Lake Powell 2004 (Dooley's first trip to Powell!) - Dungeon Canyon - Padre Bay
Lake Elevation 3583
The Boys Near Zion
7/14/04 Wednesday
We left our house a bit late due to much packing! Even an
Excursion has trouble packing 8 people and all their clothes, toys, ski vest, etc. While driving through the small town of Baker, CA we could see up ahead of us a torrential thunderstorm. So we stopped at a small store and purchased some trash bags to cover our duffel bags which had our clothing inside of them. Thank God we did, for from Baker to the first mountain pass the temp dropped from 106 to 64 and the rain came tumbling down. We quickly stopped and covered all outside duffel bags with the newly purchased trash bags and off we went again. The rain lasted for about 5 or so miles and then partly cloudy skies the rest of the way to Vegas. We arrived at Circus Circus at about 5:30 pm and had to wait in a ridiculous line for check in. What a joke!! After arguing with the employee behind the desk that my reservations were for non smoking and adjoining rooms for about 5 minutes I finally got our keys. I had assumed that all the boys would enjoy the Dome area of Circus Circus. I was wrong. Brent, Brian and Chris hurriedly left us and wanted to explore the strip. Steph and I agreed that they were old enough so off they went. After purchasing 6 tickets at about $20.00 each we went and rode most of the parks rides with the younger ones. The laser tag was a blast, as was the roller coaster. We finally convinced Bradley that the boat ride had no falls in it and so he went with us on that notion.
7/15/04 Thursday
Departed Las Vegas around 11:00am, stopped and fueled up and got more ice then off we went to Lake Powell. On route we drove through Zion Canyon. Very beautiful!! About a 1/2 hour past Zion Canyon we stopped at a very nice restaurant specializing in Buffalo Burgers. While we were eating a large thunder storm came upon us and it rained and the wind blew for a good hour. While waiting out the storm we ate and relaxed in one of the most beautiful horse places I have seen. The owner has been building many rental cabins and will soon have horse rental corals as well. We continued on through very quaint small cities and very beautiful country. Around 4:00pm we saw Lake Powell in the distance. You could easily see how low it is even from a good 20 miles away. We checked into the Lake Powell Resort around 5:00pm. We soon met up with my parents who drove straight through to Lake Powell From LA in one day. After talking and unpacking, Steph Brandon and I left to go grocery shopping and check into our house boat. We thought to do this the day before to get a bit of the paperwork out of the way. The check in was a bit slow but after about 30 minutes we were done. After the check in we left to go grocery shopping. We thought it would be better to grocery shopping the day before and we were glad we made that decision. Bashas and Walmart are right next to each other in Page, AZ and we were able to find everything we needed. After shopping for a good 2 hours we returned with dinner and soon went to sleep.
7/16/04 Friday
Woke up about 6:00am and repacked the cars. We were back at the house boat rental area by 6:45am. After waiting and waiting and waiting the house boat rental store finally opened at 7:10. About 20 minutes later we were all checked in and off we went to find our new home for the next 5 days. I had checked out one of the newer 48 foot Navigator house boats and it was quite remarkable. Three bedrooms, one bath and decked out with all the modern appliances. We were soon introduced to our instructor, Maggie. She was very nice and showed us how to run all the things on the boat, GPS, refrigerator, A/C, TV, DVD, Stereo, Helm, etc. While I was learning the rest of the crew loaded up the boat. Loading the rental boat is tough! With the water level so low we had to walk and carry all our equipment a long way in the blazing sun.
After about a good 2 hours of packing and learning we were off! The house boat is very slow, may be 5 miles an hour is top speed. Our first night we were trying to reach a nice beach around Face Canyon. A few of us departed the house boat and went on the ski boat to try to find a good campsite for the night. Unfortunately with the low water level the beaches that were good at high water are now gone. All the good campsites were taken at Face Canyon so we headed off to Kane Wash across Padre Bay.
