Lake Powell: Water, Sand, and SUP

June 2 – 5 (Lake Powell, UT) —

After a week in the dusty desert we yearned for some cold water, so we headed to Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area near the Utah-Arizona border.   Based on intel from the internet, we headed down this dirt road near Bullfrog, UT to find a remote camping spot on the lake in the Stanton Creek area.    The road was mostly rock and gravel with some significant sand patches, making us glad Tigger has 4-wheel drive.

We scoped out a few possible sites, with me running ahead to be sure the way was passable for Tigger.   We picked this spot on a rocky outcropping that had a small sand beach next to it:

We set up our Alite Mayfly camping chairs (which are AWESOME and lightweight), opened some cold beer, and enjoyed the sunset.

The next day, we pumped up our inflatable ULI paddleboards and went for an exploratory paddle.

And then took Pancha for a swim.   Given the rocks on the approach to the beach, which she has trouble navigating in her old age, I carried her down to the water.

She used to swim a lot, especially during my third year in law school at UT when I lived on a lake, but she hasn’t been swimming in years.  She was a bit hesitant at first, but then dove right in as every spaniel should.

As sunset approached that night, a sandstorm blew in suddenly.   Such a strange experience.

We battened down the hatches and 15 minutes later the storm was over, leaving this brilliant sky:

 

We went for a longer paddle the next morning.

And napped on a little island out in the lake.

I also tried doing some yoga on my board (which is all the rage right now, I’m told) and promptly fell off coming out of downward dog.  The water was a brisk 66 degrees so I jumped right back on my board.

 

 

 

We went for a few more paddles and then said farewell to Lake Powell and headed to Cortez, CO to mountain bike the infamous Phil’s World trails.