We’ve been anxious to break out the canoe for what feels like a maiden run as it’s been a while since we took it out for a spin. There were a lot of remarkable sights.
The water level was quite low.
The dam extension is well underway and built up to its new height.
The water in the morning was amazingly calm (it got choppy later).
There was no one on the north finger, oh… ooops, there was a naked sunbather.
We saw the golden eagle that hangs out in the area.
Here you see progress on the dam extension as well as how low the water is.
The water was very calm during the early part of our trip.
Leslie captured a rare glimpse of the lake monster.
Here’s the golden eagle and his crow friend looking the other way.
It was a beautiful day. We ended up covering almost the entire perimeter, and between paddling that distance and hauling the canoe back up to the shuttle point we got a pretty good workout.
Leslie and I went paddleboarding a couple days ago. We haven’t done that the last couple summers, and it’s not clear to either of us why. I know I thought I might be losing my ability to stand on the board because the last time out I recall it was choppy and windy and I had a very hard time staying upright.
We went to Union Reservoir which is very close and accessible from our home; it’s also a very nice body of water with lots of flora and fauna to enjoy. The water level was pretty low as is the situation this year, but that didn’t get in the way of enjoying our trip.
We both started out feeling pretty shaky and insecure but we got more stable as the day went on. We launched from the south and visited the west and north shores. Next week I am hoping to go there again and visit the east shore. Here are some pictures from our outing.
A small, Covid-careful group of us decided we would rather not be stuck watching news media during what we predicted would be a crazy election week. So we loaded up the cars and moved (temporarily) to a home (well, a house boat) on Lake Powell. We were indeed isolated from the media, but so wonderfully connected to nature’s beauty. What a wonderful week it was.
Cast of Characters
After spending the night of November 1 on the boat in Bullfrog Marina, the morning of November 2 was filled with hours of waiting for the Marina to open and then get us oriented and trained on the boats.
We piloted the boat to the mouth of Slick Rock Canyon where we anchored for two nights.
November 3
After a delicious-as-usual breakfast, the group took off in the speed boat for a 3-hour tour up Escalante Canyon.
You can see from the inset in the map above that we did have an incident (see “stuck in the mud”).
The photo to the left shows a partially disrobed Leslie jumping back into the boat after heroically dislodging us from our grounded state.
We beached and picnicked at the end of Clear Creek Canyon where we saw some incredible views along the way.
And then we went back ‘home’ for a relaxing evening. These pics are from the drive.
You can see the houseboat in the left portion of the image above.After a safe return, our spiritual leader cast spells of good fortune upon us.Most of us were comfy and cozy for the evening in our boat.
November 4
Several of us took a small hike around Slick Rock Canyon…
… then we moved the houseboat from Slick Rock Canyon to Hansen Canyon.
Our scouting party had a little problem with a sandbar. The houseboat came to the rescue to pull them off the sandbar.
November 5
The next day we ventured to Forgotten Canyon in search of the Defiance House Ruins.
Here are pics from the hike…
… and here are pics from the ruins.
There is a storage room and a Kiva.
At the entrance is where the petroglyphs are.
The ArcheologistHere is the view from the ruins. A great vantage point to strengthen their defense.
After exploring the ruins, we hiked back to the speed boat and explored some of Moki Canyon.
November 6
On the last day of this adventure, each of us relaxed in our own way in the morning. Leslie went paddle boarding, I took a hike along the canyon, and Cynthia and Lou took a stroll along one of the fingers of the canyon.
