08/21 - 08/24 - Lake Yellowstone, Wyoming

Gerry - So you hit a few of the bars in White Sulphur Springs during your misspent youth. When I lived there in 1972-74, there were nine (9) bars. I returned three years ago and found only four left. I believe Big Timber and White Sulphur are becoming the wind capitols of Montana. We had a long, cold, and windy winter. The Crazies are loaded with snow, and the Yellowstone River is running bank full. Sorry you can't break away from Annapolis and join us, but I guarantee you we will toast you and Wee Wine as a kindred spirit once the festivities begin. For those of you reading this post not from Montana, some trivia about the Yellowstone
River. Of course it originates in Wyoming and Yellowstone Park, but the Yellowstone River is the only undamed major river left in America, running over 600 miles before it dumps into the Missouri River at the Montana-North Dakota border. We will be boating in some pretty special water this coming August. Yellowstone John
 
El & Bill - See what your enthusiasm has created. Like the old fashion revival meeting, they are coming down the isles to be saved. Roger and C-Lover, we look forward to meeting you. Jody and the Voyager, it is easy for a retired fellow to say, "sure, postpone your July 24 trip and come instead in August," but if you can, we want to meet you and see the Voyager. Also, those of you out in C-Dory land reading these posts, being a wannabe is like kissing your kid sister. Come and join us this August. A special bonus. The mosquitos will be way down. The NPS refuses to put them on the endangered species list. And for you news junkies, the USA Today miraculously appears at the marina on time.
Yellowstone John
 
flrockytop":1x9x74di said:
OK, Just made reservations for the campground and boat slip for Aug 21-25. :D I hope these are they dates. It took me about four numbers to get to the right place for the boat slip. If anyone is interested you want to talk to Elliot 307-242-3876. Tell him your one of the C-Dory people and he will take care of you. (He's a good ol southern boy from Georgia.) If anyone needs, we are going to have 30' RV and the boat so can accommodate some other folks.
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Roger

When you check into the campground with the rv see if they can put you into loop A or B they are in close walking distance to the Marina. Wood is really expensive if bought there. We will bring some up for the campfire.

Great your going to make it and looking forward to meeting you.

Jay
 
HI Jay,

OK will do. As a matter of fact, the lady I talked to when making the reservation also mentioned that. I'm getting excited. I'm ready to leave now....
 
While we won't be able to join you folks on the "Grand Slam Tour", having done each of those bodies of water, let me say that this will be an unforgettable experience. Toss in some land exploring in each of those places (and add in Bryce, Zion, and the Grand Canyon) and it will move into the "experience of a life-time" category. Take at least a month, working your way south, and you will be traveling with the weather.

Some of you may be able to do a part of this, and join in on the fun at a particular location. This has the potential for being an historic C-Brat Tour.

It will be fun to see this all come together. If the "tour" doesn't happen this year, and we are not cruising on the east coast next fall, we would love to go back to all these great places.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
JamesTXSD":1mkkfgqx said:
Take at least a month, working your way south, and you will be traveling with the weather.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
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My wife has been going through her "travel ideas" folders for the area. I don't think a month is going to cut it. If we can get ready, I think we are going to have to add some time on the front end.
 
flrockytop":vb4ac08l said:
My wife has been going through her "travel ideas" folders for the area. I don't think a month is going to cut it. If we can get ready, I think we are going to have to add some time on the front end.
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More time is even better! :thup One of the things we've noticed since arriving in Yellowstone is how some people react to the 45 mph speed limit. It's two lane road throughout the park, some twisty and mountainous, some roads are less than smooth. Only 1% of this park is manmade: roads and buildings. Yet, some people think they can "see it all" in a day. Slow down, take time to see what the area has to offer, and enjoy.

If you can take more than a month to do this "tour", you will discover even more about the west. Rushing means you have to leave things out and creates more stress. I said a month as a bare minimum... you could hit the highlights. We like to head out with a general idea of where we want to be and when, but a "have to be there by this date" isn't a good thing when traveling by boat. Or with a boat. Weather will play a part. You may find somewhere that you want to spend more time... or less than you planned.

