District 30

Cruise and Rendezvous

Frisco, Co

July 17/19, 2009

 On Wednesday July 15 after work, the District 30 Secretary and Executive officer (Peggy and I)  left Cedar Rapids to attend the  District Cruise and Rendezvous at Frisco, CO.

We drove as far as Grand Island, NB. Arriving at 11:15pm, and spent the night.  We left at 7:00 the next morning  driving through torrential rain for the next 200 miles. With side trips to Chimney Rock and historic Scottsbluff, NB, we arrived in Frisco at 5:30pm and checked into our hotel.  After a quick look around the town and marina, we ate at an A & W and returned to our Hotel.  We had a magnificent view of the mountains to the south from our window.

Frisco is an old settlement at the west end of Lake Dillon.  It is at 9100 ft elevation, surrounded by high mountain peaks. The water was crystal clear and COLD. You could see the bottom of the rudders and more.

Lake Dillon is a manmade lake formed by damming 10 mile creek at Dillon.  The depth gauge on the boat read 120 ft or more, but that could be very deceiving because of many shallow spots, and channels in the lake. If you would run aground it could be very costly, as the bottom is solid rock.  One had to keep a close watch for the danger buoys that marked the shallow areas and channels.

I  went out on Friday with Norm Brown of the Boulder Valley Squadron. The wind was blowing 40 mph which made for some exciting sailing.  I was still recovering from shoulder surgery, and my right arm was still not functioning fully, so I was limited to operating the tiller with my left hand.  It was a very interesting experience.

Friday evening we all ate at the Moose jaw Saloon.  Fare was Hamburgers and Beer.  We did a walking tour of old Frisco and ended up at the hotel and turned in .

Saturday morning the District Council #120 was opened at 8:31 am.  A quorum was in attendance, and after formalities, the main discussion centered around a new method of dispersing marketing refunds to the squadrons.  The Present method reimburses squadrons for advertising expenses related to boat shows, and classes.  The new method would reimburse based on sales of educational supplies.  The discussion was deferred to a later time when more information is available.  The meeting adjourned at 9:30 and the group moved to the marina for breakfast and assignment to boats for water activities.

We asked to go on a powerboat and went to the east end of the lake to the Dillon Marina to fuel up and a rest break, then took a tour of the shoreline of Lake Dillon.  After that it was time to return for the raft up.  We went to the marina where we picked up the lunch packages and went out to the cove where the raft was taking place.  By the time we arrived, the other boats were finishing rafting, and we tied up on the end , passed out the lunch packages, and enjoyed nice pleasant social period after lunch was over.  Several people changed boats, and the raft broke up and returned to the lake for the afternoon.

After time to rest and cleanup, we met at the Backcountry Brewery (a brew pub) for drinks and dinner.    The dinner was a buffet of broiled steak and half chicken with assorted veggies and deserts.  Everyone left completely stuffed.

The weather was beautiful.  Temperature in the mid 70’s, clear sunny sky, and snow still on the peaks.  The thin air made it imperative to use sun block, but many people still came home with sunburns.

We left Sunday about noon, and beat the traffic rush going into Denver.  It was an uneventful trip to North Platte, NB. where we spent the night.  We went to the Union Pacific Park, and looked at the Challenger, a 4-6-6-4 steam engine. It stands 18 ft tall, and was used to pull high speed freight and passenger trains through the mountains.

  We left North Platte and drove to Gothenberg, NB where we visited an authentic pony express station.  As we left, it started to rain.  We drove through rain the rest of the way home.

 We arrived back around 4:30 pm. The Boulder Valley Squadron did an excellent job of organizing and hosting a very successful event.  The only thing that would have made if better is if more people could have enjoyed it.

Dick Des Camps