The house boat soon arrived and we dropped off the anchors quite easily. We were soon hiking, fishing, swimming, water skiing, and tubing. Then around 5:00pm all hell started to hit. My father went out water skiing and looked quite good for a 70 year old. But then bam!! He fell and hit hard and had to get out. We took him back to the house boat and wrapped up his rib cage and then picked up some of the boys. We went tubing and they had a blast. We laughed so hard as they hit waves and flew. They had smiles going from ear to ear. Little Brent then wanted to try the knee board. He had a small problem getting up the first time but he soon had it mastered. He was doing quite well but then bam!! He went down bad. We circled around and he was bleeding from his head. Upon further inspection his cut wasn't bad enough for stitches but a butterfly was used. We soon had him taped shut and my father wrapped up when the wind then hit!! The sky got dark and lightning started up and all hell broke loose. The wind did a complete 180 degrees and was now coming from the south. Soon the house boat started to blow to one side and we did everything to get it off the sand. After much pushing and yelling and engines at full we were off. But only about 1/2 the crew was on the house boat. The other 1/2 had to get the ski boat and anchors. The lake was very rough and it was getting dark and Kane Wash was right in the path of a strong storm. We headed south with both the house boat and the ski boat. The members of our crew in the ski boat weren't to happy being on the lake with lightning so they came up behind the house boat and jumped on board. We soon made for a north facing beach about 4 miles away. But with the wind and the storm and night falling quickly we were all getting quite a bit worried. Chris and I jumped on the small ski boat and headed off to find a good campsite. The lake was very choppy and the rain was coming down quite bad and the lightning getting way to close to us but off we went with Chris singing Gilligan's Island. We found a shallow but adequate camping site and radioed the house boat to come in. We quickly anchored and then all sighed relief as we realized just how bad the night had gotten. My father and mother started dinner soon afterward and we thought the bad night was over till we soon were swarmed by thousands of gnats. After realizing that they were attracted to the lights we shut all the drapes and turned on the A/C. We ate a great dinner and then all drifted off to sleep.
We left our house a bit late due to much packing! Even an
Excursion has trouble packing 8 people and all their clothes, toys, ski vest, etc. While driving through the small town of Baker, CA we could see up ahead of us a torrential thunderstorm. So we stopped at a small store and purchased some trash bags to cover our duffel bags which had our clothing inside of them. Thank God we did, for from Baker to the first mountain pass the temp dropped from 106 to 64 and the rain came tumbling down. We quickly stopped and covered all outside duffel bags with the newly purchased trash bags and off we went again. The rain lasted for about 5 or so miles and then partly cloudy skies the rest of the way to Vegas. We arrived at Circus Circus at about 5:30 pm and had to wait in a ridiculous line for check in. What a joke!! After arguing with the employee behind the desk that my reservations were for non smoking and adjoining rooms for about 5 minutes I finally got our keys. I had assumed that all the boys would enjoy the Dome area of Circus Circus. I was wrong. Brent, Brian and Chris hurriedly left us and wanted to explore the strip. Steph and I agreed that they were old enough so off they went. After purchasing 6 tickets at about $20.00 each we went and rode most of the parks rides with the younger ones. The laser tag was a blast, as was the roller coaster. We finally convinced Bradley that the boat ride had no falls in it and so he went with us on that notion.
