Jerry's Rogue Jets, Gold Beach, OR.

Thursday 6/21/12

On our second day in Gold Beach, OR. we decided to take a jet boat ride on the Rogue River. We had to be at Jerry's Rogue Jet at 8:30 for our 9:00 departure. Reservations are recommended. We were surprised how many people were there as it was a cool morning.

There use to be two jet boat company's in town, but Jerry's Rogue Jets bought out their competition. It was a cool day, but the rest of the week was predicted to rain, so this day was our only chance to do the ride. We came prepared with layers of clothing. I grabbed one of their water proof warm jackets that they provide before I boarded the jet boat.

There are 3 different lengths of jet boat rides to pick from. The first one is the 64 miles long Historic Mail Route. The second one is the 80 mile Whitewater Excursion, and the third is the 104 mile Wilderness Whitewater. We decided to take the Wilderness Whitewater, an all day ride at $100 each. For more information about the different rides go to http://www.roguejets.com/

While waiting in line outside for our boat ride loading, I watched this dog pick up a stick and drop it at the feet of anyone who would throw it for him.

We left the dock, and our driver stopped under the Rogue River Bridge for pictures. It is a bridge with strong Art Deco influences, the Isaac Lee Patterson Bridge is a prominent example of the designs of the Oregon bridge designer and highway engineer Conde McCullough. It was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1982.

The deck arch bridge is 1,898 feet long. McCullough employed a new method of concrete arch construction named the Freyssinet method, named after the French bridge engineer Eugene Freyssinet.^[2] This method uses precompressed arches which pemitted the use of smaller arch ribs, thereby reducing the weight and cost of the bridge. McCullough's design was the first usage of this technique in the United States.

The bridge is graced by fluted Art Deco entrance pylons on each end.

Not to far up the river we saw several Bald Eagles. I never would have got this picture, if I didn't have our new zoom lens.

This was the mate of the previous eagle. Even with the zoom, the picture was fuzzy, because of the jet boat movement.

Nice homes on the hillside of the Rogue River.

Seven miles up the Rogue River, we saw the Tu Tu Tun Lodge. A two queen bed room will run $225 a night in the summer..

The Tu Tu Tun Lodge has been featured in a couple of Travel and Leisure Magazines and rated # 3 in the Top 10 Oregon Coast Romantic Resorts. For more information on Tu Tu Tun Lodge go to http://www.tututun.com/

If you want to camp there are several campgrounds also. This is the Kimball Creek Bend Campground.

We saw several Ospreys on our ride.

A lovely home sitting high above the river.

Turkey vultures sunning themselves.

On our ride our skilled pilot entertained us with tall tales, rich history, and facts about the river.

This is are pilot Jeff''s yellow lab. I think her name is Sadie. She has been riding on this same jet boat her entire life with her master every year from May to October.

I had about five layers on, as well as the wool blanket they provide on the boat. Even though it was sunny it was still cool and when the boat picked up speed it felt even cooler.

As we got further up the river, the cottages got fewer and further apart. Our driver told us there were only 8 homes from this point on up the river.

Our pilot had been driving the jet boats for 27 years. In this picture, it shows how he came inches from the boulder as he speed by. Half of the ride is a thrill ride with many 360 degree spins, that get the crowd hollowing for more! You will get wet no matter where you sit, but he doesn't get you wet until you are up river were it is much warmer. You dry off really fast on the fast boat ride also.

An osprey guarding his fish from the turkey vultures.

By the time we had arrived at the Agness RV Park, in the town of Agness, OR (population 95) for a potty stop, most everyone had stripped down to their T shirts. We had gone 32 miles up river where it is much warmer than on the coast.

I took a couple of pictures of Agness RV Park after I used the restroom.

The hill going down to the river was easier than coming up'

Time to get aboard to continue up the river. (Not everyone had returned from our break)

Up from Agness we got into the rapids, where others were going the other direction.

The jet boat can ride across 6 inches of water. In this picture our pilot was showing us how close he could take the boat to shore while traveling at a high speed. (about 30 mph)

The spray of water shows we were traveling fast! Our driver would spin the rear end of the boat out to keep the jet in deeper water and that would put the front of the boat just inches from shore, giving all of us a thrill. He could keep the boat going this sideways direction for a minute or two.

