Stayed tied...

Well, on tonight's dinner cruise, the cruise boats stayed tied to the dock. Of course, that may be because we had less wind. In fact, when the wind died, the mosquitoes came out with a vengeance. It was more of a mutiny than a democratic vote - people were anxious to get off the island because the the blood-sucking skeeters. In place of time on the island, we did some extra boat cruising... everyone seemed happy with that solution.

Marina Sunrise... and on the rocks...

A beautiful sunrise with the pink light on the mountains...


It was a pretty typical day... until late afternoon when the wind began to kick up. I got back from my 3:30 just in time to give some pre-boarding instructions to the guests who would be going out with us for the dinner cruise. The manager told me that there was some potential precip on radar, but it didn't look bad.

We ran through some very light rain on our way around the far side of the island, but nothing when we were ready to dock on the island. The wind had really kicked up... not great for walking on the dock there, but helpful in keeping the mosquitoes at bay. Dinner was progressing normally when one of the guests came up to me (I was working behind the grill) and asked, "Is the boat supposed to be parked like that?"

I had to walk out into a clearing to get a view of the boat - it was completely loose from the dock and taking a pounding from the waves on the rocky shoreline! Both crews made a made dash for the boat. I grabbed the bow line that was within reach and started pulling. Two more crew helped on that line and we began to get the bow close enough that I could climb on. The island wrangler jumped on the supply boat to use it to tow the stern off the rocks - my first mate jumped on that boat to help with lines. I got back to the stern and passed a line off to the supply boat... they made some "modifications" to the prop and skeg on that boat as the cruise boat began to move. Once into enough water to clear the props, I fired up both engines; between the tow and full-reverse on the port engine, we rotated the boat back to the dock. Everyone on the crew worked together to make this work - great teamwork. I checked the bilge for any sign of damage/leaks and tested the rudder movement and shafts. It appears that we were fortunate.

With a storm moving in from the southwest, I left two crew on the dock to watch all three boats and went to dining site to let guests know that we needed to board up the boats and head for the marina. It was a bit of a whitewater ride back, with quartering waves from the stern.

Back to the marina, all guests and crew safe and sound. Tomorrow, I'll do a more extensive check of the hull, rudders, props, and shafts. Pretty sure we'll do some remedial cleat tying training, too.

No, I have no photos of the boat rescue - we were all kinda busy! I did see guests taking photos while we were in the middle of it all... wish I could get a copy of those.

Tough Day On The Water... and... We're On Vacation, Dammit!

One of my "bonus" days off today, but it is also the first Friday of the month and we have to do the Coast Guard required fire and Man-Overboard drills with all captains and first mates. Instead of taking both boats out, then coming back in and swapping, I suggested we put everyone on one boat, then come back and get the other boat - good learning experience with all parties onboard and we'll be burning half the fuel.

First run out: two people overboard, fire in the cabin, fuel-fed fire in the engine room, boat taking on water, refresher on how to deploy the life boat... and then the captain had a heart attack. During the CPR procedure on the captain (yes, I was laying lifeless on the cabin floor), a child fell overboard. Decisions!! That all constitutes a very tough day on the water... and that was all in the first hour!

First mates retrieving the first MOB...


Back to the marina, swap out cruise boats, more of the same. Everyone worked together, and it was a good learning experience.

With that bit of work out of the way, I headed for home to get some motorcycling in. It's a beautiful day, the roads are not crowded, and the mountains are looking their usual gorgeous self...


I came back to the marina to have lunch with my lovely wife. On the way through Colter Bay Village, I came to a near stop at a cross walk while three kids on bikes passed. I saw in my mirror a minivan coming up fast. When the kids were through the crosswalk, I proceeded at the 15 mph speed limit. The minivan passed me on the right, in a single lane area, the guy glaring as he went by. The guy then drove to the end of the road and started to turn the wrong way on a one way street. I was concerned that he might be drunk... I followed him to a parking spot, and when he got out, I asked if he was OK?

"What's it to you?" he snarled.

"Well, sir, this is a 15 mph area, and, besides speeding, you just about turned the wrong way on a one way street," I replied.

"Are you a cop?" more snarling.

"Easy boy. No, I'm an employee here, but I can have NPS and Security here in a heartbeat," I told him.

"You gonna narc on me?"

As he started towards me, I put the kickstand down on the bike and turned it off... he thought better and stopped. The situation deteriorated, with him unleashing a swearing rant at me. He ended the rant with "asshole."

I said, "You don't know me well enough to call me that - it's MISTER Asshole to you."

His wife tried to reel him in, and when he saw that I wasn't going to back down, he walked away, swearing.

I shook my head and drove down to the marina for lunch with Joan. After lunch, when I was getting back on my bike, the crazy-ass guy walked by and screamed, "What? Are you following me?" And then let off with another swearing rant. I guess he didn't like it when my response was to laugh at him. His wife was trying to lead him away.

I rode away, and then thought that this guy might be wacko enough to be a problem to the next person who crossed him. I stopped to report the incident to LE (Law Enforcement) at the NPS Ranger Station. When I rode back down to that area, the white minivan with Montana plates was gone. Probably off to spread more sunshine elsewhere.

