Lake Powell on the rise, expecting big boating summer
Arizona's massive Lake Powell sports canyons for exploring and floating houses.
LAKE POWELL, Ariz. -- To the Perez family, newly arrived from Miami, this raw, red-rock landscape is so foreign, it might as well be the moon. Or, perhaps, the Holy Land (which it stood in for in the movie The Greatest Story Ever Told). Or post-apocalyptic America (see Planet of the Apes). Or maybe just a place that enables temporary refuge from the daily hustle.
William Perez, 33, his wife, Gisell, 34, and their two sons, Casey, 6, and Matthew, 2, are about to motor off on a houseboat for four days of R&R on the emerald waters of this vast man-made lake. But as with most things in life, houseboating is not without rules and caveats. An instructor has Perez inspect the propellers for damage, confirm that the 170-gallon gas tanks are full, and check the propane levels and hot-water tank. There are insurance papers to sign. And warnings to heed — a single long beep and a flashing light from the control panel is a bad thing. Oh, and if they spot any mouse droppings, don't touch them. They could carry the hantavirus, a rare but nasty disease.
When the "not responsible for lost or stolen items" spiel is over, the wife and kids settle in and Perez takes the helm, declaring, "We're going to find a nice beach, and fish and enjoy."
The Perezes are early comers in what both national parks and commercial interests here believe will be a robust boating summer, following nine years of drought that drained the lake 100-plus feet below its high-water mark. Thanks to record winter snowfall in the Rockies, the waters of Lake Powell are expected to rise 50 feet this summer, Bureau of Reclamation officials predict.
Most significantly, the higher lake levels mean a popular route known as the Castle Rock Cut will reopen, lopping 12 miles off the journey from Wahweap Marina, Lake Powell's main put-in, to up-lake destinations such as Rainbow Bridge National Monument. At 290 feet tall (and broad enough to span the White House), the sandstone marvel is the world's largest natural bridge and an iconic giant in a land teeming with the gargantuan.
