Monday morning we rented a boat for the day on Lake Powell.   There were several points of confusion regarding this.

* The lake straddles the UT AZ line - the states are on different time zones in summer.  Page is AZ and the nearby boat rental is UT, meaning we arrived later than planned.     

* The water is down about 100 ft, changing the shoreline dramatically in some places and not in sync with the maps.  

* Initially we were blind to distant corners.  There was an optical thing going on where distant shores and further shores blend together.  This improved over time as our eyes became accustomed to it.    

* The marker buoys and the map don't exactly agree.  Deciding which channel to take at broad intersections was challenging.  

* It's OK to boat up to markers that are mile markers.  Not so good to boat up to markers that are warning of submerged rocks or shallow areas.  No generalizing allowed.    

Once we figured all of this out, things got a lot easier.  

At this point and time of year, the Colorado River's water is cold and clear.  It was very easy to see the bottom and fish at 10-20 ft.  It was easy to see shallow places and rocks from a distance.    

Our goal was to start at the western end of the lake and travel east to Rainbow Bridge  - one of the worlds largest natural spans - about a 50 mile trip one-way.  The weather was ideal at about 80 degrees and wind was very light.  

For the first 30 miles or so this felt much like boating through Monument Valley.  Initially, on the north side the Mesa's come up to the lake so there was frequent beautiful shoreline.  The south side is more gentle grades, but as we proceeded the monuments to the south appeared more frequently.  With clear skies, clear water, low traffic and astonishing landscape, it is difficult to convey the sense of awe in God's creation.  

Traveling east means going up-stream or up hill.  The lake was narrowing, the walls were getting higher, steeper and closer.  Eventually we felt as though we'd entered a western movie and at any moment the bank robbers were going to take shots at us from the cliffs overhead.  It was as if we were entering death trap canyon - whether this was the opening fight scene or the finale we weren't sure.  

This feeling became far more acute as we left the main channel to boat up the canyon to Rainbow Bridge.  Very narrow with soaring walls - but with no posted speed limits nor any no-wake markers, the canyon was just high walls and sharp curves and fast boating.  This has to be one of the funnest and most beautiful places in the world to take a boat.  We didn't exactly rocket up it, not knowing where the robbers were.  But we did cruise up it - so fun.  

With the low water, the hike to the bridge itself was about a mile - very easy and mostly silent except for the occasional  echo from the few other people there.   We were mostly alone except for the vulture following us.  I mean really?  

Try and find Jenna (way down at the bottom)



We respected the religious views of 5 native american tribes and did not approach or walk under the bridge itself.  Even if you don't agree with their point of view, there is still Matt 7:12, right?

Since we knew there were no robbers, we did rocket our way back out of the bridge canyon just for the fun of it.  The 50 mile ride back was much simpler since we knew the way and only had to slow for a few moments to figure out which channel to take next.   

After dinner again at the Texas BBQ (apparently a converted gas station), we went to the Mesa Theater (single-plex) to see Captain America Civil War.

A great day - the pics don't capture this.  .