Travels with Kerri On and crew
- Thread starter ghone
- Start date
El and Bill
New member
Great to read of your travels - thanks for posting - and have a wonderful trip onward.
Currently water levels are at 3601 ft, 50 ft lower than last time I was here for the gathering in 2011! There's a lot more land showing. The cut strait out from Wahweap is not usable, it's rock. Drove right thru there last trip. There is a dredging crew there cutting thru rock and sand to join the lake on the other side. We popped over to look at the efforts. The marina folks say that the job will be done by end of April. They hope to have a canal cut to the main body of the lake to avoid the 12 or so mile run around the bottom of Antelope Island. They expect some pretty low water levels this year as snow has been lighter than usual. They have permits to allow them to dig down as far as 3580 in case lake levels remain low in the future. We enjoyed an engine off float out in Wahweap Bay for lunch in flat calm sunshine. We then motored at 6 knots around past the dam and on to Antelope resort marina for overnight. It is open sort of, the gift store and fuel dock, but restaurant opens in April. It is interesting seeing 448ft of water under us in the marina. Very little traffic around, nice and quiet. We are just enjoying being afloat with no particular destination. We expect some weather tomorrow, southeast winds 15-25 and gusts higher. We shall see. Gorgeous day today, looked like summer 72f. Lake water is a chilly 48f though. No swimming. Great place for those who haven't been. George and Carolyn :thup
Glad to hear you are there and ready to go exploring. Interesting info on the water level and goings-on.
I couldn't remember what the water level was for the Fall 2012 gathering, so looked up a graph, which says it was around 3622' For those who are interested, here is a link to the graph (I couldn't display the image here). It shows the yearly "swoops" for the last five water years:
http://graphs.water-data.com/lakepowell/
In comparison, last year at this time it was at 3636'. Quite a bit higher! The chart shows that last year at this time was the highest of the past five years, while this year is the lowest.
Sunbeam
ghone":1dxg9q0b said:
I couldn't remember what the water level was for the Fall 2012 gathering, so looked up a graph, which says it was around 3622' For those who are interested, here is a link to the graph (I couldn't display the image here). It shows the yearly "swoops" for the last five water years:
http://graphs.water-data.com/lakepowell/
In comparison, last year at this time it was at 3636'. Quite a bit higher! The chart shows that last year at this time was the highest of the past five years, while this year is the lowest.
Sunbeam
Thanks Sunbeam! Really dramatic differences. The marina operators are some concerned about the low water. Also just the added gas burn to get out on the lake is a major expense for tour operators and rentals. Just for fun I looked at the cost to rent a 19 ft runabout. I forget the 4 hour price (something like $240) because it listed top speed of 40 mph and fuel capacity of 50 gallons (which lasts 3-4 hours!!) I expect to go all month on 50 gallons. The lake is a beautiful place and never twice the same.
We've been out on lake powell a few days and needed groceries so ran back from a beautiful spot in Labrynth Canyon just ahead of some weather that built to 30 knots just a while after we got into the marina at Wahweap. The temperature then dropped 20 degrees and started to pour. Overnight it warmed up and we awoke to a half inch of snow on deck. Cold today but fantastic to get the water heading to the lake. They need it bad. You need to keep your peepers peeled out there as he lake is very low and some nav marks are missing. Pics up soon.
ghone":1pwvymm8 said:
That was one of my favorites. Not that there aren't a million other beautiful spots, but just happened to be there on a full moon and have one of those perfect overnights/morning hikes there.
ghone":1pwvymm8 said:
Wow, cold but sounds very pretty! Can't wait to see the photos :thup Thanks for the update.
Sunbeam
The colors change by the hour. We found a spot in Labrynth Canyon that was a little pool about 200 ft across with a sand beach and smooth sandstone bumps all around us. Great spot. It got to over 70f on Thursday. Just like summer. Very pretty. We also found sand beaches up a Warm creek. Great anchorage in 4 ft on mud bottom. Buoyed the chain to keep it clear of ledges near the hook. Very nice being able to see down 16-20 ft. The water temp is 46f so no swimming. It looks different again today with a cover of snow. Great place.
Hi George and Carolyn,
Snow :disgust Yup, I just woke up to snow this morning too. Hmmm, not in Sequim though. 4 Corners area for a few days. My first snow storm of the year. Off to Cuba and Santa Fe tomorrow then off to home. Looking forward to my time on LP too, and to see you at Friday Harbor.
Neat to hear that the water is so clear there. Agree, swimming is not in the plan at those temps. have fun,
Harvey
SleepyC:moon
Snow :disgust Yup, I just woke up to snow this morning too. Hmmm, not in Sequim though. 4 Corners area for a few days. My first snow storm of the year. Off to Cuba and Santa Fe tomorrow then off to home. Looking forward to my time on LP too, and to see you at Friday Harbor.
