houseboat

To Dock or Not to Dock

mikemjensen lake powell, Vanity Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

The day of fire arrived.

The skies were blue, the air warm, and the winds calm. It would be smooth boating from our beautiful spot at the Rincon, back up the channel, and near our return to Bullfrog Marina. This would be the easy part.

The first three hours of traveling passed without incident, as expected, with nearly no traffic until we got within an hour of Bullfrog. Slowly more crafts began to share the channel. I had no worries. I kept the boat traveling from buoy to buoy and changed course only to give way to a few faster houseboats.CleatRope

As turned off of the main channel and steered into Bullfrog Bay, we spied our target: the waste pump docks. It was now time for me to pilot this boat into a bust marina and onto a public dock. Fortunately, the outer dock was open but that would not matter if I could not dock, or worse smash the hull into the crapper. As luck and maybe some acquired skill would have it I was able to guide the boat to a gentle kiss. And after our procedure, it was time to park the boat into the slip.

Our neighboring slip not only help its boat, but one of its owner sat on the back deck, with her yappy dog, and reading a book. Under her eye, I was able to pivot the boat and drive the boat into its slip without a touch to the dock on either side (with Annette guarding with dock poles of course) (in other words, I would’ve touched without her guidance).

Once the dock lines were secured and the motors placed at rest. The baptism by fire had ended.

And I confirmed a competent captain.

Potty dock confirmed.

 

Post 3-140

Stormy B-Day

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Hey Kids, rainyBday

Birthday #51 was spent fighting storms and hoping to keep the boat anchored tight.

Freak storms came at us from one way and then back from the other. The boat was harassed by white caps and wind gusts that made us power the engines to feel like we’d still have a boat.

It wasn’t that much fun, but it’s the boating life and especially at Lake Powell.

But for a birthday- I don’t think I would’ve had it any other way.

Except for maybe actual fishing time.

 

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Posted retroactively on May 24, 2017

Blog Cancelled

mikemjensen kayaks, lake powell, Road Trip, Shame on Me, Writing Tags: , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Hey Kids,

I know that the rule of thumb is to do it every day.

The true professional, or the person most wanting to succeed, must put in the time, put in the practice, or punch the clock as it were; every day whether you feel like or not. I’ve adopted this approach to writing and especially in writing this blog.

Every day I put effort into this blog to bring something thoughtful, humorous, or to share my own ideas, values, or personal achievements. But today I’m not going to do my blog. I’m sorry but I can’t. You see after traveling the two-thirds length of Utah and arriving for our maiden voyage on our houseboat, I did something really stupid.

We arrived at the lake, unpacked all of our equipment and loaded the boat docked in the slip, I returned to our vehicle to release the kayaks from their roost on the roof. Although the same wind that blew against us the entire road trip continued to howl, I removed the ties from one of the kayaks and turned to tend to the strap I had just removed.FHD1839

The kayak, carried in the wind, much like it would on the water, landed straight onto the top of my head and nearly knocked me down to the ground.

The blood flowed. My wife and her daughter came to save me from bleeding to death and we got the other kayaks unloaded and transported to the boat.

Since then, my head gash, my neck, and my pride are going to keep me from writing my blog tonight and sharing what could otherwise be seen as a rather stupid and embarrassing event.

Please accept my apology and continue to think I’m as cool as I try to portray within the posts of this blog and to believe that I never do the same things as stupid people do.

 

Post 3-134

First Firsts

mikemjensen Fishing, lake powell, Road Trip, Vanity Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,bliss

During the next two months a few “firsts” will be accomplished. Tonight will be the first of the firsts.

Last October, I spent a couple days on Lake Powell and it was love at first sight/boat/fish. If you’ve never seen Lake Powell, look it up.

Following our trip, it became my mission to return, and to make it so we would return more than once. We investigated and invested into a houseboat. This weekend will be our first overnight visit. Although we won’t be able to take the boat out of the slip, we will be hanging out for a couple of nights. We do have the task to commission a new kayak and I have a few new rod and reels to baptize.

I hope to have enough Wi-Fi from the docks to post new updates. If I disappear for a few days, which wouldn’t be a first, I’ll catch you up on our return.

Wish us sunny skies and calm waters.