I went back to my motorcycle ride. While stopped to take photos, I visited with a really nice couple on a GoldWing from Salt Lake City. They asked if I knew a good place for lunch where they could eat on an outside deck... I gave them a couple options within 10 miles. Plenty of nice folks out there. It would be a darn shame to let one bad apple spoil this lovely day. Some folks go through life looking for problems... tough way to take on each day.

The riding was nice.


Little Izzy got a nice long walk in when I got home. Some work to do around the coach, then off to the marina to pick up the Blonde.

Test...

This is a test. In an actual alert...

Remember those words from years passed? Well, not that kind of test. I picked up another pocket camera yesterday while in Idaho Falls. Initial tests of the Canon SX130 look good. It is a bit bigger than the Canon A1000 being replaced, but less shutter lag and a lot more zoom on both ends (12x vs 4x). The construction of the SX130 doesn't seem as solid as the A1000, and I had some concerns about not having a real viewfinder to go with the LCD screen... but, the features get better and the price gets lower.

Here's a low light image of a (biased opinion) particularly cute subject...


The image has been compressed a bunch for web use, but has great detail, good contrast, and nice color rendition with an automatic white balance.

Amazing how digital cameras have evolved in the past decade. This camera has twice the image resolution of the professional cameras that were our workhorses when we still had the studio... at about 2 to 3% of the cost. Oh, don't get me wrong, those pro cameras were designed to withstand the rigors of a serious shooting schedule. I have a serious DSLR that I didn't bother bringing this summer - too much bulk for the casual shooting I currently do. It feels like a well-designed weapon in your hand... a very heavy weapon. You really notice the bulk when you heft it onto your shoulder. This SX130 and the SX20 I bought last summer do all I need and are lightweight to cart around. Granted, they will need to be replaced more often, but the features continue to improve and the price keeps dropping... seems like a good trade-off for my use.

Cranky...

I've been a bit cranky. I let the "big company" line of thinking get to me for a few days. Joan and I have both worked like this business was ours, meaning we put more heart and effort into the work than most of the management above us. Budget constraints put above doing the job right has never set well with either of us. Hypocrisy - not something I subscribe to. Yesterday, I decided to just laugh at the whole thing and continue to do what I do: give people the best experience possible; continue to build team spirit and lead by example. I considered trying to "care less", but that's not in my nature; sure can't make them care more. But, I can laugh and do my best to make sure my co-workers and the guests get the best we can all give.

This place is special. I truly enjoy being able to share that. The company calls it "the experience of a lifetime"... I like that premise. As I told my darling daughter when she was in college and wanted to work at an amusement park for the summer: "someone has to work hard in order for people to have fun."

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Took a long drive today, on land for a change of pace. Over Teton Pass, through some beautiful valleys in Idaho, and into Idaho Falls. We did some shopping, had lunch at our favorite Italian place, and waited for a phone call to tell us that one of our fishing guide boats might be ready to bring back to the marina. The call came, but the boat won't be ready for another week. Not good news for some people who have guided fishing trips booked.

The Snake River runs along much of the route we took; lots of folks fishing. Green fields being irrigated, with mountains in the background. The views here are not as dramatic as those around the Tetons, but very beautiful in a different way. This drive reminds me that I still need to see what's over the next horizon. As beautiful as the Tetons are, I'll be ready to move on when our jobs here are done.

We picked up a new pocket camera today; a little bigger than what I toss in my bag now, but more zoom on both ends. I'll be looking forward to trying it out over the next couple days.

A shot from the old camera on the way to Idaho Falls...

Mother Nature's in charge...

A long driving day yesterday, some management head-butting, and taking care of business. I had to excuse myself from the big boss, because I had guests who were minutes away from boarding for a cruise... priorities. I'm comfortable that I have mine straight.

This morning, we woke up to a steady rain, and more on the way. We had to cancel the breakfast cruise... two boats. I greeted guests at the front door of the marina to let them know, while Joan and staff handled refunds inside.

As always, Mother Nature is in charge.

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On edit:

Getting a chance this evening to post an image - not from today, since we couldn't see the mountains most of the day due to the precip. Yesterday morning, I was in early enough to catch a Teton sunrise... instead of looking east to see the sun, you look to the west to see how the sun plays the light on the mountains.


Before the sunrise, the mountains look blue. As the first rays of light reach above the eastern horizon, the mountain tops turn pink, then that color moves down the mountain. Beautiful to behold.

Rescue me...

Blue shirt day. I spent part of the morning going over engine-out procedures in the cruise boats, establishing a workable solution for docking. Some boat work in the afternoon, then a storm started to brew. With nothing showing on radar, nothing on the weather sites, a look out the window showed that something was up. The assistant manager and I took the rescue boat out to check on the rental kayaks, canoes, and boats we had out, and have them start heading in. By the time we were heading in ourselves, the wind really churned up. We wound up pulling in three people who had swamped a canoe out, checking on two other parties who ran their canoes up on shore, and towing in a boat whose electrical system had quit... it was a busy hour!

Then, time to change into my captain's uniform and take a cruise boat out for the dinner cruise... with some wind and rain. I could see the look in the guests' eyes when I told them that this would pass quickly. Fortunately, it did... turned out to be a very pleasant evening on the island.

No photos; kinda had my hands full.