Wahweap RV, Lake Powell Marina, Page Arizona
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine. ~ Proverbs 23:29-30
Since it was a beautiful, calm day, we took our kayak out onto Lake Powell. What a wonderfully, beautiful 4 ½ hours we spent! We were on the water by 7:30am though, because the wind kicks up in the afternoon, and the heat climbs all day long.
Before we get started, let’s learn a bit about Lake Powell.
Formed by the waters of the Colorado River behind Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell’s 1,960 miles of winding shoreline (when full) and 186 mile-length make it the second-largest reservoir in the United States. Lake Mead, formed by Hoover Dam is the largest.
Lake Powell began filling on March 13, 1963 and completed filling on June 22, 1980 (Can you believe it took that long?!?) reaching an elevation 3,700 feet above sea level with a total capacity of over 26 million acre-feet of water. Lake Powell extends through the main corridor of Glen Canyon as well as into over 90 side canyons that extend outward. Currently, it’s sitting at roughly half its capacity. The reason? Too much demand for water as more and more people move into the areas it serves, and also, they’re in somewhat of a drought season.
It was named after Major John Wesley Powell who successfully navigated the first expedition down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869. We’ll talk more about him in a few days.
As Lake Powell fulfills its intended purposes, it’s natural for the elevation of the lake to fluctuate depending on the amount of spring runoff from the mountains, deliveries to the Lower Basin, and the amount of water carried over from the previous year. Each year, the lake level increases between May and July from runoff followed by a decrease in lake level throughout the remainder of the year, leaving a visible ring along the shoreline. The amount of fluctuation varies each year but during extended periods of drought, Lake Powell’s elevation could drop by more than 200 feet below its maximum elevation. ~ taken in part from the Lake Powell Visitor Guide, but not a direct quote.
We paddled from the boat rental dock out to Lone Rock.
They’re much faster. : )
That’s the rock extending under the water.
Still quite a ways away.
After we went around Lone Rock, we moved on, parking on a rock in order to get out and explore a little.
The beach had seashells! 
They’re about the size of a quarter.
Time to move on. Next, we ventured into a canyon, where we ran into a dead end. Rather than turning around, we parked and hiked the very dry canyon for a while. That was pretty cool!
Arlene Moore. What do you think? : )
It’s been quite a while since water’s been in here.
More information to help you win at trivia!
All it needs is a few flowers!
Or maybe it’s a raven. I have a hard time telling the difference.
(From the Tom Hanks movie, “Castaway”)
Me thinks that tennis ball was floating in the water a long time, because that stuff is stuck fast to it.
But after a bit, we remembered we still had a long ways to paddle to get back to the dock, so we figured we’d best leave or it could turn into a very long paddle. We can do a lot in our little boat, but paddling through choppy water and into the wind isn’t much fun when you’re trying to get somewhere.
Once we arrived at our boat, we noticed a piece of fabric in the water beside us. We assumed we just never noticed it when we got out. Blaine picked up the dark blue thing with his paddle and heaved it onto the shore. I wanted to see if it was something we could use, so I lifted the sopping wet, sand covered thing, only to discover that it was Blaine’s long-sleeved t-shirt! It must’ve fallen out of the boat when he got out. Good thing I looked at it!
There’s no wind and no current.
What do you think happened?
I’m thinking a crow tried to abscond with it and dropped it when it was too heavy (or didn’t taste like food).
We paddled back out to the main part of the lake, only to discover that the wind and waves had already picked up, so we had a bit of a hard row to hoe. But you’ll never guess what we saw on the way back!
Cows on the beach!!
If the weather had permitted, we would’ve paddled over to check them out up close and personal, but unfortunately, we couldn’t do that. Still, they seemed to be enjoying themselves; a few even wandered into the water. 😊
It doesn’t look like any are in the water at the moment,
but they definitely were before we got close enough to even try to take a picture.
For some weird reason, when we saw them, it reminded me of the Beach Boys song, “Girls on the Beach”. Here’s my revised lyrics to fit the occasion. Feel free to roll your eyes and shake your head, as you twirl your index finger next to your temple.
On the beach you’ll find them there
In the sun and warming air
The cows on the beach
Are almost within reach
And you can visit them
Cows on the beach
How they love to lie around
Cows with hides of black and tan
The cows on the beach
Are almost within reach
And one waits there for you
As the sun climbs in the sky
Cows enter the coolness there
The cows on the beach
Are almost within reach
But not if you go near
The cows on the beach
And that’s all I have to say about that. And probably all you want to hear.
Thought you might want to see how long it took us to get from here to there. : )
In the evening, we took a bike ride around the Park.
It was a lovely day! Thank You, Father!