Kismet Cruising Cathedral Canyon, Lake Powell
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Cruising Cathedral and Secret Canyons

The mystery of the unknown is one of the most compelling reasons why we love exploring new (to us) boating destinations. Lake Powell more than satisfied our quest to be inundated with awe-inspiring sights as we made our way up the lake, around the crested buttes and all the rock canyons that the lake has to offer. At 186 miles long, with 2,000 miles of shoreline and 96 uniquely named, and flooded canyons, there was always something new to see, just around the next bend. Our first narrow canyon cruising exploration came on our third full day on the lake.  While…

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Cruising, Dry Rock Creek Canyon, Lake Powell
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Dry Rock Creek Canyon – Lake Powell

Anchoring and Stern Tying to Shore in Dry Rock Creek Canyon We found out that sometimes you can go all the way into a winding canyon only to discover there are no beaches to tie up to. As we neared the end of Dry Rock Creek Canyon today, we finally found a spot that looked promising. Since it's only our second night on the lake we're still a little nervous about rocks lurking beneath the water by the shore. We decided to try anchoring and sterling in; this method took a few tries to get where we felt comfortable. Initially,…

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Beach Anchoring Kismet on Lake Powell
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Beach Anchoring on Lake Powell

First Beach Anchor – Padre Bay We left Wahweap Marina after three days of weather watching – glad to finally be on our way, headed toward the canyons on the horizon that teased us for several days. For east coast boaters, like us, experiencing Lake Powell for the first time is rather a daunting prospect. All we could see in front of us was rock, and lots of it – almost a foreign concept for boaters from the Great Lakes. It's really okay to be just a little nervous when cruising unfamiliar waters for the first time; being cautious and careful is a good…

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Padre Bay Canyon, Lake Powell
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Canyon Cruising

The Amazing Lake Powell Lisa and I have talked for a long time about our mutual interest in cruising Lake Powell on a houseboat, it's been on our to-do list for quite some time. For one reason or another, it never worked out until now, although it won't be on a houseboat but on our very own tug boat, Kismet. Prior to the building of the Glen Canyon Dam, which was completed in 1963, Lake Powell did not exist and boating was nothing like it is today. It took 17 years to fill the canyons up to their full pool…

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Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell
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Glen Canyon Dam

The day before we left Wahweap to explore the canyons of Lake Powell we thought it would be appropriate to visit the dam which created the lake we are soon to boat in. We signed up for the tour and learned a lot about the construction and purpose of the dam. Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second largest artificial lake in the country, extending upriver well into Utah. The…

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Launching Kismet, Lake Powell
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Launching at Wahweap Marina

Wahweap Lodge and Marina in Arizona is our spot to launch Kismet for a long, two-week adventure on Lake Powell. A cloudless sky and calm waters greeted us at the boat ramp just after we entered the resort, shortly after our boat inspection. The inspection for Lake Powell was not as thorough as we experienced with Lake Tahoe. We mostly answered questions and think it helped that we'd last had our boat in the fresh waters of Lake Tahoe. Getting the boat into the water was easy enough on the HUGE boat ramp which accommodates large houseboats and fluctuating water…

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Ranger Tug Kismet Cruising, Lake Tahoe
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On the Hook for Three Days in Emerald Bay – Lake Tahoe, California

Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. At a surface elevation of 6,225 ft, it is located along the border between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America with a depth is 1,645 ft, making it USA's second-deepest lake. Additionally, Lake Tahoe is listed as the 26th largest lake by volume in the world at 122,160,280 acre·ft. The lake was formed about 2 million years ago and is a part of the Lake Tahoe Basin with the modern lake being shaped during the ice…

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Kismet Boat Inspection, Lake Tahoe
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Lake Tahoe Takes Its Water Condition Seriously

Just short of reaching Homewood, California (Lake Tahoe) we visited the boat inspection site to have our boat thoroughly examined before we could launch it into Lake Tahoe. The residents of Lake Tahoe want to keep any destructive, aquatic invaders such as the quagga and zebra mussels, New Zealand mudsnail, and many other damaging species out of their beautiful, blue, mountain lake water. We weren't quite sure what the inspection involved but we found out fairly quickly, from our responses to their questions, we needed the full procedure. We were instructed to pull onto the mat laid out by the station and…

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Portland, Oregon
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Last Night in Portland

We spent our last few nights in Portland at the City Dock right next to the River View Marina. Not a bad view at night with the lights from the bridges and downtown. No amenities on the almost free dock but it's right downtown and that was a big plus for us during our visit. Late afternoon the yacht, Lady M arrived to tie up across the dock from us, we suddenly felt really small (below - 164' to our tiny 27'). There was a lot of excitement about this vessel when it arrived. It was heavily rumored around town that the…

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Christening Kismet
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Today We Come to Name this Lady… Kismet

For thousands of years, we have gone to sea. We have crafted vessels to carry us and we have called them by name. These ships will nurture and care for us through perilous seas, and so we affectionately call them “she.” To them we toast, and ask to celebrate... KISMET.    To the Sailors of old… to KISMET    The moods of the sea are many, from tranquil to violent. We ask that this ship be given the strength to carry on. The keel is strong and she keeps out the pressures of the sea. To the Sea…To the sailors…

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Friends
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Friends & Family

We've been planning this dinner ever since we saw Patti & Eric in Sandpoint, Idaho, in August. Finally, it was time to meet kids and grandkids, see a new home and share a meal. It was one of those nights that you never want to come to an end. Thank you all for a memorable night.

