Houseboat Adventure on Lake Powell

GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA

Activity: House Boating, Skiing/Wakeboarding, Hiking/Scrambling, SUP, Kayaking, Swimming, Boating, and Jet Skiing

Dates: July 16-24, 2021

Lake Powell is a special place in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the boarder of Arizona and Utah. It’s beauty and wonder is vast, untamed and ever changing. This was my second time to join friends for a week of fun and adventure aboard their 65’ houseboat.

My friends are experts at this houseboat vacation in the wild as this is their annual pilgrimage to this oasis in the desert, that they have been enjoying for a couple decades.

This particular trip was unique even to them as a decade or more of drought has made severe changes as the water level plummets. The Canyons, it’s walls and rock formations now even taller, the water channels that snake through the rock narrower and more shallow. There were beaches where there had been none before, and there were more obstacles in the water to beware of.

The water is so low it is incredible. One of the major launch areas Antelope Point is closed as the launch ramp is so low that the end has a big drop off. Even where we launched in Page, Arizona they were not allowing rentals to go past Padre Bay. The crazy thing is right after we launched they closed our ramp to all house boats. The level of the lake was falling four inches a day, which is pretty dramatic especially on a lake this size. So we really didn’t have many boats on the lake once we pasted that area. Unfortunately the company that launched our boat said that we must be back a day early. 

One nice benefit is this very popular lake usual buzzing with gorgeous decked out ski boats, fast jet skis, and fully equipped houseboats was relatively quiet and became more sparse the farther we went on our trip, so we practically had the place to ourselves. One drawback is the closures meant we could not refuel far up the lake. We brought a bunch of gas cans with us, cut back a bit on usage, and traveled a little less.

We motored some fifty miles up the lake during our journey stopping at a different spot each night. The hot days were exploration packed with a full array of water toys with which to cool off. The water temperature remained a constant perfect . Rock formations all along our trip were absolutely stunning. The landscape was awe inspiring every where you look. We were always taking excursions. One such event was an arch, hole cut in a ceiling, which probably has a name but we nicknamed it “Toilet Bowel.” Another spot was aptly named Cathedral of the Canyons as it was almost spiritual in it grandeur, such a splendid and impressive place with a wonderful little waterfall.

It was monsoon season so several of our evenings clouded up and we even had a little rain. Near the end of our vacation we had two afternoons of big, powerful, dangerous and frightening thunderstorms.

We also got in a couple of hikes Hole in the Rock and on a little bluff over looking Big Water.

Lake Time, ski time, sun time, paddle time, fun time! Friends, house boating, good food and celebrating. Canyons, plateaus, bluffs, arches, formations. Colorful sunsets, full moon rising, storm clouds, waves, rain.

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We took a couple of ski boats and the jet ski to this formation that we nick named the “Toilet Bowl”. A few of us swam around in the Toilet and climbed up the back of the cave.

Could there be any more beautiful place to wakeboard?

I suppose the Mormon Settlers enjoyed the same type of sunset all those years ago as they made their way down ‘Hole in the Rock’.

Looks like a lighthouse, a beacon of hope for travelers, and in a way it is. The full moon rises over the canyon wall and light spills over reflecting on the cove of our anchorage.

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One of our excursions was basically a sunset booze cruise trying to outrun the waning light and the approaching storm.

We enjoyed a new anchorage and new adventure every night. When the storm arrived we thought we were all snug in our protected little cove until pebbles started raining down on us as the high winds swept crossed the bluff above.

We enjoyed our scrumptious dinners. Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, our friend Hank, kept us well fed on the house boat’s roof top patio with views of the Glen Canyon all around.

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These 2 shots were taken under the full moon in the middle of the night.

Video of our trip on ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ YouTube Channel

“There is no Lake like Powell for beauty, house boating, and water skiing.” – John Forgrave 

Thanks for joining me and our motley crew of fun seekers as we found ourselves ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ at fabulous Lake Powell for a week of wonder and fellowship truly unwinding, completely detached from the work a day world and trading it’s fast pace for about 6-8 knots on a houseboat with toys in tow. For more on our Lake Powell experience as well as more adventures in the wilds of Utah you will want to stayed tuned by performing these easy tasks: LIKE, COMMENT, FOLLOW and SHARE. To explore other adventures throughout the West take a look at the menu above. For top quality Adventure Wear to protect from the sun and carries the ‘Pursuing Balance Through Adventure’ Logo and Mantra please visit SHOP APPAREL.

Happy Trails,

Roger Jenkins

Pursuing Balance Through Adventure