USA 2019: Lake Powell to Rainbow Bridge Boat Trip

Lake Powell is the major reason people visit Page, Arizona, and we decided to get up close to it and take an eight hour boat trip to the Rainbow Bridge Arch. This arch, one of the longest in the USA, is only accessible by boat or by trekking for several days across rather inhospitable terrain.

When you are accustomed to reservoirs such as Burrator on Dartmoor or those in the Brecon Beacons or the Elan Valley in Wales, the statistics of Lake Powell are mind boggling. Its maximum length is close to 190 miles and, at its widest point, it is 25 miles. The shore length is almost 2000 miles, longer than the West Coast of the USA apparently. It lies in two states, Utah and Arizona, and took some 17 years to fill.

Our trip was going to take us up the lake for about 50 miles and then take a side canyon to lead us to the arch.

The starting point was the Wahweap Resort, a rather upmarket marina a few miles from the dam.

If you want water sports, then Lake Powell is the place for you. Some of the rental boats put to shame anything you could hire on the Norfolk Broads. One that was pointed out to us came in at around $5 million and had 4 jacuzzis on it. There's plenty of money as well as water in these parts. But we'd come at the right time of year as it was not particularly busy and the lake was pleasantly quiet.

This white mark is called the 'bathtub ring' by locals and is caused by the calcium carbonate and other hard minerals in the water that attach themselves to the sandstone leaving behind a white mark. The top of the white mark is the high water mark. The water levels fluctuate widely over the years and there is around 50 foot difference between the highest and lowest levels. That equates to a lot of water.

A Black-necked Stilt. This is a wader and normally wades around shallow waters. At this particular spot on the lake, just off the Antelope Marina, its legs would have to be around 300 foot long for them to reach the bottom.

Beautiful scenery wherever you look.

Once anchored in Rainbow Canyon, there was quite a long jetty to negotiate before getting ashore. This reflects the difference in water levels that are encountered over the years.

The long-suffering Mrs P posing for a photograph that doesn't quite do what I had intended.

Some statistics about the arch for those who like that sort of thing. It is 290 feet tall from its base to the top and spans 275 feet across the creek channel. The top of the arch measures 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide.

This will give you some idea of the scale of it. The arch is on Navajo land and is sacred to them, hence no walking under it or on it.

A single dinosaur footprint, likely a Dilophosaurus, is just by the arch. The two legged, three-toed carnivorous dinosaur walked through this area 190-200 million years ago. And, yes, there were a few spots of rain at this point but they didn't amount to much.

The arch from its other side. Water levels from the lake have risen high enough to flow under it a couple of times since the area has been flooded but those were exceptional circumstances. The arch is certainly impressive and its remote location adds to its attraction.

Just to give an idea of the narrow passageways the captain of the boat had to negotiate. In the tightest spots, the clearance on the sides was just a few feet. And no cheap jibes about lady drivers from me. She was impressive.

Heading back and the setting sun is starting to light up the cliffs.

The contrast between light and shade makes for everchanging views. But it was cold standing on deck! I suffer for my photography. What a martyr.

The closest we got to a decent sunset before the clouds moved in and obscured everything - again.

There is good fishing in Lake Powell, especially for carp. These two came up to wish us farewell. We had the last word as the one on the right was my dinner.