roadtrip

Day Lake-ing

mikemjensen lake powell, roadtrip, Utah Leave a comment

NOTE- The WiFi wasn’t as good as I thought.

Hey Kids,

Amazingly enough there is Wi-Fi on the docks and here I am!

Rain accompanied us on our trip down to Lake Powell yesterday evening. Between traffic, a few potty breaks, and bad windshield wipers; we didn’t make it to our houseboat until just after midnight. But it was here and waiting for us to come aboard. We dumped all of our stuff inside and went straight to bed.

We slept in and woke to a cold 39° morning, plenty of dark clouds, and a breeze that could make one stay in bed even longer. Instead we explored the marina area and tried to get familiar with the layout of the facilities. Annette is a veteran of this place but I am not. We found all of the gift shops, the café, and the showers. Since the water services are not yet available on the boat, this last find was much celebrated.

We kayaked in the afternoon, once the sun decided to chase off the clouds. The air warmed into the 50’s but the sun had got its groove on and its rays felt hot on the skin when the two met. The new kayak proved to be as fast as I had feared. I lost the Mrs. several times as she sped off while I tended to a fishing line or lure. I’ll never be able to keep up with her now.

A flooded canyon just upstream from Bullfrog provided an incredible tour of narrowing cliff walls. My depth finder marked us at about 40 feet at the mouth. We followed it back until the elevation of the lake met the beginning of the sand. A few fish spotted us but never seemed to see my lure.

We watched the sunset during dinner at the Anasazi Café overlooking Bullfrog Bay. The water and surroundings adorned themselves in all the paints and colors of this desert oasis as we watched the sun melt into the red rock hills on the opposite side.

Back at the boat, I hope to make acquaintance with a number of the striped bass residents tonight. They’re why I came here. They’re why I wanted a houseboat here. Don’t act surprised, I never said that I was complicated.

Hopefully I’ll touch base again tomorrow.

 

Post 3-091

My Daily Drive Home

mikemjensen Motorcycles, roadtrip, Uncategorized, Vanity Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

Hey Kids,

To honor my words that said I would, and based on the idea on a post by Nancy Loderick, here are a few pictures of the things I see on my daily ride home.

Out the front door of the facility:

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The bike is waiting:

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Leaving the “U”:

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Rolling through the posh neighborhood:

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I have no idea what this is, but it’s there, across from the Shriner’s Hospital:

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The Salt Lake Cemetery. The picture does it no justice, it’s huge and beautiful.

Around and across City Creek Canyon and up to the Capitol Building.

And the view off to the west. Sorry the ride gets fast and not picture worthy for the last 5-7 minutes of the drive. While I took the last picture, a fellow motorcycle rider, pictured below, slowed to check on me and made sure I wasn’t broke down (don’t ask me how I took that picture).

 

And to end, a happy selfie.

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My Inspiration: A Walk Through My Hometown

Thanks Nancy.

 

Post #50-9

Day Trip

mikemjensen roadtrip Tags: , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

Following a week where I crashed and slept every chance I got, which wasn’t a lot, we finally got out of town. Even if only for a few hours.

On the first sunny day, we paid a quick visit to the Marina on the Great Salt Lake. IMG_20160402_141453774_HDRThe lake has raised a foot over the previous historically low level this winter. We will return with our kayaks later, when the weather warms a little more.

Then out to the west and the Stansbury Mountains. We drove past the asphalt and continued in 4WD until the road ended. The remains of last week’s snow hid in the north side shadows of the trees and bushes, indicating that we had climbed some decent elevation.

Of course we had to return to home and get me to bed for the overnight shift tonight.

IMG_20160403_024922There are so many nooks and crannies that are tucked up into the canyons and slopes of these mountains around us. It might take me another 50 years to see half of them.

Sounds like another worthy goal.

 

 

 

Post #362

Covering My Own Bass

mikemjensen Fishing, roadtrip Tags: 3 Comments

Hey Kids,

Texas Bass Fishing.

I had never done it.

It’s possible that the importance is lost on those who are not fishermen.

Completive bass fishing is huge. Big tournaments, big money, and big sponsors.

I’m not claiming expert status but I’ve seen enough shows on ESPN Saturday morning to get caught up in the fervor. I want to catch some of them southern bass too!

Warning: My fish in pictures might be bigger than it appears in real life.

Warning: My fish in pictures might be bigger than it appears in real life.

But I’m from northern trout country.

So when an offer to go Bass fishing came my way, on a bass lake in Texas, on a bass boat; I had to accept.

The lake was Lake Fork, Texas. The method was a Texas Rig. And the target was Bass. Largemouth style.

The wind blew, the fishing report said “tough”, and we got a flat tire on the boat on the way there; but through it all, about an hour and a half into the fishing, I hooked and landed my first Texas Black Bass. Yay!

It turned out to be our only bass of the day.

I’m selfishly and non-repentantly ecstatic it was mine.

 

Day 235