Halloween

Went a little dark there.  Sorry.  It's been a laid back week of gathering inertia.  We started out strong with all systems up and running and then immediately ran into outboard issues with our dingy motor.  Those of you who sail can recognize this issue as depressingly common.  The last time someone was down here the outboard went for a little free diving experience in 15 feet of water and while it performed marvelously going down it had to be brought back up to the surface which necessitated some mechanical attention to flush out salt water and etc.  It started right up for us the first several days and then decided to quit.  Well it turns out the float in the carburetor was somehow affected which made it ultimately fail when we tried to get it to start a couple day ago. All this information is the result of several days of back and forth success and dismal failure.  It works on the mechanic's barrel but doesn't when we  bring it back to the dock.  Another depressingly common occurrence with all types of motors.  Meanwhile as I was pulling on the cord to start it, a lot, the return spring broke adding to the list of things that need to be fixed.   So today it should be back up and ready and we are going to drive out to the mechanic and hopefully leave the mooring for a shakedown trip in preparation for our longer trip soon.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Starting off

Well first full day in Loreto.  A very tranquillo town of about 15,000 (according to the 2010 census) with what feels like 7500 retired americans and canadians.  Sadly we discovered the Gypsy Queen is moored about 10 miles away in Puerto Escondido.  Needless to say this presented some logistical hassles that were surmounted by renting a car.  So we are the proud rentors of a Dodge Attitude which seems humoruous but somehow appropriate 

but with outfitting and driving back and forth to town the Attitude should be perfect. 

The Queen is moored on a bouy out in the marina so the first order of the day was to get a ride out to the Queen and unload the dingy and set it up so we can actually get to her. 

There was a slight learning curve on putting the dingy together as it had been 4 years or so but in the end we had a servicable if not slightly saggy inflatable boat set up.   Bob and I collected some things off the boat, gas and water cans, etc and set off for the shore to get ready for the next day.

We'll see when we leave but we are hoping for Tuesday for the shakedown.

Loreto

Well friends, on the road again.  The summer, as those who live in the U.S. well know, was a busy one and I am well glad it's over.  So here we are in Loreto Baja Mexico.  I came down here with an old traveling friend, Bob, with the intent of sailing on the Sea of Cortez.  For those who don't know I own a third of a 28 foot U.S. Yacht, The Gypsy Queen, which is moored around Loreto and visited infrequently by myself and others.  The sea of Cortez is an amazing place with hundreds of islands, crystal blue water and a diverse ecosystem.  Our plans are to get the boat out storage and head up to Conception Bay about 40 miles up the coast  for about 2 weeks of coastal cruising and kicking back. 
mas mas tarde

Salt River Canyon Trip

In March I had the opportunity to kayak the Salt River which runs through the center of Arizona from North East to South West.  The Agency I work for has management duties on the Salt River where it crosses Federal Lands, namely the Salt River Wilderness Area.  During the boating season the river Rangers float the river checking permits, campsites and maintaining the resource pretty much all the time.  Mike, of Baja fame, and I were able to tag on to one of these trips.  The trip itself begins in the Salt River Canyon on the border of the White Mountain Apache reservation and the San Carlos Apache reservation and ends at Lake Roosevelt.  Altogether it took us three days although I would recommend you take a week if you can because it is an amazing trip.  The following pictures are in chronological order.

River Put In

upper Salt Rapids

Black Rock Falls

Salt River Wilderness
Those Rocks are some of the oldest in the U.S.

Post Boating Refreshment

Petroglyphs

Side Canyon hike

Lake Roosevelt Bridge

New Family Member

Hello everyone.  So I'd like to introduce the latest member of the Nate Barrett Family.  She is a 1973 Ford Gran Torino two door sport coupe.  Don't let the outward appearance fool you she is stripped down for paint and some minor body work but she'll be up and glamourous pretty quick.  Under the hood she has a LTD 351 modified V8 which isn't stock but has a few more horses than the original 302.