Hole in the Rock

Winds finally died down sometime late last night. But still a little breezy today. Didn’t see anyone else come into Forbidding Canyon, which is not surprising since the dock is no longer connected to the Rainbow Bridge path. You have to swim or wade to get to the path. Went into two canyons today that I don’t think I’ve ever been in to. At least I don’t have any prior tracks on my chartplotter. First one was Hidden Passage Canyon. The Second one was Reflection Canyon. Both these canyons (like the others,) have some shallow areas to transverse. We went as far as we could in both canyons. I didn’t take a lot of photos in them, as I had one hand on the steering wheel and one on the throttle. And trying to watch both my depth sounder and the scenery! While much of the canyons still have deep water, it’s not uncommon for a rock or shoal to pop up if not paying attention. And one minute you can be in 200 feet of water, while in the next minute you only have 20 feet beneath you. I have a couple of photos that really show the low water levels of Lake Powell. On the chart plotter you can see a cut that at normal water levels you could cross with plenty of depth. The next photo is looking out the window at a 20 foot high canyon wall. This is the exact same location that the chart plotter shows as navigable. In Reflection Canyon, if you are familiar with Lake Powell, we made it all the way to where it splits into two channels. We decided to follow the right one a little farther. It was a short distance as within a few hundred feet we were down to 3’ of water. I was also surprised (and I’m sure the other guy was too), to see a runabout come out with a guy and his two dogs, shortly after we entered Reflection. I did take two videos cruising through the canyons. The one in Reflection is short enough to upload to this post. The Hidden Passage video was too long, but you can find that on my Youtube channel at: https://youtu.be/MO_hVJL1lcg. I think this is about my fifth or sixth time here at Lake Powell, and I continue to be in awe at the scenery of the canyons. To wonder what it was like before the dams flooded the canyons. To think about the settlers that drove their cattle and wagons down Hole in the Rock, where we are beached nearby for the night. I don’t know if Lake Powell will ever return to its full capacity. Between increased water usage and global warming that has decreased the inflow, it continues to lower. Yet, in the main channel, and even some of the feeder canyons, there are still depths of over 300 feet, while looking up at the canyon walls that must be at least that height above us. My photos don’t do it justice.
I am a lot less stressed tonight. Our new tires are at the Ford dealer now, and I found a hardware store in Page that will be open Sunday until 6pm, that has an assortment of bolts/nuts that should fit the boat trailer. We have settled in on our travel plans heading home, other than exactly which route I’ll take, but I can make that up as we go along! Lol. Life is good. God is good.Read more