7/15/04 Thursday
Departed Las Vegas around 11:00am, stopped and fueled up and got more ice then off we went to Lake Powell. On route we drove through Zion Canyon. Very beautiful!! About a 1/2 hour past Zion Canyon we stopped at a very nice restaurant specializing in Buffalo Burgers. While we were eating a large thunder storm came upon us and it rained and the wind blew for a good hour. While waiting out the storm we ate and relaxed in one of the most beautiful horse places I have seen. The owner has been building many rental cabins and will soon have horse rental corals as well. We continued on through very quaint small cities and very beautiful country. Around 4:00pm we saw Lake Powell in the distance. You could easily see how low it is even from a good 20 miles away. We checked into the Lake Powell Resort around 5:00pm. We soon met up with my parents who drove straight through to Lake Powell From LA in one day. After talking and unpacking, Steph Brandon and I left to go grocery shopping and check into our house boat. We thought to do this the day before to get a bit of the paperwork out of the way. The check in was a bit slow but after about 30 minutes we were done. After the check in we left to go grocery shopping. We thought it would be better to grocery shopping the day before and we were glad we made that decision. Bashas and Walmart are right next to each other in Page, AZ and we were able to find everything we needed. After shopping for a good 2 hours we returned with dinner and soon went to sleep.
7/16/04 Friday
Woke up about 6:00am and repacked the cars. We were back at the house boat rental area by 6:45am. After waiting and waiting and waiting the house boat rental store finally opened at 7:10. About 20 minutes later we were all checked in and off we went to find our new home for the next 5 days. I had checked out one of the newer 48 foot Navigator house boats and it was quite remarkable. Three bedrooms, one bath and decked out with all the modern appliances. We were soon introduced to our instructor, Maggie. She was very nice and showed us how to run all the things on the boat, GPS, refrigerator, A/C, TV, DVD, Stereo, Helm, etc. While I was learning the rest of the crew loaded up the boat. Loading the rental boat is tough! With the water level so low we had to walk and carry all our equipment a long way in the blazing sun.
After about a good 2 hours of packing and learning we were off! The house boat is very slow, may be 5 miles an hour is top speed. Our first night we were trying to reach a nice beach around Face Canyon. A few of us departed the house boat and went on the ski boat to try to find a good campsite for the night. Unfortunately with the low water level the beaches that were good at high water are now gone. All the good campsites were taken at Face Canyon so we headed off to Kane Wash across Padre Bay.
The house boat soon arrived and we dropped off the anchors quite easily. We were soon hiking, fishing, swimming, water skiing, and tubing. Then around 5:00pm all hell started to hit. My father went out water skiing and looked quite good for a 70 year old. But then bam!! He fell and hit hard and had to get out. We took him back to the house boat and wrapped up his rib cage and then picked up some of the boys. We went tubing and they had a blast. We laughed so hard as they hit waves and flew. They had smiles going from ear to ear. Little Brent then wanted to try the knee board. He had a small problem getting up the first time but he soon had it mastered. He was doing quite well but then bam!! He went down bad. We circled around and he was bleeding from his head. Upon further inspection his cut wasn't bad enough for stitches but a butterfly was used. We soon had him taped shut and my father wrapped up when the wind then hit!! The sky got dark and lightning started up and all hell broke loose. The wind did a complete 180 degrees and was now coming from the south. Soon the house boat started to blow to one side and we did everything to get it off the sand. After much pushing and yelling and engines at full we were off. But only about 1/2 the crew was on the house boat. The other 1/2 had to get the ski boat and anchors. The lake was very rough and it was getting dark and Kane Wash was right in the path of a strong storm. We headed south with both the house boat and the ski boat. The members of our crew in the ski boat weren't to happy being on the lake with lightning so they came up behind the house boat and jumped on board. We soon made for a north facing beach about 4 miles away. But with the wind and the storm and night falling quickly we were all getting quite a bit worried. Chris and I jumped on the small ski boat and headed off to find a good campsite. The lake was very choppy and the rain was coming down quite bad and the lightning getting way to close to us but off we went with Chris singing Gilligan's Island. We found a shallow but adequate camping site and radioed the house boat to come in. We quickly anchored and then all sighed relief as we realized just how bad the night had gotten. My father and mother started dinner soon afterward and we thought the bad night was over till we soon were swarmed by thousands of gnats. After realizing that they were attracted to the lights we shut all the drapes and turned on the A/C. We ate a great dinner and then all drifted off to sleep.