To do this as a "tour" with a group, a schedule is going to be necessary so those who don't have unlimited time off can plan where and how long to attend. It's an interesting idea... no schedule, we be retired, Grand Slam Tour. Our winter in Florida where Discovery and Wild Blue cruised together was one of those serendipitous events: we didn't plan where and when to meet, it just unfolded as we went along... and was one of the most enjoyable boat trips we've ever had. Because of that, we made life-long friends and plan to travel together again. However, the bigger the group, the more a plan is necessary. Or, you can always say, "Meet you at Lake Powell in about 10 days or so" and go from there.

Good luck with the plans, and I'll look forward to meeting you in Yellowstone.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Just got off the cell phone will my son who is tent camped at Bridge Bay Campground. He said they had two different grizzly bears in very close to there tent yesterday on F loop. Said the animal viewing has been great but the wind, rain and snow is wearing on them with today and the next two forecast the same or worse are debating on whether to head out today or not. The high for tomorrow is forecast to be 35 degrees.

Jim & Yellowstone John---you will be smiling this weekend as the sky's are supposed to clear with tempurtures up in the 60's.

Jay
 
Jay We didn't consult our local soothsayer about Yellowstone's weather this coming weekend. Just plain dumb luck.Yellowstone as you know is a fickle "beast." But that is part of its charm. Right now in White Suffering Springs it is raining, sleeting, hailing, snowing, and blowing gusts up to 50 mph. Sloppy weather forecast for the next three days. We are only at 5,200 feet here and the Lake is around 7,900. I feel for your son at Bridge Bay campground, but then he has got to be made of the right stuff. Good that you mentioned bringing some fire wood. I'll raid the old wood pile, too, and bring some along to add to your pile. When we lived in Oregon we burned oak, maple, cherry, apple, and madrone. I left four cords behind. Just too heavy to haul 800 miles . Darn it. John
 
John--Have similar conditions here at 6200 feet except the winds not that bad. This storm is covering a large area and back east their sweltering in heat and humidity.

Ya, wasn't concerned about my son, but his wife, mother-in-law and young step-daughter may be well above their comfort zone. Jayson, that's my youngest son has been well tested many times. We once spent several days atop the Salt River Range in Wyoming in similar conditions without a tent.

Sounds good you bringing wood too. Love a campfire and hate having to be to conservative with the wood.

Jay
 
Fickle? Well, that implies constantly changing, right? We woke up to more snow again this morning. :roll: OK, it was different - this time it was slushy... wet and heavy, the kind of snow you liked to make snowballs out of when you were a kid... if you wanted to take someone right off their feet! :twisted:

But, today was different. A day off, after being on the last 8 in a row. I made a lot of runs with the Lake Queen over the past week, most of them in IFR conditions. Joan and I drove over to the Lake Lodge today... the slush was melting... might have been the cold wind sublimating the icy stuff! We have the next two days off, and Mother Nature doesn't sound too nice during that timeframe. Still, the park is pretty; dramatic scenes all around with the snow and clouds.

We saw a bit of sunshine while out early this afternoon... it really highlighted the whitecaps on the lake! :shock: Yesterday when the other captain came in mid-day for his time on, he said, "I felt bad for you with all the weather you had to deal with the past few days."

"So, you would rather it was on your shift?" I asked.

"Um, no, I didn't feel that bad."

:mrgreen:

That's how I felt today, looking out at the whitecaps. :wink:

Tent camping wouldn't be my idea of fun here in Yellowstone this past week.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
If we can get ready, I think we are going to have to add some time on the front end.
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How about coming out to the Pac NW? Do some cruising in San Juans, Gulf Islands, maybe up the coast into BC. Hang on an anchor, take slow cruising, save fuel and marina costs. Then head up to Northern Idaho lakes (wheeeooo) before coming over to Yellowstone.

http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/priest.htm

Or, hang out longer in the salt water and meet the NW gang at the Bellingham Gathering, and then head on up to Yellowstone.
 
El and Bill":3jr1rel3 said:
If we can get ready, I think we are going to have to add some time on the front end.
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How about coming out to the Pac NW? Do some cruising in San Juans, Gulf Islands, maybe up the coast into BC. Hang on an anchor, take slow cruising, save fuel and marina costs. Then head up to Northern Idaho lakes (wheeeooo) before coming over to Yellowstone.

http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/priest.htm

Or, hang out longer in the salt water and meet the NW gang at the Bellingham Gathering, and then head on up to Yellowstone.
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I would love to do that but we do have to save something for next year. :)
I spent the last few months of my Army days way back in the 70's. I would have moved there at that time if it had not been 3000 miles from all family etc. I love the area.
 