Neat to hear that the water is so clear there. Agree, swimming is not in the plan at those temps. have fun,
Harvey
SleepyC:moon
High of 44 F yesterday and blustery. Low overnight to 28f. Warm today at 54f and the wind has come down. Sun is back and the mountains we can see have a mantle of snow. We came out of the water today with just enough depth to get on the trailer and not launch the truck too bad. Lake Powell is a stunner for rock if you like rock. Clear water right now also. Some of the handy go between red and green markers are missing Keep an eye on your sounder and when it looks funny, please stop! One in warm creek bay has the green mark 10ft from the ledge of rock. The red opposite one is gone, leading one to think that green one is mid channel. Nope. Stay over toward the name marker. We had a delightful night on the beach near Padre Bay with Tower Butte nearby. Gorgeous If you spend a couple nights the in the lower lake the first potty dump is right there in warm creek they are operational. We are heading to see El and Bill in CO on way north. Then likely Flaming Gorge to ice break. Spring is coming. :smiled George and Carolyn
I love the flexibility of a trailerable boat. We had wanted to go see El and Bill near Denver, but with the mountains high passes and snow issues decided to do that another time. We are running north early as we must, but staying in central Utah, watching weather. Right now in Cherry Hill rv near Salt Lake City, suburb called Kaysville. Everything but showers work, still winterized, but nice spot. 75F yesterday and 54F overnight. Sunny and warm, who can explain that? Snow in Page and warm here. We had sundowners on the grass beside the boat last night and looked at the nearby mountains sheathed yet in snow. Funny. All systems are Go and loving it. :thup
We left the Cherry Hill rv in Kaysville Utah, heading for Rupert Idaho to visit Roger and Cheryl (in Cahoots). We had 40 knot plus headwinds coming over the mountains after Snowville Utah. Had planned on staying in Snowville (ominous name) after lunch at a cool diner (mollies). The rv place was really run down so onward. We got in quite late to Declo near Rupert and pulled into the village of trees rv on the Snake River. The wind was still high but we got in ok and overnited. Temps in the low 20's F. Got over to see Roger and Cheryl later the next day and had a good visit. They had c brats Charlie and Lorilyn (cape cruiser which Les at EQ has listed if you are looking for a CC), over for dinner so we had a great mini gathering. Lots of fun. Thanks guys. We stayed in the guest room while Kerri On shared yard space with In Cahoots which is about ready to go to the Columbia for fishing. The 2 boats compared notes while we had a nice night in a house. What a wonderful thing it is to have friends all over as a result of this little boat and fraternity. We took our leave the next day as more visitors are inbound. We had a really nice run up to an rv spot in Idaho Falls. First time a boat has been in here. The manager had a great time booking us in. The Snake River rv in downtown Idaho Falls is a nice place. It is full of Albertans running north. Our neighbor just got in ahead of us and we had a good visit over sundowners comparing our winter runs. We expect snow tomorrow eve so may stay a day or two. We are enjoying the sun even though its cold.
Pat Anderson
New member
George, I am enjoying your posts here, and counting the days until we can just wander!
We have been in Alberta for 2 weeks already, visiting family and friends between Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton. We stayed at some friends place we met on the road in Idaho Falls in their 5 ER. We traveled north to Calgary in company staying at rv parks and then joined them at their home for a few days. Nice folks. We the. Departed to see more family in town and north as far as Edmonton. Kerri On stayed with our new friends as we traveled on for a few days. We have had snow and freezing rain and Alberta drivers to contend with. Everyone is in a big hurry. We are ready to continue west toward the coast. The mountains west of here need a goodly dollop of respect as they can be tricky. We will likely get going in a day or two for a slow run toward the Vancouver area. Family and friends to see along the way and C brats Bob and Lori (grey c lune) in Blind Bay. If the weather is nice we'll launch in the Shuswap lake at Sicamous. Looking forward to being coastal soon. Chores in Nanaimo to do then head for Friday Harbour gathering with time after in the San Juan's. George and Carolyn
Kerri On and crew are in home waters. Sitting on the ferry just now as we near Nanaimo. We have been away 6 months. Having towed 7,850 miles thru Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Alberta and British Columbia. We were aboard approximately 165 days and the balance of 15 days being hosted in family or freinds homes. We traveled the waters of California in the Delta and San Diego. Also near Yuma Az in the Colorado river and Sqauw Lake, Fishers Landing area. On to Apache Junction area and Canyon Lake. Lake Powell was enjoyed also. We met c brats along the way, David in Medford Or, Roger and Janet in Sequim Wa, Chris in San Diego, Casey's home in Az, Cheryl and Roger in Idaho, Bob and Lori in Blind Bay BC. We visited many family and friends along the way. Kerri On has performed perfectly thru calm and storm alike. What a boat! Towing thru 50 knot headwinds over the summit from Utah into Idaho, the F 150 was a champ. A wheel bearing failure about the only maintenance issue. RV Parks along the way provided great boaterhoming experiences. I want to thank all the c brats on the site and all we met along the way for your kindness and company. We will be based in Nanaimo, aboard this summer. We have some business in Nanaimo for a few days and then will head out from here for local cruising. We will see many of you in Friday Harbour. Carolyn and I are in fine shape and keen for more travels. 6 months enroute is a good test of both ship and crew. I congratulate my partner Carolyn for her transition from house to boat full time. Thanks again to all the c brats we met and all on the site. It is great to have friends like you. Thanks and more soon. Carolyn and George
Great tour, George. I have quite a bit of envy. I'm enjoying our yard, but ready to spend some time on the boat. I've been getting flashbacks from our trip last year when I read your posts. We won't be able to make Friday Harbor, but plan to do Desolation Sound/ Lower BC in late August/ September. Hopefully we'll see you on the water.
Chuck
Chuck