7/17/04 Saturday
Our first trip to Rainbow Bridge
During the night the clouds cleared up and the stars were unbelievable. When we awoke in the morning it was clear as a bell and the winds were non existent. We unbeached ourselves quite easily and headed up lake to Dungeon Canyon about another 10 miles up. The weather was beautiful and we thought all was past when at about 10:00am a houseboat passed us on the left going quite fast and then he hit a sand bar that we didn't see. I put the houseboat in full reverse and we just missed it. We then proceeded slowly around the sand bar and off to deeper water. The other house boat did make it past the sand bar but he soon stopped a bit further and stayed there till we could no longer see him. After about 4 hours of motoring we made it to Dungeon Canyon. I picked this canyon for two reasons. One, I have heard that wild horses are often seen here and two it is quite close to Dangling Rope Marina. Unfortunately with the low water the canyon was quite small and we were not able to get very far off the main channel. But the beach was wide and easy to land and we faced S/SW when we beached the boat. While at Dungeon we did more tubing, fishing, swimming, relaxing, etc. We had a blast. Three house boats were further up the canyon and I was amazed at where some of the people were able to put these large house boats. They had quite a few jet skis and would buzz around us most of the day.
A few of us headed off to Dangling Rope Marina to dump some trash and pick up some supplies. The marina had almost everything one needs. We refilled the ski boat's gas tank and headed back to Dungeon Canyon. We went tubing some more and then just at about 6:00pm or so the wind picked up again. And once again it did another complete 180. All day it blows from the north at a nice 2 to 5 miles an hour. But when the storms come it switches to the S or SW and then really blows. The house boat was pointed S/SW so we had no worries. We started dinner and relaxed. That night we had another great dinner and watched a movie on our DVD player
A few of us headed off to Dangling Rope Marina to dump some trash and pick up some supplies. The marina had almost everything one needs. We refilled the ski boat's gas tank and headed back to Dungeon Canyon. We went tubing some more and then just at about 6:00pm or so the wind picked up again. And once again it did another complete 180. All day it blows from the north at a nice 2 to 5 miles an hour. But when the storms come it switches to the S or SW and then really blows. The house boat was pointed S/SW so we had no worries. We started dinner and relaxed. That night we had another great dinner and watched a movie on our DVD player
7/18/04 Sunday
Slide and Water fun
Slept again outside but the rain started up about 1:30am so the boys and I went inside the cabin to sleep. We unfolded all the tables and
couches into beds and just started to snooze off when Chris's bed on the table fell apart. We all laughed, fixed the table and went back to sleep. Once again when morning broke the sky was cloud free and wind non-existent. The day was filled with once again all fun things. Steph, Brian, Brent, Chris and I left for Rainbow Bridge at about 10:00am and reached it by 10:30 or so. The drive to it was remarkable. The walls rose a good couple of hundred feet all around us and at one point it was barely 40 or so feet wide. Upon reaching the docks for Rainbow Bridge the boys and I departed for the 1 mile hike to the bridge. Steph stayed on board and relaxed. The hike was easy and we saw very few people. We soon reached the bridge and it is amazing!!! If you are on Lake Powell, take the hour needed and go and see it. While we walked further up to the bridge I informed the boys that the Indians considered the bridge a holy spot and to not walk under it. Chris then remarked, What, will a Forest Ranger jump out of the bushes and yell at us? Just then a voice from around the bend remarked, No, I am right here!. We walked around the bend and there was the Park Ranger in a small lean two. We all laughed, including the Ranger.
