Hurricane Noel's Coming (Belhaven, NC)

After leaving Edenton, we spent a quiet night anchored off the Alligator River. We knew we had at least a day and a half to get to a safe harbor before Noel made it up the coast. The Alligator-Pungo Canal connects the rivers of the same names and takes us to Belhaven, NC. Never did see any alligators (nor Pungoes for that matter).

While underway, John decided to try out the bicycle stationary stand to get some exercise. With iPod and a water bottle, it proved to be a great way to transit the canal. We plan on doing this at least once a day from now on.

Photo: Pedaling down the ICW

We pulled into Dowry Creek Marina to wait out the storm. This is the first time in here and it is a lovely place. Seems like everyone else had the same idea as the marina is full of boats. Today (Friday), the full force of the winds hit. Although we are pretty far inland from the Outer Banks, the winds here were 30-35 kts. Not hurricane by any means, but we're glad we are tucked into a slip.

We will stay here until Sunday when Noel will be way to the north. Should be a jailbreak with all the boats trying to leave at the same time!

Edenton, NC

We left Coinjock, NC around noon, waiting for the NE winds to subside a little. With trailing wind and seas, we had a delightful cruise west on Albemarle Sound to the little town of Edenton, NC. This was one of our favorite stops last year and we had promised ourselves a return visit.

Photo: The Barker House in Edenton, NC

There are about 12 slips and the city marina right downtown and the first two nights are free. Of course they hope you spend money in town and we didn't disappoint! We even got our bikes off the boat and road around town. The weather cooperated with two gorgeous fall days.








Photo: Roanoke River lighthouse. Moved to the Edenton waterfront for restoration.































Photo: Downtown Edenton.

South from Norfolk

The last two years heading south we have taken the Dismal Swamp route and planned on doing so again. But the ongoing draught has lowered the level of Lake Drummond such that the Corps of Engineers will be closing the canal on Oct 30th. In addition, there are reports of algae and weeds in the waterway clogging engines.

Photo: Tied to the lock wall waiting for the water to drop.

Sooooo, we decided to take the Virginia-Albemarle Canal route south. There is only one lock on this route (at Great Bridge) but a lot of bridges to negotiate. We left Portsmouth at 8:30am Sunday and proceeded to follow about 12 boats through the six bridges to the lock. Weekends are the best time to do this since the bridges don't 'lock down' for rush hour.

Locking through went smoothly and we stopped at Coinjock, NC for the night. The marina there is basically a 1,000 ft seawall where they squeeze as many boats as possible alongside. They park em very close together.

Photo: View of the Great Bridge lock. "Tranquility Base" (Mike & Casey Ruhr) were our traveling companions.





Photo: They park 'em close together at Coinjock Marina.

Hampton Roads, VA

Woke up and checked the clock...it said 6:30am. So we got dressed and had coffee and checked the weather. That is when we noticed it was really 4:30am!! Well, we were up so now what?

Got underway in the dark at 5:45am and headed back out into a rainy morning. The Severn River may be a beautiful place but we never saw it in the daylight.

Another rocky trip down the Bay to Norfolk. Not as bad as the last two days but still rainy and windy. The Thimble Shoals Lighthouse at the entrance to the Hampton Roads area was a welcome sight. With a population of 1.7 million, the Hampton Roads area is the 33rd largest metropolitan area in the country.










On the way in we were overtaken by the American President Line "Virginia". We had a nice conversation with the pilot onboard. Two tug boats rotated the ship and back it into the container dock in Norfolk. Quite a sight to see.

















The harbor at Norfolk/Newport News/Portsmouth is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. The shear number of ships, both commercial and Navy, is staggering. Add to that the drydocks and shipyards and it is one imposing place. We stopped in Portsmouth for the night at a free town dock at the foot of High St. It was also Trick or Treat night downtown sponsored by the local merchants.





Photo: USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77)

Severn River

Yes, Virginia, there is a Severn River in Virginia. After another 'lumpy' day on the Bay we anchored up the Severn River off Mobjack Bay. Very nice anchorage...we are the only boat in sight.

No pictures taken today...but you can simulate it by standing in the shower and have someone throw buckets of salt water on you. Better yet, do it while bouncing on a trampoline!

Actually, we were pretty warm and comfortable in the pilot house, unlike some of the sailboaters we saw today.

Urbanna, VA

We awoke to a rainy, dreary day and took the dinghy in to check out Urbanna. Had a delightful breakfast at the Virginia Street Cafe...good grits!

Not much doing in Urbanna. A post office, bank, super market, drug store, general store, ice cream shop and several nick nack type places. No bars and one ABC Store.

However, next weekend is the 50th Annual Urbanna Oyster Festival where over 75,000 people are expected over the two days.

We departed Urbanna at noon wondering if it was really worth the detour off the Bay. It was pouring rain the whole trip back down the Rappannock River but at least the wind was on the nose. That all stopped when we turned south on the Bay. Well, the rain didn't stop but now the wind (and the seas) were on our beam. Another rock n' roll trip coming up!