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Ranger Tugs Kismet
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Willamette River – Portland, Oregon

We live so far away from Ross and opportunities to connect are so few. So these five days in Portland with Ross are very precious to us. He took time off work several days to sightsee, eat out at favorite restaurants and take us on errands like the DMV, hardware, and grocery store. We knew the weather was supposed to be great today so we planned a cruise downriver to the little town of Lake Oswego. We spent the day going slow, trawler speed. The Willamette River is very scenic, rocky with big houses on hills and steep cliffs. We docked…

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Boating Portland, Oregon
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River View Marina – Portland, Oregon

On our own, this time dropping Kismet into the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. We took our time and eased the trailer onto the boat ramp and into the water. Because we were going slow it took us about an hour to complete the whole process. Finding a spot to park the truck took a little more thought and time. Since we could only park the truck and trailer in the parking lot at the boat launch during the day we decided to take it upriver to a spot Jim heard about from another boater, we could leave the boat…

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Ranger Tugs Kismet
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Sleeping in Seattle

After a walk through the market, with dinner still warm in our tummies, we were treated to a full moon and the bright lights of downtown Seattle. A great way to end our stay on the water in Washington State. We'll take the boat out of the water and drive down to the factory for some minor adjustments to Kismet and while this is being done we'll drive over to the Olympic Penninsula to visit the Hoh National Rainforest. We were not able to visit the rainforest when we were here in 2008 due to unusual flooding that year which washed…

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Salmon, Pike Place Market
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On a Mission… First Comes the Fish

Pike Place Market – Seattle, WA Soon after tying Kismet up to the dock at Bell Harbor Marina, in downtown Seattle, we headed up the hill on a mission. We would secure ingredients for dinner, which will be made on the boat tonight. One of our favorite spots in Seattle is the Pike Place Market. The market will bring forth not only a feast for our eyes but later tonight it will provide a feast for our tummies. So many decisions. What to get, what to get. We would have liked to get one of these Dungeness crabs but we…

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Ranger Tug Kismet, Blake Island, Washington
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Blake Island Jogged a Memory

We didn't linger too long in Bremerton after the Ranger Tugs Rendezvous because we had a really interesting cruise planned for today. We said our goodbyes to new boating friends and shoved off the dock late morning. Just around the corner from Bremerton sits Blake Island, a 476-acre Washington State Park which lies in Puget Sound approximately eight miles from downtown Seattle. This Island, with its five miles of beach shoreline and magnificent views of the Olympic Mountains and Seattle skyline, is only accessible by boat.  The island was an ancestral camping ground of the Suquamish Indian tribe. Later, it…

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Ranger Tugs Rendezvous, Bremerton, Washington
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2011 Ranger Tug Rendezvous

The People... "We Love Our Tugs!" We arrived in Bremerton on Wednesday so that we could take care of some chores before the festivities began – we were the third boat to arrive in the harbor. Over the late afternoon and early evening, and the whole next day, the tugs slowly arrived in the harbor. After we tied up to the dock I took off to do laundry while Jim cleaned the boat, then we treated ourselves to dinner at Anthony's – a great choice. We've been anchoring out a lot and, with no dinghy to get to shore, cooking…

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Ranger Tugs Rendezvous, Bremerton, Washington
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2011 Ranger Tug Rendezvous

The Boats... They're Everywhere! Sixty-eight Ranger Tugs and Cutwaters in one place, at one time. They were many sizes, from 21 to 29 feet. If set end to end they would have measured 1,768 feet or one-third of a mile long. A rainbow of colors was represented – yellow, dark red, fire engine red, blue, green, tan, and white with owners from as far away as Maine and New York, on the east coast, Michigan, Texas, California, Montana, Colorado, and Oregon. Most were from Washington State, many hailed from British Columbia, Canada. With 68 boats present, Lisa and I had…

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Oak Harbor, Dragon Race Team
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Unusual Encounters

Not long after we set the hook for a peaceful night at anchor in Oak Bay along comes this racing skull with mostly women aboard. I think we provided some amusement as they had a ton of questions about the "cute tug boat." We knew they were a friendly and happy group when they started to inquire about what sort of alcoholic beverage we might provide them for happy hour. Apparently, they were on an end-of-class outing and were not too serious about practicing. You wouldn't normally think you'd run into many social opportunities when anchored out for the night…

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Ranger Tugs Kismet blackberry pie
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Island Blackberry Pie for Lunch with Friends on Lopez Island, San Juan Island, Washington

Nothing can be sweeter than a slice of homemade island blackberry pie unless it's being able to connect with good friends who live on Lopez Island. When we were making plans to revisit the PNW again this year we immediately let our friends Dave and Judy know we were coming. After several calls to negotiate where and when we'd all be able to meet while we were in the San Juans it all miraculously came together on Monday. We would leave Roche Harbor mid-morning and head right to Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island. We put something into the crockpot in…

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