Tony Ferris
New member
Too many reasons to list, but we didn't make it boating much this year. Plans were to get to Lake Powell to meet many C-Dory owners and make some new friends. My boss had other plans for me, but we made it to Bullfrog on October 2nd and found a nice beach for the evening:
On the mile from the dock to this beach, we found thought maybe one impeller was bad. I couldn't get much output out of the pee tube, even after trying to clear it of obstruction. I have a good friend at the Ticaboo boat shop, Dave, and pulled out the next morning. He helped me drop the lower unit and the impeller was fine. He blew some compressed air through the system and cleared the obstruction and we launched again. Nice to have friends! After heading south past the Rincon, I took a few more photos. Nothing too spectacular, but a nice run through the narrows towards the Escalante confluence:
After a couple of hundred trips to Lake Powell, I've never ventured onto the water in bad weather. We always had a small houseboat and ran for cover at the slightest breeze. This week was an exception. The weather was terrible, but I got a chance to see waterfalls like nothing I'd ever seen in all the years of going to Lake Powell, along with getting a chance to test the boat in some bad weather. On Monday evening, we camped at a nice cove many call Cactus Juice Cove (actually Chuckwalla Springs) where we saw the first of hundreds of waterfalls:
A closeup in different light:
The next morning we awoke to a glorious sunrise:
Heading uplake the weather immediately took a turn for the worse, it was raining in sheets:
We headed into Iceberg Canyon to find more waterfalls and encountered even more rain:
We were not disappointed by the waterfalls:
After the rain lulled, we caught a few smallmouth bass trolling and my wife caught a nice 2-3lb striper:
We camped at the back of Iceberg Canyon on Tuesday night, where a beautiful show was put on for us with even more waterfalls:
During the night, it rained and rained and sleeping was great! We woke to a start only to realize the rain had gotten into the cockpit enough the automatic bilge pump came on. It gave me a warm feeling to know things were working as advertised!
The next morning, as we headed out of the canyon to the main channel, we were greeted by an ominous dark cloud:
About 3-4 minutes later, my friend Dave at the Ticaboo boat shop called me on the ham radio to ask our status. We'd been out of contact inside the canyon long enough he began to worry with all the bad weather. He explained that the NPS had radioed all boats to head for cover, that a tornado warning was in effect!
While I was anxious to test the seaworthiness of the boat, the words "tornado" and "Lake Powell" do not go together well and we headed back into a cove on the west side of the lake between Iceberg and Slickrock Canyons. I could see a wall of rain coming as I tied up.
Peeking out of the back cover, I saw this scene:
Soon, hail began pounding the area and waterfalls appeared everywhere:
Soon, a river began entering the lake next to the boat. The current had the port side line taught:
This waterfall raged for well over an hour before we decided to head uplake:
It even sent a large log floating just past the boat:
NOAA radio reported even more storms headed our way the next day and we had even more excitement ahead - we were headed to Emmett, Idaho, to meet our week old grandson. As the sky cleared, we headed uplake, only to see more beautiful sites:
All in all, it was one of the most exciting trips I've ever taken to Lake Powell. Maybe next year, I can finally make it to a C-Dory gathering there and meet some of you.
Oh, and we got to meet my beautiful new grandson, Peter, the next day!
We even made a visit to Hell's Canyon on the Idaho/Oregon border. It was spectacular:
Eventually, it was BACK to Lake Powell to pickup our boat:
After 3000 plus miles, we had a great time, but I miss Lake Powell already and I'm ready to head back! Maybe next year I'll meet a few of you. Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Oh, and those tornadoes reported... my friend Dave saw one touch down about a mile south of the boat shop at Ticaboo. He said he'd never seen anything like it.
On the mile from the dock to this beach, we found thought maybe one impeller was bad. I couldn't get much output out of the pee tube, even after trying to clear it of obstruction. I have a good friend at the Ticaboo boat shop, Dave, and pulled out the next morning. He helped me drop the lower unit and the impeller was fine. He blew some compressed air through the system and cleared the obstruction and we launched again. Nice to have friends! After heading south past the Rincon, I took a few more photos. Nothing too spectacular, but a nice run through the narrows towards the Escalante confluence:
After a couple of hundred trips to Lake Powell, I've never ventured onto the water in bad weather. We always had a small houseboat and ran for cover at the slightest breeze. This week was an exception. The weather was terrible, but I got a chance to see waterfalls like nothing I'd ever seen in all the years of going to Lake Powell, along with getting a chance to test the boat in some bad weather. On Monday evening, we camped at a nice cove many call Cactus Juice Cove (actually Chuckwalla Springs) where we saw the first of hundreds of waterfalls:
A closeup in different light:
The next morning we awoke to a glorious sunrise:
Heading uplake the weather immediately took a turn for the worse, it was raining in sheets:
We headed into Iceberg Canyon to find more waterfalls and encountered even more rain:
We were not disappointed by the waterfalls:
After the rain lulled, we caught a few smallmouth bass trolling and my wife caught a nice 2-3lb striper:
We camped at the back of Iceberg Canyon on Tuesday night, where a beautiful show was put on for us with even more waterfalls:
During the night, it rained and rained and sleeping was great! We woke to a start only to realize the rain had gotten into the cockpit enough the automatic bilge pump came on. It gave me a warm feeling to know things were working as advertised!
The next morning, as we headed out of the canyon to the main channel, we were greeted by an ominous dark cloud:
About 3-4 minutes later, my friend Dave at the Ticaboo boat shop called me on the ham radio to ask our status. We'd been out of contact inside the canyon long enough he began to worry with all the bad weather. He explained that the NPS had radioed all boats to head for cover, that a tornado warning was in effect!
While I was anxious to test the seaworthiness of the boat, the words "tornado" and "Lake Powell" do not go together well and we headed back into a cove on the west side of the lake between Iceberg and Slickrock Canyons. I could see a wall of rain coming as I tied up.
Peeking out of the back cover, I saw this scene:
Soon, hail began pounding the area and waterfalls appeared everywhere:
Soon, a river began entering the lake next to the boat. The current had the port side line taught:
This waterfall raged for well over an hour before we decided to head uplake:
It even sent a large log floating just past the boat:
NOAA radio reported even more storms headed our way the next day and we had even more excitement ahead - we were headed to Emmett, Idaho, to meet our week old grandson. As the sky cleared, we headed uplake, only to see more beautiful sites:
All in all, it was one of the most exciting trips I've ever taken to Lake Powell. Maybe next year, I can finally make it to a C-Dory gathering there and meet some of you.
Oh, and we got to meet my beautiful new grandson, Peter, the next day!
We even made a visit to Hell's Canyon on the Idaho/Oregon border. It was spectacular:
Eventually, it was BACK to Lake Powell to pickup our boat:
After 3000 plus miles, we had a great time, but I miss Lake Powell already and I'm ready to head back! Maybe next year I'll meet a few of you. Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.
Oh, and those tornadoes reported... my friend Dave saw one touch down about a mile south of the boat shop at Ticaboo. He said he'd never seen anything like it.
