Lake Powell 2006

On October 7, 2006 I left for my grandma's house at about 4:40 am and by 5:15 am we were headed to Lake Powell. Our group started with 12 people and during the week more came and we were up to 17. My uncle's wife, two of their kids and two more of the kids' cousins came up during the middle of the week. My grandparents have a share on a houseboat and each person had to pay $250 to go on the trip. On two of the nights it rained, but I slept inside on the couch and so I was fine. One afternoon it rained and so we had to cut our plans short for the day. My family likes to go into slot canyons, taking the smaller boats as far as they can go and using the oars to avoid hitting the boat on the rocks. Then we jump out of the boats and hike for a while. A few days before the trip there was flash flooding at Lake Powell so when we arrived there was tons of debris in the slot canyons. We still hiked into two of them, but they were really muddy. Using the oars to prevent the boat from hitting the walls becomes annoying very quickly. Sometimes I enjoy just cruising on the open water. On our last day of play I rode on a tube being pulled by a boat.

I learned a version of Dominoes called Mexican Train which is really fun. We watched a 1960 Disney movie called Ten Who Dared which is about Major John Wesley Powell, who lost an arm during the Civil War, and his crew who were the first people to cross through the Colorado River and survive. Apparently it is a family tradition to watch the movie at Lake Powell, but I think it was the first time I had seen it. I believe this was my fourth trip to Lake Powell, but my last trip was probably in 2002 or earlier. Since the September 11th attacks you are not allowed to get close to the dam in a boat. Earlier you could get close enough to touch the dam from your boat. Lake Powell is second in size only to Lake Mead, downstream near Las Vegas. Lake Powell boasts over 1,900 miles of shoreline, more than the entire coast of the western U.S. and has 96 major side canyons. Upon completion of Glen Canyon Dam on September 13th, 1963, the Colorado River began to back up, no longer being diverted through the tunnels, creating Lake Powell. As the lake filled over the years, seismic activity in the area increased as the ground shifted beneath the increasing weight of the water. The water level is measured based on elevation and 3700 feet is considered full. The last time it was full was in 1986. From 1995 to 2000 the water level was above 3680 feet. The depth varies throughout the lake, but some parts are over 400 feet deep. When we arrived the elevation was at 3604.29 and when we left it was 3606.83. So the water rose about 2 1/2 feet during our trip. You can see the current water level at: The Lake Powell Water Database.

The one thing that bothered me on the trip was that my uncle sort of expresses this elitist attitude occasionally. He usually comes on the trips because he is really good at operating boats and fixing things. His income is probably double anyone else in the family and I think it goes to his head. He tends to exaggerate his stuff and his kids. He said that my cousin did two AP classes last year as a junior and five more this year as senior. When I asked my cousin about it he said it was actually one last year and four this year. This is still amazing especially since he scored a 5 on the US History test, but I actually took more AP classes than him. My uncle also was saying how great my cousin is with the drums and that he is on the marching band. My cousin told me that he is ranked 4th out of 7 students on the drumline which is still very good. My uncle was bragging about how athletic his kids are and that they could probably outdo or keep up with anyone. At one point when we were trying to get through some debris in the boat it was funny when my cousin was complaining about why we had to go through it. My cousin is really smart, but he is humble about his abilities and doesn't make himself seem superior to others. There were two fishermen who came and the whole time my uncle is complaining about how boring it is to fish and that some people are just naturally good at catching fish and everyone else is out of luck. His son (the brother to my cousin mentioned above) caught a decent sized catfish and then my uncle was excited for him, it was kind of ironic. We brought two boats for the trip, one is my grandma's and the other is my uncle's. They were both built by Gulfstream which was a small Utah company that went out of business. My uncle's boat is about 18 feet long and was built in 1973. It is very good at going into small canyons and it usually runs well.

My grandma's boat was built in 1988 and is about 21 feet long. My uncle is always saying how great his boat is and that most boats can't compete with it. Most of the time he went between 35-40 mph and the fastest I noticed was 42 mph. One day there was a boat far behind us and at first I thought it was my grandma. Eventually it caught up and passed us and was so far ahead I couldn't even see it. A waverunner also passed his boat and I wasn't even aware they could go that speed. He took my grandma's boat out for a drive and quickly got it up to 47 mph. I really think most boats could easily keep up with his boat and probably go faster if they just had a decent driver. My uncle is really great at driving boats. One time my grandma decided to race my uncle and she kept up with him just fine and possibly was going faster for a few seconds, but then she slowed down and got behind him. Also I think my grandma's boat handled rough water much better, but my uncle disagreed. My grandma's boat is a little bigger and the seats are more comfortable. My grandpa said they were the same also, but he only went on one boat ride the whole trip and it was on my grandma's boat.

My uncle makes comments that seem degrading. My hair is starting to thin out, but there aren't any missing patches and I part my hair down the middle leaving an open area. My uncle kept saying that I was bald and needed to wear a hat at all times and that he was glad he didn't have to wear a hat because he hated them so much. On the last night we were sleeping inside and my cousin was lying near me to be out of the rain and my uncle said be careful where you step that's my son you are sleeping by. It just seems like his kids are gods to him, but nobody else matters. My cousin just laughed at his dad's comment. I think my uncle changed because of his wife's family. He was describing them and they seem to act similar to how he is now. This uncle is my mom's brother and he was saying that my mom can push people's buttons sometimes and I was thinking that is exactly how you are.