Hi Ell and Bill,

Thanks for the good suggestions. This will be a trail run for us to see how well we manage a longer trip like this. If we can still buy gas and I can manage the money I hope to get to the east coast in the next few years.

My initial thought was to go to Bryce and Zion between Flaming Gorge and Powell. That probably would not work if we want to stay with others planning this. I don't know anything about Kodacrome or Capital Reef yet and had not considered them. We had decided that we would not drive through the 1.1 mi tunnel.

This give us more to think about. Not pulling the boat would give us about %40 savings in fuel but we would need to camp with our truck for a few days.

If we make slip reservations for Lake Yellowstone for the 20th to the end of Aug. I think we should be okay to take it as it comes for the rest of the trip. Any idea of when the group might head to Flaming Gorge and then to Lake Powell?


Steve
 
We're thinking of pulling out the 1st of September and head down to Teton Lake, maybe stay in that area overnight, and then down to Flaming Gorge. Hang around there three or four days (depends on weather, and what folks want to do) and then down to Powell, 'camping en route.'
 
For me looks like 21st thru the 24th Yellowstone. 30th thru the 1st Flaming Gorge. The 18th thru the 22nd at Lake Powell. Sorry the rest of the time I have to work. Flaming Gorge has a light parade and fireworks on saturday the 30th.
 
El and Bill":r12zx6dt said:
We're thinking of pulling out the 1st of September and head down to Teton Lake, maybe stay in that area overnight, and then down to Flaming Gorge. Hang around there three or four days (depends on weather, and what folks want to do) and then down to Powell, 'camping en route.'
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This fits in with what we had in mind.

Roger
 
Folks, Edna and I spent five delightful days at Bridge Bay Marina returning Wed. evening. The weather and fishing were very good. Edna caught several cutthroat trout - her first - weighing close to 2 lbs each.We lost many due to barbless hooks but that was OK. It is catch and release anyway. We met Capt. Jim and Joan of the Wild Blue. They were busy, however on their jobs, but we will catch up with them this coming August. Jim and another fellow share captain duties of the Lake tour boat. We drove to Jackson (100 miles due south) on Monday passing through Grand Teton National Park - Edna's first visit - and checked out the marina and launch facilities on Jackson Lake. For C-Dogs touring Jackson Lake, these are your options: Leeks Marina - 307-543-2546 www.signalmountainlodge.com - small launch site and all boats swing on a buoy - cost $30 p/day but that includes water taxi service. Andy Swallow, the engaging young manager told me that most of the time the buoys are all taken - two C-Dorys were swinging, one called the Shiboney
from Wilson, Wyo. and the other (no name) a 22'. There is a nice restaurant and clean restrooms close to the launch site. Further down the lake is the Colter Bay Marina which had both slips and buoys. Some shore power. It appeared to be close to full. Cost is $25 day. Call (307)
543-2811 for more info. Futher down the lake is Signal Marina (307)543 2831 ext. 250. I didn't visit the site. There is no question that Jackson Lake has the most spectacular mountain background with the towering
Tetons, the highest being the Grand Teton at 13,770 feet. The lake is really the impoundment of the Snake River and the water looks good. My sense is that reservations for both Yellowstone and Grand Teton need to be secured soon. Hope this information is useful for those of you joining us Aug. 21-24. Yellowstone John
 
Hi John and Edna,

I was a pleasure to meet you. Sorry we weren't able to get away and spend time with you, but we hope that will be different when you return. Mother Nature cooperated with you during your visit - blue skies and reasonable temps... and no snow! Hopefully, the C-Brats who are coming in August will be living right and will be treated to the same nice weather.

With all the snowpack, Jackson Lake should be good. We have spent time on that lake, too, and the scenery is gorgeous. I think the idea of a tour of lakes starting here and working south is great!

We look forward to seeing you again.

Best wishes,
Jim & Joan
 
Good morning Jim and Joan - I did leave a note on the TomCat about the gathering - perhaps he/she already knows. A fellow boater at the Marina told me that in August the marina has what he called a Christmas parade of boats on the lake. The date he mentioned fell into the window of our gathering. Would you research that for us? I believe my inverter would handle a string of lights. Kind of fun to celebrate Christmas early! Stay off the shoals. See you in August. Take care. John & Edna
 
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