September 2004
In September, 2004, we joined Jon's brother Howie, their cousin Joanna and her husband John Abreu, for a week on a houseboat on Lake Powell. Beginning at our home in California the trip took us across the high Mojave desert. Travelling I-15 north we drove through California, Nevada, a bit of Arizona, and more than half way up the State of Utah. Turning onto the western origin of interstate I-40 we headed south and then southeast across Utah towards the small town of Bullfrog where the marina is located on the lake. The altitude of the desert ranged from about 1300 feet above sea level in California to over 4000 feet in southern Utah.
Lake Powell is created by the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado river and is on a high plateau . It is the second largest man-made lake in the United States and is 187 miles long with 96 major side canyons and a coast line of approximately 1960 miles--more than the west coast of the U.S. from Seattle to San Diego. The scenery is almost indescribable with towering rock formations rising majestically straight up out of the water.
Bullfrog is one of several marinas on the lake. It acts as a center for timeshare houseboats.
The "Here Comes The Sun" is a medium-sized houseboat that can sleep 8 persons (but they have to know each other pretty well !).
The party consisted of Jon & Linda, Joanna & John, and Howie
The boat has a kitchen, refrigerator, bathroom with shower (although to wash ourselves we normally jumped overboard with a bar of soap - a cool plunge but refreshing), dining area, front eating/ lounging area and a rear deck. We cooked in the kitchen, ate and hung out on the front deck and, occasionally, used the inside lounge area.
Captain Howie at work...
We left the marina and motored down the lake, eventually pulling into one of the side canyons. We motored slowly down the canyon until we located a beach at the end of the canyon. We pulled into shore and set several anchors in the sand. The next morning we prepared for a hike up the canyon- it was to be completed by hiking up the middle of the small stream that was running down the canyon and into Lake Powell just where we were moored.
We had a blast! At times, if one was not careful, you might sink into the mud up to your knees. We found it was best to stay right in the stream bed where the water was flowing. Magnificent scenery - enormous cliffs of water-washed sandstone.
Lake Powell was approximately 150 feet below its high-water mark. We could see the mineral ring high up on the cliffs. Where we were walking was under water just a few years earlier.
The next day we motored out of the canyon and moved further down the lake
pulling into a second canyon and mooring along the shore where we immediately jumped in for a swim.
Morning light brought a serenity that was followed by a kayak trip up to the end of the canyon
(Howie had brought a kayak with him from Denver).
The canyon's end brought a surprise. The lake had dropped its level so far as to bring into the light a forest that had been covered by the water.
Motoring out of the canyon, heading further down river, Linda spent awhile in a tube being pulled behind the boat
We motored down the Colorado enjoying the majesty,
moored at an area called the "Rincon" and immediately cooled off (the temperature during the day would hover near 100 degrees F.)
After breakfast we hiked into the area around the Rincon. The day was hot and the scenery typical high desert. Interestingly, we walked in from the river nearly two miles and turned around at the point where the high water used to be.
We motored back up the lake and into the Bullfrog basin where we moored on the shore opposite the marina. We spent a quiet evening around a fire on shore talking and singing before bringing the boat back to its mooring at the Marina.
Driving back to Ojai we were treated to a magnificent desert sunset...
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