 

Post 3-090

Cooler Runnings

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Hey Kids,

May is coming quick; before we know it, it’ll be here. We received our key to the houseboat and although I think we need to make another trip down to inspect the interior of the boat for sleeping arrangements and such, I’m not sure if we’re going to make it before our May trip.

It’s been suggested from the responsible side of our marital partnership that instead we should start to work on getting ready to go now and not the week before we leave. I reluctantly agreed that maybe we should. And one of the things we decided that we needed was another cooler.

On a Saturday afternoon lark, we cruised through a thrift store. Left stranded on one of the shelves in the back a cooler waited to be found. It was one of the good ones. No not a yeti, but a Coleman Extreme 5-day cooler, 50 quart, rollaway type. It looked great but we noticed one of the wheels was fatally broken.

I had seen this type of situation before. Two years ago. We had found another Extreme cooler. Typical arrangement, 52 quart; however, the plastic hinges broken leaving the lid free to be removed. A quick web visit to EBay and for $5, I had new ones on the way. Combined with the sticker price of $10, we had realized a savings of about $45.

I whipped out my phone and immediately started hunting for a replacement wheel. I couldn’t find it. I saw others eyeing our find and we had to make a quick decision. The tag also said $10. Would it be worth it if I couldn’t find a wheel? How much would a wheel be if I did find one?

The other bargain hunters could smell the blood of a good deal in the water. They circled. We protected our prey within our cart. I frantically thumbed through more web pages of DIY repairs but could not find the part listed. We ran for the cash register anyway.

“$10 seems a little high for a broken-wheeled cooler,” my wife said to the manager.

“How about $3?”IMG_20170312_215458905

“Done.”

The kill was ours. $3 for a $50-60 cooler, but missing one wheel. We took it home for the night.

I spent the better part of this morning searching online and kept striking out. And then it struck me, the wheel doesn’t have to know for what it was made. Maybe one for a grill would work. To Home Depot we flew.

For $8, a lawnmower wheel would fit. I had to spend an additional 31¢ on a bushing to match the bore size to the axle, but it worked. My wife laughed as I carved figure eights in the parking lot with the cooler in tow. I had to assure it would roll without a limp. It did.

Success. Savings: $48! Mark additional cooler off of the list.

I’m feeling quite proud of myself tonight.

 

Post 3-072

One Man’s Lake…

mikemjensen Life's Truths, Utah Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
powel

Lake Powell. Well, part of it. (Picture by NASA)

Hey Kids,

No matter the position and the clarity of logic you may hold, there will always be someone who holds the complete opposite view. Always.

In this era of ready access to each other, the opposition makes itself known easier than before. I now find myself in a situation that could develop into such a scenario. I want Lake Powell in Utah to remain.

I own a houseboat now on that lake and I have an intense love for it. I hope it lasts forever. I can’t wait to be back on top of the deep water between the deeper rock walls and to float into the bays and canyons, exploring the many fingers of waterways clawed into the red rock desert.

The fishing that awaits me, is fishing only dreamed of just a year away. I long for the symptoms of severe striper fever to grip my body and cause me to reel fish in my sleep. I want to paddle the kayak, swim the waves, and stare at sunsets and sunrises until my retinas cry for mercy.

And yet, there are people who call for the lake to be drained. I have read their arguments, studied their positions, and I find little merit. But they would argue that point.

They can have their opinion, wrong as it might be. That’s what makes this country great. We can allow people with opposing points of view to state their point of view. We can allow them to be wrong and it erodes our rightness nothing at all.

I plan on enjoying my lake. I plan on talking about it and having no shame for doing so.

Feel free to proclaim “Drain Lake Powell” of “Free the Colorado” as much as you like. But as for me and my house, we will say “Fill Lake Powell to the brim.”

PS- My boat lives in the bay in the lower right hand corner of the included picture.

 

Post 3-032

Kind Words

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Hey Kids,

Today is a day to celebrate.

Not just because we were accepted into an ownership of a houseboat.

Not just because said houseboat is located on Lake Powell.boatonpowell

Not just because we will be on that houseboat on Lake Powell for hopefully years to come.

But because we have enough friends who are willing to say good things on our behalf to help us get it.

Now to learn how to pilot a houseboat.

 

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