1ST Boating Blog 2010

Greetings from La Paz, Nov. 27, 2010
Down town La Paz Mexico from anchorage
After much work, sweat and a little blood we are finally underway .
I went down to the boat in San Carlos the first of Sept. and spent a little over three weeks getting the boat ready after 2 and a half years in storage. I had been working all summer on projects at home to get ready.
When I got to the boat I had 40 to 50 projects to do. Some required days others only an hour or so. Pictures of a couple of the projects will be posted at the end of this blog.
Before I came down to Mexico I dropped Jayne off in Phoenix, Ariz at an old friends house so she could help her through knee replacement. Jayne was more than knowledgeable since she had both knees replaced in the last two years.
After three weeks of sweating the boat once again started looking like something we could take to sea. I returned to Phoenix and retrieved my bride of 45 years and we went back to Cloudcroft.
Back at home we started loading up on food to take to the boat. Shopping at the Base, Wal-Mart and Costco’s. Plus all the supplies I had deemed necessary for or trip. We finally received passports for our birds after 5 months.
The day after the Nov. elections we headed back to the boat. After a week of off loading the Pick-Up and storing equipment and completing some projects I drove the truck back to Cloudcroft and put her up on blocks in our barn. Since we are planning on being gone 3 and one half years I thought that would be best and cheapest.
I rode buses back to San Carlos while Jayne waited on board with the Birds.
We departed San Carlos on the Friday before Thanksgiving and after 32 hours we anchored in Aqua Verde on the Baja side of the sea of Cortez. After a good nights rest we departed for La Paz, further south on Baja, arriving on Monday morning.
We have been here 5 days and I have to get a bad tooth repaired so we will be leaving in another 4 or 5 days for Mazatlan, back on the mainland of Mexico. From there we will head south hoping to arrive at the Panama Canal in early June where we will go back to the Caribbean.
We will update this blog as we go. Below are pictures of some of the projects I did on the boat.
Aft deck looking aft before Sept 2010
Notice the old teak top on the sliding hatch in the top picture in the bottom it has been replaced with an artificial teak top. Also notice the traditional Morgan Main sheet has been replaced with a line controlled traveler in lower Picture she sails much better
Aft Deck looking Aft after Sept 2010
New 135 Watt Solar Panel on Hard top

Well after 3 months of being busy and lazy I’ll try and catch up the Blog. A lot has happened in the last three months not all pleasant. After Prince George, British Columbia we spent a couple days getting to the border of the lower 48. Then due to our feathered pets it took 2 tries to get across the border. We have crossed into the United States 4 times with our birds and had four different experiences, from costing over $200.00 to costing nothing.
From the border we drove down to Spokane, Washington. Here we stayed at an Elks lodge that was the best we had found yet. Some old boating friends,Ray and Mozelle Varner were up in Canada and drove down to visit for a couple of days. Right after we arrived in Spokane we learned that my 95 year old Aunt had fallen and broken her hip (later we found out it was her femur in four places). We were the only relatives that could look after her so we canceled the northern part of our trip and headed to Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Where Custer last Stood

Four hard days of driving found us parked in a beautiful state park on the shores of Lake Tenkiller. Aunt Lahoma got to come home about three days later. She only spent one night then had breathing problems. Three more weeks of in and out of nursing homes was more than her body could take and she passed away.

Lake Tenkiller Flooding us out of State Park

While in Tahlequah I made a fast four day run down to my baby in San Carlos, Mexico and picked up a Jib that I wanted to use as a copy for a new one to be made in Florida this winter. I thought 3000 miles in four days was good for an old fart. When I was younger I would have done it in two, oh well.

Baby on the Hard in San Carlos
Sean makes Eagle

We then headed for Dallas to visit with family and happier surroundings. Sean was getting his Eagle award and we attended the ceremony. We then spent about two weeks hugging kids and Grand brats.

Grand Brats having fun at Texas State Fair

Mark and Jayne Texas State fair
Family at Texas State Fair

Then we headed southeast towards Florida. Stopped a couple of days in Biloxi, Miss. And won a couple of hundred at the casino playing blackjack. We have been in Panama City, Florida for three weeks now and will be moving on soon.

