Bro and sis-in-law and first 500 miles

I enjoyed my visit with Arlin and Maryann (brother and sister-in-law) at their home yesterday. I ended up replacing my house batteries with AGM’s. Arlin gave me a hand with getting them installed. I’m hoping that these will do a better job with capacity over night. Arlin grilled some good burgers Saturday for supper, and MaryAnn made some great blueberry pancakes Sunday morning, and then some good tacos in the evening. I was up early today, and both Arlin and Maryann saw me off at 6:45a. A little rainy when I left, but cleared up by the time I got into the Cascades. I always enjoy the mountain scenery that I drive through. Had three watercraft inspections to stop for. One in each state, Washington, Idaho and Montana. I will have one or two more here in Montana that I know of, tomorrow. For those not aware, all these states west of the Mississippi are pretty serious about trying to stop invasive water species. (Especially zebra mussels.) The inspectors will ask questions of what was the last water body you were in, where are you launching next, how long has your boat been out of water, etc. Then they inspect the boat for any invasive species. If they find some, they can power wash it with hot water, or quarantine it for a set number of days before you can launch again, at least in their state. Seems repetitive that each state has to do their own, when the boat has already had a seal placed on it (preventing it from being launched without breaking the seal), and a record of inspection has been provided. Personally, I also find it more cosmetics and a money maker for the state so they can charge for permits to use your boat in their state. While they inspect what they can see of the boat, there are so many other nooks and crannies that invasive species can get into. The internal water passage of the engines, inside through hulls that allow water thru, or even the boat trailers square framing. And, recently, they’ve found that birds can spread invasive species as well.
Anyway, good day of traveling with no problems. I’m parked at the Cracker Barrel in Missoula tonight, after having a nice supper in the restaurant.
I forgot to give the stats for my time in the San Juans and Puget Sound. A total of 123 gallons of gas burned, and a total distance of 414nm or 468 statute miles.Baca lagi