Day 3: April 10, 2000
Boat trip on Lake Powell

We got up at 8am and Walendo called the Wahweap Boat Rental place to see if we could get a boat on Lake Powell, and indeed they had some available and they even allowed dogs. So we got up and out fairly quickly, with a quick stop at Safeway to get fruit, ice, and batteries for the FRS radios. We also picked up a map of Lake Powell, just incase. We got to the marina and discovered that Arizona time is one hour behind Utah time, so we had more time that we'd thought, which was nice. We were checked in by a very nice woman. It was about $140 for the boat, plus a $250 deposit. She told us we had to be back by 4pm or they start to charge you more, and we'd have to fuel up along the way at one of the fuel stations. (That ended up coming to about $100, so the trip was about $240 in all.) As we headed down to the dock, schlepping a big cooler and a bag of food plus all our photography gear, one of the women who worked there complimented Libby and said "dogs love boats!" Then another nice employee gave us about 10 minutes about the basics of driving the boat, you know, forward, reverse that sort of thing. He said that if the winds kicked up and the waves got heavy we should find a cove and stop till it died down, but of course the sky was perfectly clear so he said we probably wouldn't have to worry about that. Oh and he impressed on us that their main concern was our safety, but that yes, they did start charging you if the boat came back late. Okay, got it.

Walendo driving boat with Libby seeking comfort

Off we went, and right away, I realized we'd forgotten to bring the dry food (for all the crap we brought along), so Walendo suggested I make us some sandwiches from the stuff we'd bought at Safeway. As I was doing that, and within 15 minutes of leaving the marina, we got lost when Walendo went around a rock and then didn't see a way out from where we were. I checked the map we'd bought, and it didn't look like the area we were in. Since I couldn't see the way out either, we went back toward the marina. I pulled out the map the marina had given us, which made it much clearer where we were, so I realized we needed to back the way we had been going and we'd find the way through, which we did. It's funny how deceptive the land can look from the water, it really did look like we were in a cove even though there had been a way through. In any case, at that point I didn't trust the map we'd bought.

Lake Powell inlet

After a few minutes in the boat, it was clear that Libby wasn't happy. She cowered under Walendo's legs as he steered the boat. She didn't seem to like the rocking and the noise of the engine. We figured she'd calm down after she got used to it. It was chilly with the wind, so I was curled up in the sun in the front of the boat while Walendo drove. Motoring along in Lake Powell is pretty amazing. It looks like some giant kids who left their toys out all over the place. The toys are gigantic red/orange rock that towers overhead in fantastic shapes. The water is very blue and the sky was completely clear. Driving along in your tiny boat among the giant rocks is an overwhelming feeling. We chugged along for quite a while, me navigating and Walendo steering us through the inlets. It got choppy for part of the way, and the boat slammed down on the waves, which was kind of fun but also painful on some of the harsher drops. Libby definitely wasn't happy. Finally we came to Cathedral Canyon, but as we entered, we were met by a ranger who told us that they were filming some birds and asked us to wait for 10 minutes or so. We decided to head on to Rainbow Arch and then come back. At first, we overshot it but instead found a floating bathroom (imagine that!).

Libby finally relaxes a bit and peeks at the view

We got out and took advantage of the facilities and then headed back, quickly finding the narrow inlet leading to the arch. It's very dramatic to be so close to these towering rocks on both sides of you. We found the arch, and I went off to take a closer look while Walendo stayed back with Libby (no pets) and made a sandwich. (Well, okay he decided to stay back before he knew they didn't allow pets, but I'm sure the sandwich had nothing to do with it.) (Walendo: I stayed back to guard the $1000s of dollars of camera gear in the unlockable boat, thank you very much, and there was no sandwhich in sight.) The arch was pretty impressive. Something like 275 feet across and probably 200 feet high, all in that dark sienna red rock. There was only one other couple there, and we just drove the boat right up to the dock, which was nice. Not planned and controlled, just something interesting to look at.

Walendo handling the rig

We drove back out through the inlet and returned to Cathedral Canyon, and this time it was open. We drove all the way in, which seemed to keep on going, and finally turned back, looking for a place to beach the boat. Didn't look promising, but then Walendo found a little spot.

The spot where we docked the boat

I went off to take some pictures, while he stayed back to, what else, make a sandwich. Libby went swimming and generally enjoyed being on land again. We stayed only about a half hour cuz we were worried about getting back on time. I drove the boat out. After nearly backing us into the rocks, I got my bearings and had fun driving. Our next stop was to the fueling station, but we overshot it when we got to buoy 39. We turned around and this time Walendo found it. This time it was the map we'd bought at the Safeway that was clearer about where it was relative to the buoys. The gas station is interesting. There's a bunch of docs with pumps by each one and you drive up, just like at an automobile filling station. The attendant gives you the pump and you fill up. Pay with a credit card, and off you go. It was nice that it was so easy, but also seemed incongruous, given how remote a place we were in. We got 17 gallons at $2.50 gallon, yikes. Then we continued on, still with me driving. After a while, we became a little uncertain about where we were, so we swapped and I navigated again. (Walendo: I pointed out that it looked like there were storms on either side of the lake, but not in front of us.)

