Campion 19' cuddy I drug home just for the motor. The teak wood trim, door / door handle and hinges on your C-Dory are all exactly the hardware that was on that boat. Unmistakably, because before I sold it again I worked everything over: I swapped on a more appropriate 135 hp Mariner V6, stripped the faux wool headliner, gel-coated the inner roof white and sealed the hatch, replaced some icky wood at the aft floor center stringer, rebuilt the rear seats, motor well enclosure, etc. Didn't make much if anything on the project. But I got a free 90 hp motor and experience from my labor and it felt good to send it down the road with new life.

Poor pics are mostly of my restored 1974 Harvey Dory, Frayed Knot, circa 2014/2015:
Mildly rough morning launch with some 'debris' to navigate round (looks worse than it is)
Landing with my son (who lives in Queen Creek AZ - finally have another reason to visit him - Lake Powell goes on the bucket list)
Catch after a 30-mile trek offshore (blue shark and albacore tuna: latter is delicious - former tastes like mushy day old blackened catfish, only one I've brought home - let 'em be now)

Up here in Oregon, it's Free Fishing Weekend and I am yearning to get out there somewhere... anywhere. Probably only trout fishing from the shores of the Santiam upriver of Detroit OR, with the bonus that it'll be a chance to pull the RV with my Tundra for the first time. There's always hope I might best the last trip when I caught the largest native rainbow of my life - 16 inches.

 

That is seriously crazy!!

Yeah, way to much adulting and not enough Desert Dorying. Otherwise, doing well.

 

Glad you’re doing well but sucks about no time for boating. I’m right there with ya. We are cutting the rear section of bed off my truck Sunday at the boat house if you feel like supervising.

 

Yeah Adam, I have a feeling it's only going to get worse. Our daughter is currently carrying our first grandbaby, due in August, so that's gonna change things a bit too. Can't wait though!!

Last time we had the boat out was back in Sept. We went to Powell planning on spending two weeks out there putzing around. Lost a fuel injector about 10 miles in (engine went into limp mode) and couldn't get it fixed so we found a little spot near the launch and got three night in. Trailered back to Flagstaff and spent 5 nights at the Air Force campground at Ft Tuttle before trailering home. Ordered a new injector when we got home and STILL haven't bolted it on and reprogramed the ECU for it

Would like to come help you break your truck but our Sunday is booked. What are you doing? Sounds like fun!

 

Can’t beat Ft Tuthill for location and price. We stay there every now and then with my father in law in the cabins.

I’m putting a high clearance bumper on.

https://www.tundras.com/threads/s-o...rance-rear-bumper”.106189/page-2#post-3308625

 

Oh DANG!! Pimpin for sure.

 

We're in the same boat and it's run ashore!

This weekend is the Saltwater Sportsmens Show: https://saltwatersportsmensshow.com/. A year ago, I got a good deal there on a new Garmin chart plotter. It's mounted. I added CHIRP sonar.

Have yet to do dory dipping for trials.

 

Finally finished reading about your NW adventure on the Desert Dory: Idaho and Puget Sound. I hope for future Parts / Days, even as I would more seasons of Taxi, Star Trek, or Cheers.

Regarding your WalMart parking lot beginning: Realizing your V-bow is a bit different, rollers are traditional under a flat-bottom dory, at least. The trailer also tilts, which allows one to dump the dory just deep enough to float and spin the bow around into the surf. Upon landing, the trailer can also scoop under the bow for loading. Pillow-blocks with large (conveyor) rollers are ideal though difficult to source. My dory trailer (good old Jerusalem steel) has been through a few reconstructions and the Calkins rollers are always of concern; they take a beating. With HDPE sliders, bunks might be worth trying at the next maintenance cycle. Interpretation: When the rollers fail... again.

With the Sportsmen shows recently spurring, I cobbled a trip to Detroit Lake this weekend with my brother. The first chance to haul anything with my Tundra, it was the polar opposite of the weather you experienced when you visited the NW. With the trailer settled and driver acclimated, the trip was uneventful. Just good to get away for a weekend. Pictured are my twins. One Tundra wasn't enough, it seems.

The 1/10 Tamiya High Lift Tundra is impressive with the MFC-02 add-on effects. It now also sports matching 5-spoke aluminum wheels; genuine BFG Mud-Terrain tread; smoked glass and lenses; functional roof clearance, 3rd brake and cargo lights (reverse); push bar w/ spots; Warn winch; etc.

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