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Published: August 22nd 2007
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August 18-20st
We arrived at Lake Powell on August 18th after a 4-hour drive from Bryce. The trip was fairly uneventful. We passed right by Zion and I mentioned to Joe that maybe we should add that to our trip. Although we are having an amazing time, I think all of us are looking forward to some routine when we land at our new home.
We are staying at the Wahweap RV Park at Lake Powell. I learned that Wahweap is a kind of stone…thus, the name. This RV Park is part of the larger Lake Powell Resort, and we able to use the pool and all the other amenities here.
We rented a pontoon during our visit to Lake Powell. Considering we have essentially spent 2 days on the lake, I will just make more general comments instead of my routine of giving the play by play of our days.
Lake Powell is actually a reservoir created by a dam of the Colorado River. The water is blue, clean and clear. The beaches are soft reddish sand. The lake is surrounded by red and white cliffs, which are especially pronounced now that the lake is 100
feet lower than it was a few years ago. According to the Ranger, they have had a drought for the last 8 years and the lake is at a low point. When touring around on the lake, the lines of where the water used to be are really obvious. In addition, the maps of the lake are not correct as they reflect the time when the lake had more water. The lake has a number of canyons and channels and you could certainly spend weeks here exploring all of them. We were only able to explore a few channels and two bays (Wahweap and Warm Water) in the time we were here.
We rented a pontoon from a local boat storage place. We intended to only keep the boat for one day, but we were having so much fun that we decided to keep it a second day. The marinas directly on the lake do not rent pontoons, only motorboats and houseboats. The trick was that we had to drive 9 miles to pick up the pontoon and return it. Once again, the minivan continues to rock! Our minivan is supposed to pull up to 3500 pounds, and Joe
found out when he went to pick up the pontoon that it weighed at least 4500-5000 pounds. The minivan pulled it like a charm, and was able to launch it with very few difficulties. Funny, we were the only people launching a boat from a minivan….everyone else at the launch had Mega Trucks. I think I may write to Toyota after this trip and tell them how impressed we were with this vehicle ☺.
Lake Powell is a great place to spend some time. We had two full days of just relaxing and having fun. We rode in the tube, swam, and stopped at beaches and fished. In addition, Ethan and Elise love to climb on the rocks so we did some of that as well. I am normally a little squeamish about lakes…I don’t like the cloudy water or the weeds hitting my legs. There was none of that here. The water was the perfect temperature, neither too hot nor cold. I was very comfortable swimming here.
One of the highlights was a large rock in the center of one of the smaller bays. We drove by and 4 teenagers jumped off the side of the rock,
from about 40 feet up. Ethan immediately asked if we could do that. So, Ethan Elise and I jumped from the lower tier of the rock. Then, Ethan and Joe went to the top of the rock and jumped the 40 feet. Even Joe was a little nervous. Ethan was grinning from ear to ear after he jumped. My gentle son is also a thrill seeker….wonder where he gets that!
The kids and Joe broke their losing streak and caught some small mouth bass. Simone and I mostly enjoyed ourselves swimming and floating in the water. Everyone went on the tube. We also spent a few hours at the pool at the Resort, which overlooks the lake and the red cliffs. All 3 kids have certainly improved their swimming on this trip.
Elise, Simone and I got to see a black-tailed Jack Rabbit while riding our bikes. Boy, those are weird looking rabbits. The ears are huge and the black tail was fairly long. It also ran more like a cat or dog than hopped like a rabbit. I was confused about what it was, but I looked up a picture on the internet and that is what
it was.
The weather was hot during our stay, but it was not oppressive like when we were in Moab. The sun is blazing hot, but if you can stay out of the sun, you can be very comfortable. The stars are absolutely amazing here. Joe and I were commenting that we need to get a good look because I’m not sure how well we will be able to see the stars in San Diego.
We are off to the Grand Canyon tomorrow, and then to San Diego. I’m feeling both sad and excited that this part of our journey is almost complete.
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