It started getting choppy again, and very cold, so I changed into pants. By this time, Libby was cowering on the floor, clutching at my lap in fear. (Walendo had long since pushed her away so he could concentrate on driving.) Poor sweetie. When I got my pants on, I looked up and it had gotten really choppy by then. We were slamming down on the waves with real force. The wind had kicked up, and the swells were getting up around 4 feet high. I tried to figure out where we were, but the buoy number didn't make sense for where we should have been, according to the marina map, which was still the one I trusted. We continued on past a buoy and wound up in a little dead end inlet. We turned back and headed off to the right, and by now, it was getting really choppy. If we got up any speed, we'd slam hard against the waves, as if we'd hit some kind of harmonic with the waves, but if we went really slow, the cold water splashed in on us. We had to get the speed just right. Considering the conditions and our lack of experience, I though Walendo was handling the boat with great skill.

We followed that inlet for a while, as I kept comparing the marina map to the land around us to figure out where we were. Nothing was matching up, but eventually I developed a theory about where we were, and it meant we were going the wrong way. I remembered to look at the other map, and this time it made much more sense and it confirmed my theory about where we were. Unfortunately, this meant turning around and going back across the harsh waves we'd just navigated. In retrospect, the whole scene was comical, because by now Libby was practically sitting on my lap (she's a 60-lb German Shepherd remember), so I couldn't sit up high enough to see out to the land. I kept having to pull her off me (without upsetting her) to stand up and look around. At the time, though, we were frustrated because it was getting late and it was very difficult to make any progress, even if we did know for sure which was the right way to go. I'd given up hope of getting back on time, and just wanted to get back at all. I checked to see if my cell phone had coverage so we could call to the marina if we couldn't find our way back and I was ready to do it but Walendo didn't want to. He still wanted to try making it back on our own, on time if possible. (He is a man, after all.) So we started back the way we'd came, getting our brains rattled around each time we slammed down on the water, which was every 10 seconds or so. (Walendo: I was pretty close to pulling into a cove and waiting out the winds. We were catching a lot of air on the waves, and slamming down pretty hard. All I could think was "It's only fiberglass. How much of this can it take?" Thinking about it today, I come up with Roy Scheider's line in Jaws, "We're gonna need a bigger boat." We had a couple of waves come over the bow!)

Finally, we got back to where we had been and with map we'd bought I was more convinced my theory was right, so we felt better. Libby, of course, did not, the poor dog. She was now cowering between my seat and the side of the boat, which was not a lot of space. As we were heading on our new course, another rental boat started following us, as if we knew what we were doing. They were rolling as violently as we were, of course, and they went slower than we did. Finally, we got past the inlet where we'd turned before, and after a few buoys were able to confirm that we were on track. We weren't completely sure, though, until Walendo saw the marina in the distance, thank the lord. If it hadn't been for the map we'd bought, I'm not sure if we'd have figured out where we were. By then the chop has subsided just a bit, so we could go faster too. Finally, we saw the filling station by the marina, where you had to take your boat to top off before returning it by 4pm. (Walendo: as I'm pulling up to the dock and getting ready to turn to the side to sort of sidle up to it, the guys says "No, just come in straight." Ok, I think to myself. He must know what he's doing. WHAM! Sigh.) We arrived there at 3:45, where the attendants were amused at our wide-eyed amazement at the size of the waves. You certainly couldn't say Lake Powell is a Disnified experience. "Sure, take the boat, here's how to steer it, now off with you to face the storms." We managed to use another 17 gallons of gas to go about 1/2 the distance of the other fillup, but I guess pushing along against those waves takes a lot of power. We putt-putted our way into the dock at 5 minutes till 4, amazingly enough. Less than an hour before I was wondering if we'd get back at all, let alone on time. Libby was thrilled to be back on land.

Walendo: I kept looking behind us for the other boat, which had dropped so far back we couldn't see it anymore. Finally, as we pulled away from the fueling dock, they came chugging in. I shouted to them, "Glad you made it!" and the guy responded with a laugh and pointed to his chest "Where's your life preserver!" - they both had theirs on, probably the wise thing to do.

I ran back up to the car and drove it to the ramp to meet Walendo huffing and puffing with the overstuffed cooler. In the end, we'd had two drinks and some sandwiches, I took about 10 pictures, and for that, we needed 20 tons of stuff. We drove back to the hotel all full of our adventure with Libby passed out in the back.

We rested for a while at the hotel, and then went out for pizza at the Strombolli's. Actually, Walendo had spaghetti with meatballs (mostly the meatballs) and I had calzone, both of which were fine. Then we went to the ice cream place and I had a chocolate and oreo cone and Walendo had a chocolate malt. When we got back in the car, Walendo put in the Harry Potter tape, and since we were only 2 minutes away from the hotel, I took the long loop back to the hotel so we could hear it longer. Walendo suggested we go down to the overlook by the dam, which we did. It was around twilight, so the orange striated rock all around us were especially warm. At the dam, we got out and walked over to the overlook. Dam that thing is big. We marveled at it a while, and then headed back. In the hotel, we watched Les Miserables, which happened to be on TV, while I wrote all of this journal. Libby was exhausted and had trouble even jumping on to the bed! Right now both she and Walendo are passed out, both purring away contentedly (one slightly more loudly than the other).

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