Trailer Trawler Life Kismet Slider
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FLORIDA BAY

FLORIDA BAY

Marathon, Florida

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EVERGLADES

EVERGLADES

Shark River

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RENDEZVOUS

RENDEZVOUS

Palm Island, Florida

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LOVERS LEAP

LOVERS LEAP

San Juan Islands – Stewart Island, WA

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SOUTH SOUND

SOUTH SOUND

Tacoma, Washington

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BLAKE ISLAND

BLAKE ISLAND

Puget Sound, Washington

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FLORIDA BAY

FLORIDA BAY

Marathon, Florida

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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Zion National Park
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Little Red Tug Cruising Through Zion National Park

Red Tug Alert! Zion National Park is a short cut for us to Lake Powell Who would have thought the SECOND sightseeing attraction on that day in Zion National Park was Kismet, our little red tug? Everywhere we stopped to pull over, people seemed more interested in taking photos of our boat than the scenery. I'll have to admit, we did stand out a bit driving on those rocky hairpin turns and entering a few tunnels. I'm sure the last thing anyone thought they'd see on that day was a bright red tug traveling through the majestic Zion National Park.

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Boaterhoming on Kismet, Zion National Park
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Stopping Short of Zion National Park

Finally getting into the rockiness of Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Our goal is to arrive at Lake Powell beginning of the week and we've picked a great driving route that will allow us some arid vistas and views. Although we're not really stopping to sightsee along the way we've enjoyed driving through the territory we've covered so far. We left Las Vegas this morning with much anticipation because we're heading to Springdale, a small tourist town just outside the entrance to Zion National Park. Initially, we thought we might camp out in the park but after reading a few cautionary…

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Boaterhoming on Kismet, Las Vegas
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Skirting Las Vegas

We decided to forgo activities in Las Vegas this trip because we were so anxious to get to Lake Powell and go boating. We found Hitchin Post RV Park, a nice park, for a one-night stay, on the outskirts of town, and enjoyed hot baths and a quick take-out dinner from the bar just outside. The park has great security but it makes you wonder why they need penitentiary-style gates to gain access to the site. Yes, just a quick stop in Las Vegas this time, got to get back on the water. 15 PRIME ACRES – LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION – This…

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Boaterhoming on Kismet, Lake Walker
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A Night at Whiskey Flats RV Park

Boaterhoming on Kismet at Whiskey Flats RV Park! After a long day's drive, we were happy to come across Whiskey Flats RV Park in Hawthorne, Nevada. Not a lot of opportunities to find a place to stay for the night in this wide open, arid countryside. The town of Hawthorne lies just beyond Walker Lake, a beautiful, almost mirage-like, lake in a desert setting – this afternoon the skies were dark and stormy off to the east of us, and we were happy to find a spot to rest for the night. The park was nice with all the amenities a…

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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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Boaterhoming on Kismet, Cisco Grove Park
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Nineteen Years + Four and Counting…

Très Romantique! Some people may not think camping out on your anniversary is the romantic thing to do but in our case it certainly was. A beautiful spot in Cisco Grove - California's Tahoe National Forest did the trick for us. All by ourselves in a 406 site campground, nestled in the Donner Summit with a campfire, a bottle of wine, a simple dinner, and each other... priceless!

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Boaterhoming on Kismet, Santa Cruz, CA
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Camping in Santa Cruz

The first night out of Portland took us to Eureka, California, we couldn't find our appointed campground next to the Klamath River, but lucky enough for us we had noticed this nice Rest Area/Information Center nearby. A couple of other RVers were setting up their rigs to spend the night and we decided to do the same. Lots of room, just them and us and it was actually a very nice spot with a small river right next to the parking lot. It was very quiet until just after we went to bed when the trucks started to show up…

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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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Boaterhoming Battle Ground State Park, Oregon
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First of Many New Adventures – “Boaterhoming” on Kismet

We Now Call Ourselves "Boaterhomies." Battle Ground State Park, in Washington State, was the spot for our first "Boater Home" experience. Since we had just driven six miles off the freeway to check out this park, we were happy they had availability for us to spend the night. We choose the first site available, right by the entrance, since it was a very thick wood, and being new at this type of camping and trailering a big boat behind the truck, did not want to contend with low-lying branches or too sharp of a winding curve in the road further…

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Olympic National Park Hoh Rain Forest
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Olympic National Park – Hoh Rainforest, Washington

You guessed it – raining on the day we went to the rainforest, but we have to say it only added to the experience. A slight drizzle lasted during our entire hike through the forest. One of the most colorful and absolutely beautiful fungi we have ever seen. We weren't in the little town of Forks very long before we realized we were in the midst of "Twilight Zone." Since the popular movie, Twilight was shot here not too long ago the little town has become something of a tourist attraction for those interested in vampires. When Jim saw the…

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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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