After Homer and fishing for halibut and flounder, we went to Kenai to visit Doc and Seal, friends we had met during our first stay in Fort Richardson. From there we traveled to Seward where we hoped to go on a day boat trip but it rained for 4 days. We opted out for visiting an ocean aquarium and dinner out instead.
Who's Looking at Who
Across the bay from Downtown Seward
Jayne finally found King Crab at a great price. All the time in Seward we had very little phone service and no email.
We returned to Fort Richardson so Jayne could catch up on laundry and we could shop at the Commissary before we left Alaska. We continue to have rain back in Fort Richardson and decided not to go to Valdez.
Glacier along side of road on the way to Chicken
Chicken Campground and Mining Office
Public Facilities Chicken
So we headed to chicken where I got to pan for gold again. I found that I would have to get a lot faster with each pan and pan for about 8 hours a day to make any money at panning. At least I found color in every pan. I did it for two days but in the end it was only about $5.00 worth of gold. I do have a lot more respect for the old gold miners.
Miners Hard at work in Chicken
Chicken campground from above
From Chicken we traveled across the top of the world Highway to Dawson City. That was a once in a life time experience pulling the fifth over mud gravel and rain but the landscape was beautiful.
View along Top of the World Highway
Talk about your basic Ferry
Dawson city was the most interesting stop of our trip so far. Jack London had lived about 70 miles south of here before becoming a successful writer later in the lower 48.
Jayne in front of Jack London Square Notice St. Name
Meat Storage next to Jack London Cabin
After Jack London’s time Robert Service lived here for several years writing a lot of his Poetry here. I enjoyed this very much since my dad raised me on “The Cremation of Sam Magee and the Shooting of Dan Mcgrew.”
Robert Service Cabin in Misting Rain
Jayne setting on Robert Service Front Porch
Antlers found locked together this way
Notice upper window
After Three days in Dawson City we went on a long four day trip driving about 335 miles a day and dry camping at night til we reached Prince George where I’m now updating the blog.

Riding the train through a permafrost tunnel and meeting local miners was fun. But, not nearly as fun as panning for gold in the El Dorado Gold Mine.

Nice pan of Gold
$44,000 Nugget in Jaynes left hand
There's Gold there Too

We were both lucky enough to find gold flakes in the bottom of our pans. Gordon bought his own pan after that, and he had the flakes made into a locket for me.
Jayne on Raft
In Denali National Park we decided to go river rafting one day and took a long bus ride the next day to the end of the road. We got to view Mt. McKinley on a clear day, by golly! Not to mention seeing bears, moose, caribou, sheep, eagles, and an owl hawk sitting on a limb. There are more bald eagles in Alaska than any other state in the U.S.
Largest Mountain in North America
Mom and Three
Arty Moosie
Owl Hawk Very Rare
In Anchorage we stayed at Ft. Richardson; an army – air force two-base complex.
Fort Richardson Camp Site
Flowers in Anchorage
We toured a museum in Anchorage, visited earthquake park seeing 1964 films of the HUGE earthquake that made land rise or drop 15-20 ft. leaving fissures big enough to swallow a house. While at the RV park we made friends with a retired USCG corpsman and his wife who was a nurse. They met and married in Viet Nam 42 years ago. We later visited them at their home they are building in Kenai.
Old Tired Fisherman who still has to Filet them
Next we traveled to Homer to do some fishing and see our old friend Donald Ray who was there with his brothers fishing. Gordon and I fished from the end of the spit catching 2 cod and 7 flounders. Two days later Gordon went on an overnight boat trip catching 4 halibut which was his limit. So, we now have an ice chest full of fish which we HOPE will last awhile with the dry ice.

Our Boat Ride

After posting the Blog on the 22nd we went on a river boat ride on a stern wheeler. While on the ride we stopped at a mock up of a Chena village where they talked about the different living methods of the Indians over the years before white man and after white man.
Tempory Shelter
Birch Bark Canoe
Beautiful coat
Alaskan Furs (The little white one to he right of the girl they call Texas Polar bear)
These Indians had been living in Alaska for 10,000 years before white man came along.
We also got to see the kennels of Susan Butcher the lady who won four Iditarod sled dog races.
Dog Training ATV has no Engine