Return to Houseboating - Lake Roosevelt

How I got back to houseboating, and Kim got her first taste of the joy.

I was teaching a class on planning for Critical Access Hospitals for the Idaho Hospital Association. Idaho is a large state, so the class was taught three times over two weeks to reduce travel time and improve attendance. One session was in Pocatello, one in Boise, and one in Coeur d'Alene. Kim decided to accompany me on the trip to northern Idaho, and the nearest airport is in Spokane. We decided to spend a three day weekend, then Kim would head for home, and I'd stick around and teach my class.

So, what to do on a 3 day weekend near Spokane? A link on the Spokane visitor's center led to houseboat rentals on nearby Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir behind the Grand Coulee Dam. Here's a link for more info on the dam and the resulting Lake Roosevelt:

http://www.usbr.gov/pn/grandcoulee/

We rented a houseboat for the weekend, and since it was very early in April, there were very few others out on the lake. It's a fabulously beautiful place, beautiful in a very different way than the Mississippi River houseboat vacations I remember as a kid. Here's a link to the houseboat people on Lake Roosevelt:

http://www.lakeroosevelt.com/

We didn't take our camera along, or I'd post some photos. It was nice enough, fun enough, and relaxing enough that Kim was sold, and when her parents told us they had seen a houseboat for sale next to the consignment shop in Turin, we went to take a look. The rest, as they say, was history.

(There's a lot of history in Turin. The Turin Man skeletons were discovered here, thought to be around 6,500 years old. Here's a link: http://www.loesshillstours.com/attractions-monona.html

The skeletons were found just feet from where our houseboat was found. Coincidence? I think not.

Introduction - or, Katey Gets Her Wish

Welcome.

This story started about two years ago. Kim's parents found the SeaCamper. It was sitting on its trailer, next to a consignment shop in Turin, Iowa. A "for sale" sign was in the window. They knew we were interested in houseboats, having just returned from a three day weekend houseboating on beautiful Lake Roosevent in central Washington. The next time we were visiting, we drove out, took a look at the SeaCamper (not a very good look, as will become clear!) and made the fateful purchase.

At this juncture, there are a few backstories that need to be told, and questions that should be answered. Like -

1. How did Scott and Kim come to take that houseboating vacation on beautiful Lake Roosevent?
2. Why did this story start two years ago, but this blog only starts now?
3. What does the title to this post mean? Who is Katey?
4. What 's a SeaCamper? What would one be doing in Turin?
5. What's been up with the SeaCamper for the last two years?

All of these are excellent questions, and you may have more. If you do, please feel free to send them along. I will answer these questions, and any others you might have, as best I can.

I'll start with numbers 2 and 3 right now. This is the first post (hence Introduction) because it didn't occur to me to create a blog until Katey told me I should. I sent an email with several photos of the current state of the SeaCamper to my family, Katey, and the rest of her family. The resulting chain of replies, replies to all, etc. got a bit out of hand. Katey, in her next message, said, "You should start a Blog."

So, Katey gets her wish. That takes care of question number 2 and question number 3, first half. Second half of 3, answers to the other questions, some interesting links, and some photos will follow soon.

Thanks and welcome!