Going On The Road with Monte & Rose

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

March 18, 2013

Desert Sky, Apache Junction, AZ

Dolly Steamboat Adventure, Canyon Lake, AZ

We have wanted to take a ride on the Dolly Steamboat since we first arrived in the area at the end of November, but between being busy with family and the solar installation, not to mention the cold weather, we kept putting it off. But since we only have two weeks left before departing we decided today was the day. I went to the Dolly Steamboat site to find out sail times and ticket pricing and read that reservations are recommended so Monte called and put our name on the list for the 4pm sailing.

We knew exactly where the marina was located because we had passed it when we traveled the Apache Trail back on January 23^rd.

When we arrived at the marina there were a few people already there. There was a sign on the ticket booth that the 4pm cruise was all booked up so I was glad that Monte had made the reservation.

We had an hour before the ticket booth was scheduled to open so we sat on a bench just enjoying the perfect weather.

Monte took a picture of a squirrel that poked his head up waiting for a handout.

He also caught some birds in flight.

We were sitting with our back to the ticket booth and by the time the announcement was made that it was open,

the line was quite long already.

Boarding is arranged numerically. Each ticket is numbered by the order that it is sold.

We had tickets 90 and 91 so when we boarded our choice of seats was very limited. We would have liked to have sat on the upper outside level but settled for the upper inside.

All the tables were occupied so Monte asked a couple if we could share the table with them. (Thank you Ron and Lynn from Tacoma, Washington.)

As we set sail, Nicole, a member of the crew demonstrated how to properly put on a life jacket in case of emergency while the Captain gave a brief history of The Dolly Steamboat.

The ship is a replica of a classic American sternwheeler that takes passengers to secluded inner waterways accessible only by boat.

The Dolly, under permit from the US Forest Service, has been operated by the same family for over 25 years.

The Captain also announced the emergency exits and gave a brief speech about where we were going and what wildlife we might be expected to see.

Monte disappeared for a while.

I later found out he was wandering the ship taking pictures.

I spent most of the time on a small landing taking in the beauty of our surroundings.

As we approached an area that the Captain knew had an eagle’s nest he warned the passengers not to all rush to the side of the boat with the best view of the nest. So what did almost everyone do when the eagle was spotted? Yep.

I felt the boat list to one side. Monte must have been one of “them” because he got a few good pictures.

The boat listed to the other side when someone spotted some big horn sheep on the mountain and almost everyone rushed to get pictures.

All too soon we were approaching the dock and our cruise had come to an end and with it another adventure to add to our growing treasure chest of memories.