Well my last season at Yes Bay Lodge in beautiful SE Alaska is complete! I was very sad to leave Yes Bay this year, but also very anxious to start my new adventure for the remaining part of 2012 and beyond. Hard to believe that I will not be returning to Yes Bay!
I flew from Ketchikan to Kalispell Montana on Wednesday the 26th of September. Picked up at the airport by my buddy who has stored my truck and 5th wheel while I was gone for the summer. We had a ton of projects planned for the summer for the truck and the 5th wheel. I list a little summary of projects which my good friend Jim worked on while I was gone and a few we have finished since I have been here.
Here is my 5th wheel all washed and ready for my arrival!
1.
Fix brakes on trailer - Jim took care of this while I was gone, a small electrical problem - that will make traveling and stopping much easier.
2.
Check brakes on truck and oil change - all done when I got here!
3.
New tires on trailer - Done while I was gone!
4.
New tires on truck - was real lucky here, Jim found a very nice set of tires on Craigs List for a great price and hardly used. Thanks to friend Dustin at Les Schwab had them mounted and balanced and on the truck! They look great and the truck is much quieter and handles way better!
5.
Installed a new generator in the bed of the truck - remote start which will make it nice! Pic on this tomorrow!
6.
New television mount - custom fabricated by Flinchbaugh engineering!
7. Today we finished the wiring for the TV and installed an A/B switch and repaired the cable TV hook-up for when I am in a campground...I don't have to run the wire out the window and into the TV - We repaired the trailer hook-up wire and also the antenna hook-up wire to the A/B switch so just a matter of hooking the cable to the trailer outside hookup spot and hit the switch!
8. Installed two waterproof tool boxes in the back of the truck bed behind the hitch to store my tools and trailer hook-up supplies. This will make some more room in the trailer and the cab of the truck.
Travel Plans - My schedule for the next month is pretty well set. I will be here in Kalispell for the next couple weeks, I have to wait until my stuff arrives that I shipped down from Alaska. I am also going to make a few short trips into Glacier National Park and the Bison Range again. Plus continue to make the trailer a little more liveable. New inside stereo and a few other projects.
Then around the middle of October I am going to take a leisurely trip through Yellowstone and the Tetons and end up in Salt Lake City on the 23rd of October. I
may have a friend meeting me in Salt Lake for a little vacation and rafting trip scheduled out of Moab Utah, then down through Monument Valley and back over to Antelope Canyon and two additional slot canyons out of Kanab Utah ending up in Zion National Park then back to Salt Lake City. After that my schedule is up in the air, I am in contact with several places to work and spend the rest of my winter, but plans have not been finalized as of yet.
Stay tuned for more details and some great pictures this coming month!
Capt. Jim - "The Gypsy"
Traveling and photographing the Southwest
