Next morning, got up bright and early, had a light b’fast, jumped on the bike and headed North along the 101. The route to Jerry’s Jet Boats is 1.4 miles along highway 101 and it’s easy travel what with the nice sidewalks and all. It’s right on the edge of town on the south shore of the Rogue River. The last bit is fairly steep so I’m sure I wore down a layer of my bike’s brake pads. Didn’t like the idea of coming back that way and having to push the bike all the way up that hill, so on my way back, I’ll look for an alternate route.
When I made my reservations, and after I got the discount, it came to $45 (in case you’re wondering). Regular price is $50. This is the 2nd to last jet boat tour, and only trip of the 3 trip lengths they offered this time of year, a 64 mile round trip on the river. They planned on shutting down the tour operation the day after tomorrow, but the mail boat travels up the river all year round. The other two tours, 80 miles and 104 miles, had already been shut down due to low water levels.
I arrived at Jerry’s right at 9 AM for the 9:30 trip, signed in, and soon we were loading aboard from the modern and well maintained dockside. The boats all looked in great shape as well. Aluminum hulls, padded bench seats, etc. The pilot would ask people as they boarded if they were with nearby people and most everyone was part of a group or couple. I was the only single and he directed me to the last bench seat in the boat so I had an entire seat to myself. I am not complaining. The way the boat is built, each row is a little higher than the row before so the last row, where I was sitting, was the highest and had the best view. BUT, it also got the most wind and spray. I was OK with that.
Walking down the ramp to board the boat gives a nice view of the Rogue and the 101 bridge. We’ll be traveling under that bridge soon.
Our boat captain there on the left giving us last minute safety instructions.
