..sorry, had to take a breath there. Where was I? Ah, yes, our Captain Ron helped get Captain Jake back out on the water and we were once again slicing through the river at about 30 miles an hour. Our Captain did keep slowing down to may sure the other boat was ok behind, and that is where we had a problem. Soon our engines and their pumps froze and try as he might, Captain Ron became concerned. Steam was billowing out of the engine hatches like we were on fire. He instructed us to don our life vests. Twenty years ago I had to run Coast Guard drills, and I went about to make sure everyone was properly outfitted and following the directions of the Captain. The poor deckhand jumped ashore through icy waters where he would be stuck for about the next 2 hours while the Captain got the engines started. After the boat went into repair mode we stowed our vests and went right along having fun, staying warm, and ultimately accepting that the day was over. We would have to return to the ramp, and the boat would need repair. Knowing the trouble Jake had earlier, we went over land to rescue them. We were all safe back in Riggins by 2pm, fishless. The other boats didn’t get back until 6.
Our boat took the offer of a “do over” the next day which meant we would have to be asleep early to try again. The other ladies took the offer of a free trip next year.
The evenings festivities started at 8 PM at Seven Devil’s Bar and Steakhouse and the theme was neon 80s. Not many felt like getting dressed up after a long, cold day of fishing, but some of us went wild including me! I had never spent more on clothes than tackle before, but I did for this! I pictured “Girl’s Just Want to Have Fun” the movie and went from there. In the Bar contest, my fearless roommate won 1st, Road kill got second and I recieved 3rd place WINNER!!! I danced the night away like there was no alarm waiting! That was a fantastic night, and I’ll never forget it!
Tomorrow is another day!
A Warrior Writes 