I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

[QC]

I will be posting more about Houseboats, Lake Powell etc. in the appropriate sections, but I wanted to share the awe that all 23 of us are feeling after a week in Paradise. To understand Lake Powell you probably have to experience it, but I'll do my best with a few pics and some info.

First, the trip started off with a bang and ended with a burn. The bang was on I15 at 69 MPH on the 1st leg of our 500 mile tow. A semi slid over after my truck passed him but before the boat did and he whacked my rub rail hard enough to wiggle us pretty good. Didn't know rub rails were for truck protection, but the only damage was to my tow cover. Whew!!

The burn was me setting fire to my Carrera , but she is fine despite my stupidity. More on that in the boat or engine section in a few days. Too embarrassed to tell the truth at this point . . . :redface:

As I mentioned there were 23 of us on two rental Houseboats. They're 47 ft. with twin 60 Merc 4 strokes. Top speed a whopping 6.5 MPH, but they did get amazing fuel economy which is significant in that we travelled 396 total miles on water between our HB and my Carrera (basically the trip mileage from my GPS which I transferred between the two boats).

I am following most pics with a 2nd to try and give an indication of the scale of Lake Powell. If everything is big in Texas, I am not sure what it is at Lake Powell

More on next post (image limit thing . . . )

 

[QC]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

My little tinny played a prominent role among a 26 ft. Cobalt, 23 ft. Chap, the Carrera and two Waverunners. She was the little star of the show.

Big boys catch some Cats and Stripers . . .

Younger boys get in on the action too (don't worry, plenty of life jackets aboard).

One of the most famous things about Powell is her slot Canyons. We were able to power up as far as 10 miles into some, and my favorite I'll post a short movie clip of later. This pic gives some idea, but imagine 50 ft. wide and 200 - 300 ft. straight up for miles. Able to navigate on plane, winding back and forth like a Boater's road course. One called it a Disneyland ride for boaters and that was pretty close.

Here is a look at some of the other features too:

Great place for a swim.

. . . and a pic of same for scale.

More on next post . . .

 

[QC]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Great place for a climb (three of the dads) . . .

. . . and a pic of same for scale.

And a hike to Rainbow Bridge National Monument, the largest natural rock span in the world . . .

All 23 of us in front of the "bridge" . . .

. . . and a pic of same for scale.

All for now, we are getting together to share all of our pics, and I'll post more of those where they belong ^^^^^^

I'll end by saying this is a must visit place for Boaters, hikers, explorers etc. and one that you must "tick the box" before departing . .

 

[treedancer]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Keep coming with the Pictures QC, loved em.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Very cool!.....​

 

[OldMercsRule]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Wow, That is real neat! JR

 

[Vlad D Impeller]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Very very nice, no need to ask how was your vacation.
And cool pics too.

 

[aspeck]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Awesome pics!

 

[LadyFish]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

That is awesome. Now I understand what all the hype is about when people discuss Lake Powell.

Truly beautiful scenery and the water color is unbelievable.

Thanks for sharing your pics with us.

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Welcome back QC (insert theme song from Welcome Back Kotter (sp) Looks a though a great time was had by all. Killer pics BTW. Can't wait to see more.

 

[JB]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Truly awesome scenery, QC!! Looks like a memorable trip.

Hope it was as much fun as it looks.

 

[dhath]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

that looked liked a great place to go........... It has me thinking now. I used to live in AZ but closer to Lake Mead and Lake Havasu.

Might be time for a summer trip.......... Next year!!! Haven't been back in 10+ years.

 

[QC]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

It has me thinking now. I used to live in AZ but closer to Lake Mead and Lake Havasu.

Well that is where we usually boat, and it reminded me of yet another amazing thing about Powell. This time of year it can easily be 115 at Havasu and we have Houseboated on Lake Mead and never turned of the generator for the AC. We could've made it through the entire week without running the AC although we did for the ladies when they were cooking dinner. I slept on the roof each night and whether it was Noon or Midnight I was comfortable in trunks and no shirt the entire trip. Yes, it was easy to cool off, but it was honestly not necessary. Absolutely the most comfortable temps all day and night that I have ever experienced.

Another fond memory was from one of the 19 year olds. We had rounded yet another corner to see yet another amazing cliff wall, or canyon formation when he simply said "How is this happening?!! Why is this here?!!". It was the same thought in all of our heads, and all we could do was laugh

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Beautiful shots.

 

[JRJ]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Glad you had a good time and thanks for the great photos. I've been "by" Powell several times, but never on it. Did the Dam tour though, lol.

 

[stan_deezy]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Absolutely superb photos QC, truly stunning!

Welcome back.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

! ! ! Wow ! ! !

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Great pics QC! Where was the "3 dads" picture taken? Also where is that swimming hole you found?

 

[QC]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Hey DR. Glad you chimed in. The "3 dads" pic was at the end of the butte that separates Kane Creek Canyon (Kane Wash) from Padre Canyon. It juts right out into Padre Bay and I believe is featured in some brochures (very easy to spot on Google Earth). There is a large pool at the bottom of that "hole" that we are sitting on the edge of, and a smaller one just above that now has sand in the bottom and a lone Tamarisk. You could've easily dove from the edge of where we were sitting into the pool, however there was no way out as the walls are vertical all of the way inside. Would need a helicopter or a climbing rope suspended from a boat to pull somebody out

The swimming hole cave thing was just below Halls Crossing. I believe the end of Iron Top Mesa. We actually found a much bigger one that we could drive boats into in the Rock Creek area, but those pics are on somebody else's camera. Will get soon.

You'd be proud of us. We stayed in Dove canyon the first night and then spent three glorious nights in Oak Bay. Took the smaller boats to Bullfrog for lunch one day, got up into the San Juan arm, did the Rainbow hike that you saw, and I fell in love with Twilight canyon. Spent the last two nights in Kane Creek Canyon (pic of the two houseboats) and poked around there, Rock Creek, Last Chance, Gunsight, Padre etc. Definitely got a lot in and we still kicked back and just relaxed some too. We will all be back, and we have instilled a love for Powell into a whole new generation to come. I think we did OK

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: I'm back and in awe!!! Pics

Beautiful!

I can tell by the photos that the whole group had a great time!

Thanks for sharing, I'll definitely be adding that to my "to boat" list!​