Jerilynn and Tom beat us to Lock 5:)

Lots of sunburn-lines today. I have a sunburn stripe down one arm and everywhere I missed sunscreen yesterday. Seems unavoidable for a lot of people:) Another beautiful day on the river. We brought friends along today and spent most of the day in the cove and then took a ride down to Lock 5 and jumped in the water.

The proceeds will benefit the family of Harmony Liffrig.

The entry Fee is $130 on or before August 1, or $165 after August 1. Entry fee is for one boat, the captain, one crew member, one poker hand, one DVD, two event shirts and two post run meals.

Download the entry form at http://www.liquidjunglemotorsports.com/LJMS-BR-Reg-2010.pdf

Check-in time is 8:00-9:30 a.m. at the Parkside Marina in Wabasha.
The drivers meeting is at 10:00 a.m. with the Start directly after.
The deadline for mailing in entries is August 9. After that date, boaters can register the morning of the event.

Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places along with random giveaways.

For more information, contact Liquid Jungle Motorsports, 305 19th Ave SW, Rochester, MN 55902, Mark Clement, Mark@LiquidJungleMotorsports.com 507-951-7960.
Brian Cain- Brian@LiquidJungleMotorsports.com 507-259-6776
www.LiquidJungleMotorsports.com
No refunds, event goes rain or shine.

Dakota lounging in her beach chair.

It was a great start to our Memorial Day Weekend on the river. We spent the day lounging in the Buffalo City “Cove” with friends. Our excitement of the day: Trevor fished a snake out of the water and paraded it (yes, with a load of kids following behind:) down the beach. I’m glad I didn’t see that snake in the water…

Tim holding one of the ropes as we wait for the water to rise.

Slippery's restaurant and bar in Wabasha, Minnesota

The Liquid Jungle boats passing by Slippery's.

We locked through the Alma Lock & Dam today with our friends Wendy, Greg, and Mary on our way up to watch the Liquid Jungle boats pass by Slippery’s on their way to the Grand Prix start on Lake Pepin.

It has been awhile since we’ve locked through and I forgot how fun it was. When we arrived at the Lock a barge was in it, but luckily it was just about ready to come out, so we only had to wait about 15 minutes. (It can take up to two hours for a barge to lock through.)

We entered the Lock first with a handful of other boats trailing us. We went to the front of the Lock and a Lock worker (don’t know what their title is) handed down two ropes. My husband held one at the front of the boat and I held the other one in the back. We pulled on the ropes until our boat (padded by bumpers) was snug to the wall, which was disgusting and slimy, with black tarry stuff that came off in flakes when you touched it. We both used one of our flip flops to touch the wall whenever we had to.

Once all the boats were in the lock and everyone was holding their ropes, the doors closed at the end of the lock and it started filling with water. We had to rise up level with the river on the other side of the dam. Once the water level was high enough, the doors opened on the other side of the lock and we tossed the ropes out on the top of the lock, which was now almost level with the water, and motored out.

We got to do the same thing again about two hours later in reverse!

The Boat Run will start on Lake Pepin and include three on-the-water stops. A lunch buffet will be hosted by Pioneer Supper Club. If you’re interested in participating in the Boat Run, you can register on the Liquid Jungle website at http://www.liquidjunglemotorsports.com/run.html Entry fee is $150 and includes boat, captain, crew member, 1 poker hand, 1 DVD, 2 event shirts and 2 post-run meals. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Check-in is from 8-9:30 a.m. at Parkside Marina. For more information, contact Mark Clement at Mark@LiquidJungleMotorsports.com or 507-951-7960.

The car, motorcycle and truck show starts at 8 a.m. Entrance to the show is on the corner of Cratte Ave. and 3rd Street West. The entry fee for showing your ride is $10, but spectator admission is free.

All the proceeds will go to the family of Conner McCoy, who was born prematurely.

