Cruisin' Cruisin'...Cruisin' Down the River!

Saturday, August 12th, was such a fun day! John, Lois, Pam, Jamey, Curtis and I had a fun time cruisin' down the McKenzie River. We had two drift boats, 3 people in each, and some fishing lines and a lunch that we threw together. John Lois and Pam

Jamey Curtis and Tricia

The weather was perfect for a cruise. We dropped the boats in the water at one launch and Pam and I waited while Jamey and John drove the pick ups and trailers to Armitage Park, our get out place at Hayden Bridge. That was about 7 miles down the river. Lois brought them back to the beginning and off we set. Curtis had his fishing line in the water right away and he got the first fish. That was the start of a great few hours of fishing, drifting and relaxing.

Jamey was the oarsman in our boat but did find a couple chances to toss his line into the waters. I was very glad that he was in charge as there were one or two times we needed his strong arms and his navigational skills! I found it quite amazing to watch Curtis and Jamey fish, as they could get the hook in the perfect place each time. It was like a dance.

The other boat was captained by John. They were fortunate to have an anchor, so when they found a hot spot, they would stop for a time and fish it. All of sudden we would hear a lot of yelling and cheering and look over to see Pam holding her hands out about two feet apart signalling a "big" fish, or rather, a big fish "story". We never really got to see the size as it was catch and release for the day. Most of the day it was Lois fishing...I don't think I saw her sitting much at all. Pam may look like she is fishing here but I think she was just holding the line for John. Right?!?! Pam!?! Holding the rod!! You did not catch the biggest fish of the day! Right?!...

...and Lois fished!

The MacKenzie River is fairly slow and quiet in some places and runs rapidly in a few other places along the way with some obstactles to get around. John and Jamey did a good job of navigating us safely...while Lois fished!

At one point in the river, we found ourselves in the company of a flotilla...some inflatable rubber canoe type flotation devices piloted by some very happy people with large coolers of beverages. Then two other men joined the flotilla...two policemen. We all had to pull over and they examined our boats, and checked out fishing licenses...and Lois fished! They pulled the four boats out as they have strict rules here about boats, drinking, and life jackets. We carried on down the river...and Lois fished!!

We got to the end of our journey far too fast. It was a great day! Enjoyed by all!

Let's do it again! I think Fall would be a great time of year!