Floating pickup

Tales from the Backyard…  One year at Klondike GRNP my superintendent wanted me to research and buy a jet boat for the rangers to use to get the equipment and supplies up river rather the expensive helicopter method.  So I picked out a 20 footer with twin 200 jet propelled Mercury’s for propulsion.  When it arrived, of course it had to be tested so my friend and co-worker Dave and I loaded it on the trailer and took it to a section of beach up river to launch it.  I told Dave to take the truck above high tide line then off we went.  Unfortunately, there were many dead-falls in the river so making headway was difficult and eventually we came to a halt, as I didn't think we could make it back out, going up river is much easier than down.  After many hours we headed back.  When we arrived where the truck and trailer were supposed to be, we found them floating in the bay, with a long line attached to the back of another friends pickup.  The tide that day was over 5 feet above average and had picked the truck off the beach and sent it floating.  Luckily, my friend happened to be driving by and had secured it and rather than trying to get it to higher ground, just sat there to see what would happen.  If it hadn't been a Dodge it probably would have sank it the bay, but it was so water tight that the inside never got wet.  That’s a story that is probably still told in Skagway around the bar.  I know I never lived it down while still there.