After we took in all the beauty and relaxed we headed back. A tour boat must have landed at the dock for soon we were greeted by many people headed for the bridge. We arrived back at the dock and there was the tour boat. How the captain drove that boat through that tiny pass is beyond me. We headed back to Dangling Rope to refuel, drop off some trash and get some more ice. When we arrived back at camp the camp was quite serene. My father and mother were reading, the younger boys were just having a blast in the sand. Some of the other house boats had left with their jet skis so the afternoon was quite relaxing. Then around 5:00pm the wind changed to the W/SW and then to the S/SW. And really started to blow! I got a bit worried but our house boat was headed right into the wind so our four anchors held good. We were now used to the hour or two of wind and did not worry again about our boat coming loose like it did the first night. We ate and then went for a nice hike. The winds really cooled the night down so it was a perfect time to hike. Steph, Brandon, Brandon, Dillon and I walked up to the cliff and Brent and Chris walked up the canyon. The young boys and I soon realized that the echo in the walls was unbelievable. It went on and on. We walked back met up with Chris and Brent and headed back to the boat. Watched another movie and went fast a sleep.
couches into beds and just started to snooze off when Chris's bed on the table fell apart. We all laughed, fixed the table and went back to sleep. Once again when morning broke the sky was cloud free and wind non-existent. The day was filled with once again all fun things. Steph, Brian, Brent, Chris and I left for Rainbow Bridge at about 10:00am and reached it by 10:30 or so. The drive to it was remarkable. The walls rose a good couple of hundred feet all around us and at one point it was barely 40 or so feet wide. Upon reaching the docks for Rainbow Bridge the boys and I departed for the 1 mile hike to the bridge. Steph stayed on board and relaxed. The hike was easy and we saw very few people. We soon reached the bridge and it is amazing!!! If you are on Lake Powell, take the hour needed and go and see it. While we walked further up to the bridge I informed the boys that the Indians considered the bridge a holy spot and to not walk under it. Chris then remarked, What, will a Forest Ranger jump out of the bushes and yell at us? Just then a voice from around the bend remarked, No, I am right here!. We walked around the bend and there was the Park Ranger in a small lean two. We all laughed, including the Ranger.
After we took in all the beauty and relaxed we headed back. A tour boat must have landed at the dock for soon we were greeted by many people headed for the bridge. We arrived back at the dock and there was the tour boat. How the captain drove that boat through that tiny pass is beyond me. We headed back to Dangling Rope to refuel, drop off some trash and get some more ice. When we arrived back at camp the camp was quite serene. My father and mother were reading, the younger boys were just having a blast in the sand. Some of the other house boats had left with their jet skis so the afternoon was quite relaxing. Then around 5:00pm the wind changed to the W/SW and then to the S/SW. And really started to blow! I got a bit worried but our house boat was headed right into the wind so our four anchors held good. We were now used to the hour or two of wind and did not worry again about our boat coming loose like it did the first night. We ate and then went for a nice hike. The winds really cooled the night down so it was a perfect time to hike. Steph, Brandon, Brandon, Dillon and I walked up to the cliff and Brent and Chris walked up the canyon. The young boys and I soon realized that the echo in the walls was unbelievable. It went on and on. We walked back met up with Chris and Brent and headed back to the boat. Watched another movie and went fast a sleep.
