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Published: March 16th 2018
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The primary goal of this trip, and the chief reason for bringing the Sportboat, was to spend some time exploring Lake Powell by boat. I have been fascinated by the place since I was a kid. I remember reading about it in National Geographic, and being dazzled by the pictures. I also knew that one of my favorite childhood movies, "Planet of the Apes" had been partially filmed there. Of course, I'm also well aware of what was lost by the creation of the lake. As many wonders as there are to see now, those pale in comparison to all the ones that were flooded over. Knowing that makes visiting it both beautiful and sad.
We headed up I 17 towards Flagstaff, climbing all the way. After our weeks of warm weather, it was a bit alarming to watch the temperature drop. The sky was overcast, and spitting rain as we topped out at the I 40 interchange — 43F on the truck thermometer! Soon though, as we dropped down again to the north, we started to see it warming again.
The last 30 or so miles to Page AZ are a delight, with huge sandstone cliffs on both sides of
the road, close on the east, and far away to the west. A steep climb up through one of the deepest rock cuts I’ve ever seen, and then we descended down to Page AZ, and the big lake.
We had been able to secure 4 nights at the Wahweap Marina Campground, and when we arrived, we could see why. Unlike everywhere else we had been in Arizona, it was clearly “out of season” here. The marina facilities are HUGE there. Two launching ramps, maybe 100 yards WIDE — as big as a football field! And maybe a quarter mile long? With enough slope to be usable with what, a 60’ variation in water level? God knows how far out under the water they went.
Only one of the ramps was open now, and it was barely being used, maybe 4 or 5 trucks with boat trailers parked there, in a blacktop expanse bigger than any Walmart lot you’ve ever seen.
We were assigned a campsite, but were told we could change it if we wanted, as there were many to choose from. We found one with an ideal southern exposure for the solar panel, and set up there. It was
a “dry” site, no water or electric, but a good deal at $24/night. The electric sites were over $60!
The next morning , we drove over to the open ramp to launch the Sportboat. Cathy was a bit nervous about pointing down that long, steep slab of concrete towards the lake, but we were able to turn around and stop at the bottom, thereby barely avoiding certain doom. (wink)
After we had unloaded and rigged up, we headed out onto the water. Now, our old Evinrude 7.5, after running so well in Texas, decided to act up. It started missing badly, and seemed to be running on about 1 and 1/2 cylinders, maybe less. What a thing! After renting that same motor to our PBF customers for over 30 years without a single problem, NOW it craps out! We found though, that if we ran at about 1/2 throttle, it at least sounded better, and that’s whats important, right? So that’s how we ran it. Of course that cut our usual cruising speed of 10 knots right in half, with and with an unknown effect on our fuel consumption. After a pow-wow with the steering committee, we decided to
go for it, and continue with our plan to go all the way around Antelope Island, what a pair of crazy risk-takers we are! That’s the largest island on this huge lake, and that round trip would be over ten miles.
It was a glorious (if slow) trip. The lake waters are dark, but quite clear. I’d guess you can still see the bottom in 10 feet of water. As you travel the twisting channels, every turn reveals new marvels, and at all times you are in site of the huge mountains, mesas, and cliffs that surround the lake. The only down side is the enormous "Navaho" coal fired power plant belching huge clouds of vapor into the sky 24/7. The stacks are extremely high, all the better to shoot that sulfur dioxide high enough into the atmosphere to ensure that the resultant acid rain doesn't fall until it reaches the Northeast, thanks for that, Arizona.
We found a spot to pull up for lunch on a nice sandy beach. The sand was very clean, coarse, and of a dark red/tan color, the same as the surrounding rocks. It was an unusual beach in that the sand continued maybe only 10 feet from shore under water, then a submerged cliff just dropped off to unknown black depths. The rock here was like nothing we’d ever seen before, tilted strata of a soft reddish sandstone, with parallel knife edges at the surface. These would actually beak off when you stepped on them, making the act of just walking around feel a bit destructive. After a bit of a break, it was back into the boat to continue our put-put circumnavigation of the big island. We went past another marina full of even more huge house boats, some with as many as 4 jet ski's pulled up on the back. Something tells me I wouldn't like this place nearly as much in the Summer.
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the water entrance to Antelope Canyon. The upper reaches of this canyon are world famous for it's unbelievably carved sandstone shapes. Unfortunately, it's also famous for the storm runoff event that killed 11 tourists in 1997. We ran up into the canyon a long way, as the water twisted and turned between high shaped walls of sandstone. It was unforgettable, if a bit crowded with canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and even tour boats. After that we continued to the west, past the Glen Canyon Dam that forms the lake, and then back to our campground.
A beautiful bluebird sky, eye-popping scenery, and a full day on the water -- what could be better? Tomorrow, we plan some more boating, and some hiking too.
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