Where to see the boats:

• • 10:30 am. Slippery’s Bar & Grill in Wabasha, MN Watch the boats head out of Parkside Marina and idle by in the no-wake zone as they start the run.
  • 1 p.m. 10 Church Ave., Wabasha, MN The boats will be idling by as they make their way upstream to Lake Pepin.
  • 11:30 a.m. Join the boaters for lunch at The Pioneer Club, 11 Pioneer Dr., Wabasha, MN
  • 2 p.m. Pickle Factory Bar & Grill. Watch the boats do their Grand Prix start on Lake Pepin from the Pickle Factory deck.
  • 3-6 p.m.  Watch the boats return from the docks at Parkside Marina.

http://www.liquidjunglemotorsports.com/

Our boat’s name is “Four Paws” — we are a four-person family and our last name is Pawlak. Get it?

What is your boat’s name and what does it mean to you? Please share, even if your boat’s name is what it is because you believe in the superstition of not re-naming a boat.

Gar Fish

We spend most weekends in what the locals call “The Buffalo City Cove,” a Corp of Engineers-made inlet on the Mississippi River just north of Buffalo City, WI, and just south of the Alma, WI Lock and Dam.

On a typical day, we pull up to the beach and unload our  small step ladder, a couple of beach chairs, a blanket, one or two beach umbrellas, towels, a bag of snacks and a cooler full of drinks. First the beach chairs get opened up and placed in a flat spot, and then the umbrellas go up to see where the shade is. A blanket is laid out behind the beach chairs and the cooler is tucked under the front of boat to keep it out of the sun.

After an hour or so of mingling among our group of boater friends, we pull out our rafts and float out in the middle of The Cove behind all the boats. Sometimes we paddle across to the other side and the kids run up the hill and back down and splash into the water. Tired of floating, we haul our rafts back to the beach to dry off and plop back into our beach chairs.

The kids pull out their sand pails and shovels, but quickly grow tired of trying to make sand castles in the sand. Instead they used their buckets like shovels to scoop the sand away from the edge of the water, creating a small inlet to catch minnows.

Last weekend, my friend saw a baby Gar fish swimming around her boat and she scooped it into a bucket. My daughter had a good time watching the fish, which looks like a tiny crocodile, swimming around in its bucket. She named it Gary. When another boater friend motored up to the beach, however, the wake from his boat splashed over the small bucket holding Gary, washing him back into the river. 

Lunch usually consists of a cold sandwich and some fruit and chips. Sometimes someone will pass around something to share with the group, like corn salsa and chips, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, beef sticks, or watermelon. Sometimes we fire up our little grill, which uses a small propane tank, to cook up some hotdogs or some pre-cooked brats (although we’ve also used it to make fajitas). 

After lunch it’s time to reapply sunscreen, and sometimes pull on a shirt  and a pair of shorts or a swim suit cover up (we usually hang out in our swim suits all day). 

Around 5 p.m. we start to pack up: folding up the towels, taking down the umbrellas and packing up the snacks, and loading it all back into the boat. Everything safely stowed and the kids in the boat with their lifejackets on, we ask someone to rinse off our steps and hand them up, and then give us a little shove away from the beach. 

We motor past the remaining boaters and out of The Cove, careful not to create a wake. 

Roaring out onto the main channel, we hold on tight as the boat jumps up out of the water and hits plane. After a quick ride back to the dock in Buffalo City, dodging any large wakes

The Buffalo City Cove

and making sure we stay between the green and red buoys, the kids and I hold onto the boat while my husband runs up to the parking lot to get the truck. He backs the trailer down, jumps out, and I throw him the rope. He pulls the boat up and hooks it the trailer and jumps back into the truck. Once the boat is pulled out of the river, my husband jumps back out, pulls the plug on the boat to let the water out, and straps it down while I use a towel to wipe off the bits of plants and other debris that have stuck to the sides and bottom of the boat. 

On the way home, we talk about what a fun day we had and how we hope the weather cooperates so that we can do it again the next weekend.