7/19/04 Monday
We awoke again to a cloud and wind free day. We had to head to Dangling Rope once again to refuel the House Boat, take off trash, fill up on water and supplies and pump out our black and grey water. The only problem with the marina is that you have to dock the boat in one place to get fuel, another to pump out and then they want you to yet dock some where else to shop and relax. Docking and redocking a 48 foot house boat in a small marina with a side wind isn't the easiest thing to do. We docked on the fuel dock fairly well, but the docking on the pump out wasn't to pretty. The side wind really got me and I messed up a bit. The pump employee said it actually looked pretty good! After all the clean up we were amazed at how little fuel the house boat burned. We only pumped about 25 gallons of fuel. We soon departed back to yet another camp sight. The day was very calm and we made good time back down lake. Steph and I soon found a good camp site in what I thought was Gun Sight Bay, but after further examination we were still in Padre Bay. The water is so low now that it makes it quite hard to find exactly were you are. We were actually camping on the North West side of Gunsight Butte. We are surrounded on almost three sides by a three hundred foot cliff. The cliff starts at almost due north and surrounds us beyond S/SE. We thought we had it made as far as the daily wind storm was concerned but oh no! As the day progressed we swam, hiked, relaxed, etc, it was the perfect day!! Then all hell broke out again at about 4:00pm. We were used to this now. We just battened down all loose articles, made sure all four anchors were dug in good and deep and just waited out the storm. This storm started at the South but about a hour later it turned 180 degrees and started blowing from the north. The boat turned, squeaked and rolled but we were not worried this time, we are pros now. A house boat about 200 yards away tore loose of its anchor and almost got as bad as we did the first night. He soon left and was in the same predicament that we were in three nights ago. He was right in the middle of Padre Bay and the wind was so strong that the water was being lifted off the lake in large drifts. About 2 hours later not a breeze was blowing and we soon had another great dinner. Later that night, we started a small camp fire and just relaxed under the stars and made Smores. Another great day!!
7/20/04 Tuesday
I woke up around 6:00am to a remarkable view of Padre Bay. We ran the A/C all night and all slept great! The other nights we never ran the A/C all night for we were afraid of running out of gas. But now that we know just how little gas the houseboat took we had no worries and wanted to sleep well for at least one night on our trip. Others soon awoke and we took the boys for a last day of tubing. We had another great day playing in the water. We left camp at around 9:00am and headed back to Wahweap Marina. The trip back was quite humble. I realized around 10:30am or so that this was a work day. Huh I had actually forgotten about work since Friday afternoon. That is what makes a vacation a great vacation!!!! We made it back with no worries at just about 2:00pm, refueled both boats and checked them in with no problems. By 4:00pm we were completely packed in our Excursion and headed South to Phoenix for another three days of vacation at The Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak.
This trip was more than a vacation. It was an adventure
What I have learned about Lake Powell that all should know before they go is as follows:
1) You need at least 3 strong bodies to handle the docking, beaching, etc a 48 foot house boat.
2) Dig your anchors in deep, especially during monsoon season, (Monsoon season is usually between early July and late August). I would dig them in around 2 feet deep or deeper.
3) Use all four anchors
4) Don't pay attention to where the beaches are as per the maps you can buy. They are all set to around full pool, 3690 to 3700 feet. When the lake is low you need to find all new beaches!!
5) Beach boat in a West to S/W direction for best wind exposure. But remember the wind can come from anywhere in those canyons.
6) The monsoon storms only last 1 to 3 hours. Wait it out and don't worry.
7) Close all drapes at sun down. The gnats are a real pain in the ass!
8) Bring a lot less food
9) Bring a lot less clothing
10) Bring a lot more water and ice
11) A 48 foot house boat is all you need for a family of 8 to 10. Couples who go may want a larger boat to get their own private room.
12) Make many and small meals. Large meals are a waste.
1) You need at least 3 strong bodies to handle the docking, beaching, etc a 48 foot house boat.
2) Dig your anchors in deep, especially during monsoon season, (Monsoon season is usually between early July and late August). I would dig them in around 2 feet deep or deeper.
3) Use all four anchors
4) Don't pay attention to where the beaches are as per the maps you can buy. They are all set to around full pool, 3690 to 3700 feet. When the lake is low you need to find all new beaches!!
5) Beach boat in a West to S/W direction for best wind exposure. But remember the wind can come from anywhere in those canyons.
6) The monsoon storms only last 1 to 3 hours. Wait it out and don't worry.
7) Close all drapes at sun down. The gnats are a real pain in the ass!
8) Bring a lot less food
9) Bring a lot less clothing
10) Bring a lot more water and ice
11) A 48 foot house boat is all you need for a family of 8 to 10. Couples who go may want a larger boat to get their own private room.
12) Make many and small meals. Large meals are a waste.