On the ride we saw turtles,

and geese.

and many more eagles.

Only so many rafters, and kayaks are allowed on the river a day. Our guide told us it is like winning the lottery to get on the river. He said he knew someone who had been trying for ten years to be able to raft down the river.

A tree growing on top of the boulder.

Must be lunch time for this group of young people.

The dinosaur tree.

The dinosaur tree from the other direction.

The river started to get much narrower here.

Somebody shouted out, " A bear"! The bear got out of the water fast,

but looked around at us once it was out.

Note the bear is black but has brown on it's back. Some Black bears have brown fur also.

Rogue River Canyon

This was the end of the road for us.

Our driver pushed us into the rapids for a while ( for fun ) before turning around.

The sky above the Coastal Range had beautiful rays of clouds formations.

Still sitting in the rapids at a stand still.

This picture shows where the water once was; to place the tree on the rocky bank.

As we went back down the river, there was a group of rafters that had got spread out.

Our driver got behind one of the rafts and started to push him along to get him up with the other rafters, and to hurry him along. The rafter looked at him unable to figure out if it was a joke or what! We all got a laugh out of it.

Jeff pointed ou this falls and then proceeded toward it.

Jeff drove the jet boat up under the falls. He came to just inches from the falls coming over the front window shield. If you don't want to get wet, don't sit in the front row! The falls splatter got them wet.

On the way back down the river we stopped at the "Singing Springs Resort" in Agness, OR.

Another hill to climb for lunch.

Sadie went for her usual swim that she takes after every jet boat ride during the lunch stops.

The Singing Springs Resort has cabins and rooms you can rent, if you want to stay on the Rogue River.

On the jet boat trip, you can bring your sack lunch or eat at the Singing Spring Restaurant.

I had the salad bar buffet and Joe order a hamburger from the grille.

From the restaurant deck. we could see the Agness RV Park across the river.

After lunch some of the guests sat in the row of chairs and watched the boats on the river go by.

It was time to get back to the jet boat to continue back down the river.

This is Jeff our jet boat pilot. If you get him as your driver, you are very lucky. He made you feel safe, but gave you a thrilling ride and was very informative and funny. If you take a jet boat ride on the Jerry's Rogue Jets, ask for Jeff, you will not be disappointed. Tell him Diane sent you from Joe, Diane, & Mallery's Big Adventure.

Life jackets were required on the upper half of the ride in the rapids area.

A couple of young deer along the shore were seen as we headed back to the Pacific Coast.

This was where the Illinois River joined the Rogue River. The water was crystal clear as it flowed in.

Our pilot drove our boat up to this rock,

so we could get a birds eye view of the swallows nesting in the rock. ( Sorry the blurry picture, I forgot to change the setting).

Jeff, our pilot had heard that someone down river had caught a Chinook salmon, so he was looking for the fisherman. When we got to where he was, Jeff asked him to show us his catch. This was the end of the up river spring season for Chinook fishing so this guy was very "Blessed" to catch it.

Another Osprey with his prize fish. ( Another blurry picture- this time because of the boat motion).

One of the campgrounds on the lower end of the Rogue River.

The last 30 miles back to the coast was not fun, The wind was in our face and it got cold once again. Everyone got their coats hood, and blankets on. The ride back was pretty quiet.

We got back at 4:00PM and the dog I saw earlier that morning had dug up this board and was trying to get someone to throw it for him.

Outside the Jerry's Rogue Jets Business is this small boat for kids to drive. We were told that if we went across the street to a business, we could see the pictures of us on the boat that were taken earlier that morning from a bridge. Joe didn't want to go over, but I drug him there anyway.

As we entered the store, a store clerk was asking everyone if their name was Joe LaFontaine. Joe had been picked as the winner of a free picture. Everyone else had to pay $7 for their picture. This is a picture of the picture we got free. We are in the fifth row from the front all bundled up because it was so cold when we took off that morning.