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There's always "something else I/we gotta do." Always. And, while yesterday was no exception; somehow Sam and I threw caution to the wind and did something that's been on my short list for years and years. We ran the entire perimeter of Priest Lake. Not only that.
We wound our way on up the painfully beautiful thoroughfare that connects Priest with Upper Priest Lake. And, not only that.
We toured the upper lake, as well. Somehow, my every attempt to do this has met with incompletion. Until yesterday. And, not only that. We were the ONLY boat on the upper lake, as we made a lazy arc around the northern terminus; and with mixed feeling, started back to the beginning point. The only other time I've been there, was over half-century ago. Just about the time Nixon was debating that flamboyant guy from Massachusetts on TV. It's been a long, long time.
There was frost still defying the early morning sun, as I poured about 20 gallons of high test gas into little "Mobius", my new-to-me 1973 Fiberform tri-hull. Yesterday was Friday, of Labor Day Weekend, 2015. Supposed to still be summer. Not so much. I put the canvas top up, closed up the passage to the open bow cockpit, and we both wore long pants and jackets. I doubt the temps got above the 50's yesterday. No matter.
It was a delightful outing. On the 30-odd mile drive up to the lake, we talked about current world events, the wild fires, and relevant personal reflections. On our way home, we discussed at great length the vagaries of constructing a crystal set radio receiver, basic amplifiers, and even an extended dialogue about rectified current. In between, we managed to run that gas tank nearly dry. And, for most of the day, we had that massive lake just about to ourselves. The underway topic centered on Prehistoric Lake Missoula, beaching of ice dams, and monumental floods. Obviously, a boys-only outing.
Did I mention this is Labor Day weekend? Normally, a very busy denouement to summer stuff.
As it turns out, the highway up to the lake has been under several evacuation orders this past couple weeks. There is a very much still active forest fire of almost 30,000 acres belching smoke, ash, and disaster from the mountain range just a few miles to the west. And, maybe, just maybe. Everybody else had "something else" they hadda' do. And, that's really too bad.
It rained all day, today-Saturday, of Labor Day Weekend. The temp stalled at about 52 degrees. When it wasn't raining, it was gray and drizzly. But, yesterday was just plain fantastic!
This Google Earth overview, shows a stretch of water about 25 miles as the crow swims north to south. I think our total on the water mileage was around 65 miles. We were out for around three or four hours. Certainly, we would have seen more, by paddling a kayak. We would have required a couple days to go that far in a sailboat. And, everytime I've towed Lady Bug up there to do just this sort of voyage, things just haven't worked out. So.
Every now and then, it's alright, to take a stinkpot. Hey, we covered about 80 miles by car, another 65 by water, and we were home by 1500, give or take. One of these days, I may just get to do it with a slow, blow boat. That would be nice.
But, for the time being, yesterday's motorboat "three-hour-tour" was fantastic. I'm real glad we did it.
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