ZOELO
Monday, May 21, 2007
LAKE POWELL IN A HOUSEBOAT
Lake Powell is indescribable but I will try anyway. It is 186 miles long with over a thousand miles of shoreline on its many side canyons. It would be easy to get lost in the maze of channels but our trusty Cap’n Toni found the right channel markers. We couldn’t have made the trip without her driving and doing the heavy physical tasks.
The canyons are each distinctive…salmon pink cliffs, huge boulders, layers of different rock. We would wind our way through the two – three hundred high cliffs looking for a mooring place. The profusion of rock made for few sandy landings. Once moored, we would explore the narrower canyons in our 20-foot power boat, at times having to push away with our oars. These canyons would be deceptive, first in finding them (it would look like they ended in boulders coming together only to find that the channel continued on around the corner), then in the twisting and turns that seemed to get narrower and narrower.
In the evenings, we would have a campfire on the shore and then, later, search the heavens for familiar constellations. Without the usual residential lights, the dark sky revealed “billions and billions of stars”.
Zoe tried some fishing and caught one and lost two. It was a special treat for her at dinner one night.
Lake Powell was an unforgettable experience. Even the campground was exceptional and the marina restaurant delicious. We hope to attack the Lake again sometime from a different direction. It would take weeks or months to do the whole lake.
Lake Powell is indescribable but I will try anyway. It is 186 miles long with over a thousand miles of shoreline on its many side canyons. It would be easy to get lost in the maze of channels but our trusty Cap’n Toni found the right channel markers. We couldn’t have made the trip without her driving and doing the heavy physical tasks.
The canyons are each distinctive…salmon pink cliffs, huge boulders, layers of different rock. We would wind our way through the two – three hundred high cliffs looking for a mooring place. The profusion of rock made for few sandy landings. Once moored, we would explore the narrower canyons in our 20-foot power boat, at times having to push away with our oars. These canyons would be deceptive, first in finding them (it would look like they ended in boulders coming together only to find that the channel continued on around the corner), then in the twisting and turns that seemed to get narrower and narrower.
In the evenings, we would have a campfire on the shore and then, later, search the heavens for familiar constellations. Without the usual residential lights, the dark sky revealed “billions and billions of stars”.
Zoe tried some fishing and caught one and lost two. It was a special treat for her at dinner one night.
Lake Powell was an unforgettable experience. Even the campground was exceptional and the marina restaurant delicious. We hope to attack the Lake again sometime from a different direction. It would take weeks or months to do the whole lake.