Stephenson Family Ties The Barn Burnt Down
And Now I See The Moon

Returning to the Subject of Paradise

With more that 1,900 miles of coastline, (which is more coastline than the Pacific coast from Canada to Mexico) and millions and millions of years of geologic work by wind, rain, currents and time, Lake Powell is an explorers paradise to be sure!! Which is just one more reason why its one of my favorite places on the planet.

I like exploring it by jet ski (it’s a speed thing) but a ski boat is great too. I like to be there with my Builder and with my family. And I suppose it was fine that we had to share? Here's cute Ali taking her turn!!

Someday I’ll put in my request to my Builder to take me on a romantic Canyon Princess Dinner Cruise or maybe the Sunset Cruise or even the Navajo Tapestry Boat Cruise. I think they sound enchanting.

Lake Powell is the 2nd largest reservoir in the US. It can store up to 24.3 million acre feet of water!! That’s a LOT of swimming pools!!

Glen Canyon Dam holds all this water back. An impressive sight in in of it self!! The dams top rim is 587 feet UP from the surface of the river below. That’s taller than the Washington Monument!! This makes it the 2nd largest dam in the US. The thickest part of the dam is 3oo feet of concrete!! That’s the length of a football field!!! And speaking of concrete- there are 5 million cubic yds of it in this dam!!! The water flowing through the dam provides valuable hydroelectricity for millions of people in the southwest. The dam was completed in 1963, and it took 17 years to reach ‘full pool’ level in the lake. This occurred in 1980.

This year, the deep blue water of Lake Powell rose 45 feet!!! Yea!!!! We are so grateful for our wet winter last year. The water in now 494 ft deep at the dam. 20 million people depend on this water!!

The lake is famous for its fishing. Bri had success this year!!


Lake Powell was named in honor of a Civil War veteran and one-armed explorer, John Wesley Powell. He and 9 other men took 4 wooden boats down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1869.
It is also interesting to note that 11 years BEFORE Wesley Powells time of exploration, a different explorer by the name of Lt. Joseph C Ives also led a party through this area in 1858. His comments in his diary are revealing for its naïveté and lack of vision for the adventurous spirit of this great land and its people. He wrote: "Ours has been the first and will undoubtedly be the last party to visit this profitless locality. It seems intended by nature that the Colorado River, along the greater portion of its lonely and majestic way, shall be forever unvisited and undisturbed."
Today this beautiful local is visited by millions of people a year and appreciated for its unique beauty. And though there are thousands of people on the lake at any given time, it NEVER feels crowded!! The lake is vast. I believe it would take years to explore all its grandeur. .


There are 96 major side canyons that twist into the main channel. Some of these side canyons are 15-20 miles long! Depending on the water level of course.

The spectacular red, and pink rock is call Navajo Sandstone. It is the main rock formation found at Powell. It’s the same type of sandstone that I am privileged to hike on in So Utah.
There is no place on earth like Lake Powell!!!!!

2 comments:

Linda said...

Your pictures of Lake Powell are stunning! I remember some family memebers of mine taking a houseboat trip to Lake Powell many many years ago and I was amazed by it way back then.

We just returned today from our monthly camping trip and a future trip to Lake Powell was mentioned. I'm all for it!

Pam Hill said...

You dug up some really interesting facts that I didn't know, though I also love Lake Powell. It is very beautiful and such a lot of fun when there are jet skis and family around!