Map of Puget Sound Washington State
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The Biggest Sound Around

Puget Sound is the second-largest estuary in the country. It was formed around 15,000 years ago by a massive glacier moving south across the area. This glacier was over 3,412 feet thick. As it moved south, it shaped the land like a giant bulldozer, carving out the basins that make up Puget Sound. Over fresh waters of 10,000 rivers and streams of the Seattle area flow into the Puget Sound creating the estuarine habitat that's so valuable for wildlife in the sound. Our first stop is Gig Harbor, a very unique boating destination. We'll be attending the PNW MTOA Rendezvous…

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Ranger Tug Kismet
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Ranger Tugs Factory in Kent, Washington

We saw the pictures, talked with the Ranger Tugs personnel, took tours at boat shows, and visited owner's forums, however, there isn’t anything like meeting the folks that make it all happen. In our case, I’m referring to everyone at the Ranger Tugs assembly facility in Kent, Washington where our Ranger Tug R27 was built. After our orientation day, we spent the next day at the plant loading and provisioning our boat for our initial solo launch, at Port Defiance, later that day. While at the Kent facility, Andrew (above) continued to educate us on the inner workings of our…

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MTOA Rendezvous, Gig Harbor, Washington
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The PNW Chapter of MTOA Puts On a Mean Rendezvous.

Can't think of a better location than Gig Harbor, Washington for the PNW MTOA group of boaters to come together to laugh, share and learn. We never felt the "odd man out" (being from out of state) with this group of boaters, we got a big, warm welcome, right away, from everyone we met and the group is just small enough that it really was possible to spend time with almost everyone to hear boating stories and/or tips. We had so much fun, we think we'll have to come back in two years. Bill Stults hosted the rendezvous and worked…

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Gig Harbor
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Off We Go…

Thursday afternoon, after we provisioned the boat, Andrew drove us down to the boat launch in Point Defiance, waved goodbye, and said to call him when we got back. We left the truck and trailer at the factory this time out. So, long story short, we're off on our own and FINALLY back on the water on a new Kismet. Gig Harbor, here we come.

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Glacier National Park
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A Few Stops On the Way

We arrived at Glacier National Park early Saturday, with plenty of time to drive around the park and take a hike before we settled in our little mountain cabin at Rising Sun Motor Inn. We spent Sunday on a Red Bus Tour, a thrilling ride up the Going to the Sun Road. A perfect day spent with a busload of people and a very knowledgeable "Jammer" bus driver. We learned about the glaciers and how they will soon cease to exist (estimated to disappear by 2030), hard to believe. We learned that it will be the fifth time the glaciers…

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Mississippi Divide
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Road Trip

Where did the summer go? It seemed to fly by for us as we quickly organized and packed up all our boating paraphernalia, clothes, and a multitude of personal luxury items. The boat is finished now and recently passed the sea trial and as the Ranger Tugs Custom Service Manager said in his recent email message to us, "It floated!" So, on Tuesday, we hit the road running with our thoughts focused forward to the new adventure ahead of us. We'll take possession of the boat in Kent, Washington, and get situated and familiar with her before we head to…

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Ranger Tugs R27 Kismet
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Final Touches

As you can see from the photos, Kismet is nearing completion. There are some interesting features on this boat that we'll be talking about in the near future. One of my personal favorites, and the most innovative I believe, is the iPod docking station. You don't want to store a lot of CDs on a smaller boat – this way we'll have our whole collection of music at the ready without it taking up a lot of valuable storage space. Something we'll need to be more aware of while boating on a trailerable boat.

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