A Quick Trip to the Grand Teton National Park and Getting our boat ready to sell.

 

Our last week has been bust as we have been showing our boat, after some minor repair work, and then testing it at Palisades Reservoir. We also went to Grand Teton National Park to check out the boating opportunities at Jackson Lake and to check out the berries along our favorite bear spotting locations.

Jackson lake is a large man-made lake in the park, and It was constructed to provide water for the potato farms, downstream in Idaho. The lake is actually floating on loose debris and according to the engineers will survive a strong earthquake, (right).

There are three marinas on the lake and of the three we liked Leeks Marina and Coulter Bay. If we do not sell the boat, we may take it to the park next week and cruise the far side. On the way home we took a walk at one of our favorite spots and saw quite a few trees loaded with berries. Hopefully, they are ones bears like to eat and so bear watching season should start in the next two weeks.

We did spot a bull moose with small antlers. He has grown up and looks strong, but his rack is not big enough to win any mating battles. Not spotting any bears, bear 399 and her four cubs have been seen crossing the Snake River, we have a little time before the berry season goes into full swing and the bears enter there fall gorging in preparation for hibernation.

We decided to sell our boat, after seventeen years as we are not using it. Finding a repair shop in Idaho Falls we set up an appointment and towed the boat there to be fixed. They were really minor but things we could not fix ourselves. They included installing a new seal in the main motor trim, a new water pump, fixing the hydraulic steering, (it only needed refilling and bleeding, and an oil change and lower gear lube, total 925 bucks).

Of course, parts had to be back ordered, and so a month and a half later we picked up our boat. Everything was fixed and at a reasonable price and so we could not wait to test it on our local Reservoir, at Alpine, Wyoming.

After installing three new batteries, (450 bucks), we drove to Alpine and backed the boat into Palisades Reservoir. The motor started instantly, it always has, and even the temperamental t8 horse kicker started up, so we were good to go!

Heading down the Snake River channel we reached the open water of the lake and opened it up! We reached a speed of 51 mph and we were surprised at the speed as we were at 6200 feet in elevation, (the higher the elevation the slower the boat runs as the oxygen content is lower).

Renita and I did take a couple of poles along and trolled but it was extremely hot, and the fish were staying deep, so we did not have any bites. Returning home, we got on Facebook and listed the boat for sale. We have had over 700 looks and three offers, but no sale yet as the person who gave an offer we accepted later called back and withdrew it. Jackson lake is a large man-made lake in the park, and It was constructed to provide water for the potato farms, downstream in Idaho. The lake is actually floating on loose debris and according to the engineers will survive a strong earthquake, (right).

There are three marinas on the lake and of the three we liked Leeks Marina and Coulter Bay the best. If we do not sell the boat, we may take it to the park next week and cruise the far side. On the way home we took a walk at one of our favorite spots and saw quite a few trees loaded with berries. Hopefully, they ae ones bears like to eat and so bear watching season should start in the next two weeks.

We did spot a bull moose with small antlers. He has grown up and looks strong, but his rack is not big enough to win any mating battles. Not spotting any bears, bear 399 and her four cubs have been seen crossing the Snake River, we have a little time before the berry season goes into full swing and the bears enter there fall gorging in preparation for hibernation.

It is not a great time to sell a boat and so if we do not sell it, we will store it and post it for sale next spring. The boat is running so well that we are both having second thoughts so we will see. During the time on the lake we did have an immature bald eagle fly by us and land on a fallen tree. Anytime on the water is a good day, even if the fish are not biting. Clear skies