Did you ever dream about a trip for years and when it was finally booked you were worried it would suck? Welcome to Steve’s world. For years I talked about doing a houseboat trip on Lake Powell. Red cliffs, blue sky and lots of hiking and kayaking always sounded like fun to me. Leann is not a boat fan but she said this was the year. I think she finally got tired of me talking about it. We asked Ed & Anita if they wanted to go, YES! We booked a boat for a 4 night, five day trip out of Wahweap Marina near Page, Arizona.
Our first view of Glen Canyon Recreation Area, looks pretty good” red rock, blue sky, blue waterWaiting for our “instructor” to teach us about the boat. She took about 15 minutes, talked fast and said have fun. Ed made the reservations so he got to drive and did a great job. We lucked out and got a brand new boat.Nice kitchen, we took turns cooking. We tried a few restaurants in Paige and food on the boat was a lot better.Sunset early so we spent a lot of time at the table.One of the 2 identical bedroomsTop deck was hugeTop deck also had a grill, nice view for burger time.There was something wrong with this slide. Everyone that went down it banged their right ankle. I am a slow learner so I banged my ankle twice and ended up with a really nasty bruise.Captain “ED” at the helm.We did 21 miles for the first day, found a great spot and beached the boat. typical view on the way to our first overnight stopHere is the drill, nose the boat onto the beach. Then dig four deep holes to bury the steel anchors. Then tie the anchors to the boat so you don’t drift off in the middle of this night.
Leann and Anita digging up one of the anchors (there are 4), did you ever see the movie Holes?Apparently mice learned to run up your tie lines and get on the boat. People at the marina recommended we put foil on the tie rope to keep them out, apparently they can’t walk across the foil. It worked, we think.I can get use to this. We stayed here for 3 nights and hiked, kayaked and swam (not very long)Sunset on day 1Leann with Gunsight Butte in the background.We wanted to hike to the base of the rocks, looked easy when we started but we kept running into steep canyons.We saw this when we were kayaking and decided to check it outI did not find many trail descriptions when researching the area and I quickly learned why. It’s like Alaska, wide open so hike where you wantNot many people, turned out it was a great time to visitNice view from the kitchen windowOne of my favorite movie quotes: life finds a way. Name that movie!
On the way to camp 2.We visited during shoulder season so the weather was cooler but also far fewer people. Apparently the summers can be chaos.Camp 2 boat is beached and guy lines are out, we were getting the hang of doing this. One thing we did learn, do not pick a beach with grass growing near the shore. We tried it once, Anita was the first on shore and stepped into boot sucking muck. We moved to this spot instead.The Kayaks were stored on the back of the boat, it was a little bit of a challenge getting them loaded and unloadedWe got the little boat, name that movieLeann spotted this coyote on the shoreCastle RockAnother view of Castle RockHeading back to the boat, what’s for dinner?Heading back to the dock and wondering how much the gas bill will be.Back at the dock and we only used 25% of our fuel, good thing since it was $6/gallonThis hike was just outside of Paige, Arizona. We had time before we could check in and decided to go for a hike.The hanging gardensBridge over the Colorado just past Glen Canyon DamView of Glen Canyon Dam from the bridge. We wanted to see the visitor center (top left) but it was closed.Famous Horseshoe bend of the Colorado River, light was low and into our face so I could not get a good picture
We wanted to visit the Wave but could not get a permit. Anita read about White Pocket Wilderness and we booked a trip with Paria Outpost & Outfiters. It is a long drive on rough roads and our rental mini van would have gotten destroyed. Added bonus, our guide (Jamal) drove the company vehicle twice as fast as I would have driven the van. Even as fast as he was going it still took 90 minutes, one way. Not much to say just enjoy the pictures. It was amazing.A few of the sections got really steepThese are called turtle shells or brain rock, what do you think?Vermillion Cliffs, we passed by them on the way out of White Pockets
CAR CRASH CANYON
Our guide suggested we stop by Car Crash Canyon on the way back to Paige.Apparently there are a bunch of old cars stacked up at the bottom of the canyon and he had no idea whyLot of 1950’s cars stacked here On the way back to Page we stopped at Lone Rock near Wahweap. This is from the campground, pay the fee and camp anywhere you want Jackrabbit, look at those ears.Our White Pockets guide also told us of a hike from where we could get a different view of the “toadstools” His directions were not the best but Leann was able to find the trail so off we went.
The “toadstools”ToadstoolsWe did the hike and then headed back to route 89 and did another hike from the main parking lot.Our flight home was not until 12:30 am so we had time for another stop.
Well I was worried about not liking my long awaited house boat trip. Leann and I even discussed that this would probably be a one and done trip. We were both wrong, all four of us loved the trip and agreed on a return visit.
