{"id":2506,"date":"2010-12-27T10:12:10","date_gmt":"2010-12-27T14:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/richard.rathe.org\/"},"modified":"2020-10-11T09:55:51","modified_gmt":"2020-10-11T14:55:51","slug":"colorado-utah-lake-powell-2010","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/redmangrove.org\/rathe.org\/richard\/colorado-utah-lake-powell-2010","title":{"rendered":"Colorado, Utah, Lake Powell 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I recently went on a great road trip with my brother-in-law Rick Hindman<\/strong>. We traveled through Western Colorado<\/strong> [gallery<\/a>] into Utah<\/strong> [gallery<\/a>] and ultimately Lake Powell<\/a> [gallery<\/a>]. We had the opportunity to visit several Native American Rock Art<\/strong> sites [gallery<\/a>] along the way. (Can you find the petroglyphs<\/strong> in the photo above?)<\/p>\n

First Day on the Road<\/h2>\n

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The aspen trees<\/strong> were near their peak color<\/a> on the eastern slope. We stopped at Grizzly Creek<\/strong> (where I camped under the highway bridge<\/a> in 1976!)  deep in Glenwood Canyon<\/a> (where I took the HDR photo shown above).<\/p>\n

We drove on into Utah<\/strong> and the high desert<\/strong>. Late in the day we stopped at a rest area and did a bit of exploring. We were surprised to find many plants in full bloom<\/strong>! The purple haze in the first photo below is not artifact, you are looking at millions of tiny purple flowers!<\/p>\n

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I took this HDR panorama at sunset…<\/p>\n

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Lake Powell<\/h2>\n

We launched Rick’s boat at Bullfrog<\/strong> and proceeded south to establish camp in Slickrock Canyon<\/a>. We found a nice beach<\/strong> with access to a trail<\/strong> going further up the gorge. (Many campsites are completely cutoff so there is no opportunity to walk around and explore.)<\/p>\n

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Here’s a 180\u00b0 view (fire ring near the center)…<\/p>\n

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The campsite was nearly perfect with access to both the land and the water. I went swimming<\/strong> twice a day and liked to perch on a huge standing dead tree. The lake level is about forty feet below<\/strong> its former average, so these trees had been completely submerged (and preserved)<\/strong>. Rick cooked delicious meals on a tiny charcoal grill. I booted my laptop each evening to review the day’s photographic results while sipping margaritas. The moon was up late and we had a terrific view of the Summer Triangle<\/a> and the Planet Jupiter<\/a>. I slept out under the stars. We even had a fireworks display<\/a> on our last night! (Thanks to what turned out to be a boat full of firemen camped further down the valley.)<\/p>\n

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We took several hikes<\/strong> up the canyon at various times of day. We also had a small kayak<\/strong> with which to explore the inlet above our campsite. The first photo below shows the white patina<\/strong> deposited when the nearby rocks were under water. Unfortunately the shoreline was dominated by Tamarisk<\/strong>, which is a recent and unwelcome invader<\/a> (see photo below right). While the shade it provides is welcome, it is changing the riparian ecosystem<\/a> and efforts are underway to control it.<\/p>\n

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It had rained about a week before, and flowers were blooming everywhere!<\/strong> From left to right: purple asters unfolding with first light, small purple flowers that bite back (!), small yellow flowers that did not open until the afternoon, and a huge “morning glory” that bloomed in the dry creek bed.<\/p>\n

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There was a small ruins<\/a> about a mile above our camp called Mistake Alcove. It is about eight hundred years old<\/strong> and located high inside the beautiful incipient arch<\/strong> shown below. “Mistake” might refer to the lack of shade. The site is south facing and would be very hot<\/strong> in the summer! When the lake was higher it was very accessible and became terribly degraded. The Park Service recently had it rehabilitated<\/strong> and put up a fence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Iceberg Canyon<\/h2>\n

On the third day we picked up Rick’s cousin Glen<\/strong> and took a cruise down to Iceberg Canyon<\/a>. It’s very different from Slickrock, with vertical walls<\/a> coming right down to the water. The lower water line revealed trees that had been submerged and preserved since the dam was built.<\/p>\n

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We explored several inlets and had lunch and a swim<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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We visited a strange cul-de-sac with water dripping<\/strong> and sunlight shimmering<\/strong> off the water. The cliff top was almost straight up. I took my first vertical panorama<\/strong> showing almost 90\u00b0 of elevation. I also took several HDR photos and short videos. No mean feat from a gently rocking boat!<\/p>\n