Headed South

After three weeks in Solomons, we finally began the southbound journey. Hard to believe this is our third trip down the Waterway. We hope to stop at some of the places we missed the last two trips.

We left a 7am into forecast 2-3 ft seas with 15-20 kts of wind. It wasn't too bad in the beginning but the wind and seas began to pick up as we continue south. Pretty soon they were in the 4-5 ft range ("elephants") and off our port quarter. This made for a very "sporty" run down the Bay.

After a 10 hour trip, we dropped anchor off Urbanna, VA . The 20 mile trip up the Rappahannock River was very smooth and much needed. The 'harbor' looked pretty deserted when we arrived. After putting the boat back together from the washing machine/roller coater ride we hit the sack at 9pm.

Krogen 30th Anniversary Rendezvous

After arriving home from Colorado Sunday evening, we had two days to get the boat ready to go down to Solomons, MD for the 30th Anniversary Krogen Rendezvous.

After running the event for the past two years, it was nice to be able to enjoy the Rendezvous. Mike and Dyan Warren ("Moonlight Run") graciously volunteered to chair the Krogen 30th Anniversary event.

Over 65 Krogens assembled in Solomons, the largest single gathering of Krogens ever (by far!).


Photo: Mike and Dyan feeling the music.























Photo: The Lin family. Mr Lin runs the Asia Pacific boatyard in Taiwan where all Krogens are built.






















Photo: Rob & Sue Mancini ("Papillon")




















Photo: The band singing Barber Shop Quartet around midnight.

Glenwood Springs, CO

After leaving Moab, UT we drove part way back to Denver and stopped in Glenwood Springs, CO. The resort there dates from 1900 and features two pools fed from mineral springs. The water comes out of the ground at 122 degrees...the 'smaller' pool is 104 degrees while the larger (400' x 50') is 90 degrees.

Photo: Bob and BJ enjoying the drive back to Colorado.




















Photo: The pools at Glenwood Springs, CO.
















Photo: Relaxing our tired legs in the 104 degree pool.

Canyonlands National Park

After two days at Arches National Park we pulled up stakes and drove into Moab, UT and parked the RV at Canyonlands RV Center. A 30 mile drive to us to Dead Horse Canyon State Park and Canyonlands National Park. The difference in geography between these parks and Arches is astounding given they are only 45 miles apart. These are mini-Grand Canyons, 2,000 ft deep.

Dead Horse Canyon is a rocky peninsula 1,000 ft above a flat plan which in turn is 1,000 ft above the canyon floor. The Green and Colorado Rivers meet there.

Arches National Park, Utah

We had an RV pad reservation at Arches National Park just north of Moab, UT. There are no hook-ups (water, electric) in the National Parks which made it pretty rustic. There are over 2,000 arches throughout the park and their sheer size is somewhat overwhelming. We hiked to or through a number of arches. There are no guard rails or park rangers to tell you what to do or not do. Everything is in its natural state.

Photo: At the entrance to the "Park Avenue Trail"



Photo: "Park Avenue" is named for the massive rock slabs that resemble the skyscrapers in NYC.



















Photo: Pam with Landscape Arch in the background. This 305' long arch had a 60' by 11' slab fall off in 1991 leaving it only 6' thick.





















Photo: Hiking up to Delicate Arch





Photo: Delicate Arch (notice the size of the people at the base of the arch).

Photo: Moonrise from our Arches Nat'l Park campsite

Enroute to Utah

After two days in Breckenridge getting use to the altitude, we continued west towards Utah. Driving through Glenwood Canyon is an experience! Interstate 70 snakes through the canyon following the Colorado River. This is the most expensive part of the entire U.S. Interstate system.








Photo: I-70 through Glenwood Canyon, CO

After entering Utah, we decided to take the "scenic route" to Moab instead of I-70 ('scenic' being a relative word). The canyons we drove through enroute were breathtaking.

Photos: View out the window as we accompany the Colorado River in Utah.

Breckenridge, CO

On Saturday the 22nd, we joined up with BJ and Bob King at Nolan's RV Center in Denver. The plan was to rent an RV and drive to Canyonlands in SE Utah. We drove about 75 mi west to Breckenridge, CO and spent the first two nights at Tiger Run RV Center. Jan and Steve rented a cabin there, too. The next day the four of us (Bob, BJ, Pam, John) went hiking on the Spruce Creek Trail. This begins at the 10,000 ft level and continues upward. Needless to say, breathing becomes an ordeal. We had to stop often just to catch our breath.


Photo: John, Pam, BJ & Bob with the 'Bus'.
Photo: Eisenhower Tunnel through Loveland Pass (elev 11,013 ft)


Photo: Breckenridge, CO Bare ski slopes.

Photo: Think they get snow here?!

Photo: View from our RV campsite
































Photo: John checking the altitude on GPS


















Photo: Pam, BJ and Bob on the trail


















Photo: The GPS says we're at 10,969 ft. Our lungs confirm this!!