In the middle of all the hubbub, Brent and Dixie arrived on Discovery, the Tomcat 255 that was in Alaska with Hunky Dory. It was really great to see them again. Last year, we only managed a wave as we passed them on the road between Hanksville and Loa. We had to pull early because of issues with our steering.
One thing that is still unresolved is how to deal with John and Grayle's boat, Hallelujah. We made contact, and it will be taken to Antelope Point by Dr. Bob and Marie, to be put into storage. Now we need to get all the fresh food and consumables off the boat, so it won't drawn rodents while in storage. Lots of steak in the freezer, plus other fresh food. No fish for dinner tonight...
(09/18/15) A terrible accident on Lake Powell this morning! Terrible I say. Striped bass died. Marie and I went out to catch a few more fish for the get together. It wasn't long before we had seven more nice fish to contribute to the pot luck. Out of this, I've learned that an electric fillet knife is a handy thing to have.
Oh oh, more drama... a yellow jacket came in to dine on the scraps, and when I swatted at it with the knife, Marie did the same. Too close a call, I tried to amputate her finger. One more lesson learned, and we didn't need any more emergency situations.
Four more CDorys arrived mid day. It was the gang from the Mississippi CBGT at Alton, Illinois. Tex and Sharon on Bixby's Cub (Tex is a Mark Twain fanatic, and Bixby's cub was Mark Twain himself when learning the river from Capt. Bixby), Jim and Jeanine on Blue Rose, Ken and Pat on Pelican, and Mike on the nameless boat. With this group, we had Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota represented.
Somewhere along the way, Tim and Mary on Wild Blue (aka Lost Petrel) became unlost.
Here's a shot from above the gathering... Photographer Jody Kidd (JKidd on WTW)...
Thanks Jody for letting me use your photo! There are thirteen boats present in the photo. In 2010, we had twenty seven.
(09/19/15) Today is the big day for the pot luck. Two more boats came in Jody on Voyager, and Tony and Diane on C-View II. The awnings are up for shade, and people are starting to fix the goodies. I'm going to link to some photos of the gathering on another site (CBrats), but can't give credit to the photographers, as I am not sure who took the photos. Apologies in advance!
Tex, in addition to being a great Mark Twain impersonator, is a pretty creative chef as well. Please note the ice cream churn and dutch oven in the foreground below. Homemade vanilla ice cream along with cherry cobbler is a must for any desert expedition.
That is the author diligently studying his plate... Mike from Minnesota brought out the flags that are in the background... From what I can gather, the message is please bring more cold beer. Good food, ice cream, cherry cobbler, cold beer... Who could ask for more.
(09/20/15) Like most of our get togethers, we disperse after the big feed. All of the boats except Thataway, Discovery, C-View II and Constant Craving headed for other parts of the lake. Of course we still had Hallelujah here with us. Dr. Bob and Marie will take it to Antelope Point when they head down river. Tex led the mid west fleet up river, and I believe up past Hite. That's a part of the river that I haven't explored. Maybe next trip.
We received a medical update on John. In a word, his condition was serious, and it's good that we got him evacuated when we did. Everyone is sending their prayers and best thoughts for his complete and speedy recovery.
(09/21/15) Today's the day that we are heading out. Bob and Marie to Antelope Point with Hallelujah, C-View II back to Wahweap, with Discovery and Constant Craving leaving for the upper Escalante. The low water levels didn't let us get as far up the Escalante as we wanted. Close, but not quite to the island that is opposite Explorer Canyon. The Bride and I had hoped to hike up Explorer to Zane Grey Arch. There are a few Anasazi structures along the way, mostly granaries, plus some delightful little natural garden areas along the small stream that drains the canyon. Maybe next time. One surprise was discovering Wild Blue in the Escalante, too. Hunky Dory and Voyager were also there, but were leaving for up river as we were getting there. The weather report is predicting storms, so I hope it doesn't hit us. Earlier this year, an anchored boat swung into the path of a pour over and was sunk. No thanks.
(09/22/15) Brent and Dixie needed to get home on the following day, so we left early and headed for the Bullfrog and Hall's Landing areas. Discovery powered up and was cruising much faster than we could, but we got the boat up on a plane and hit a nice cruise speed at 16 MPH.
At Hall's landing, we were once again the subject of much interest. The CDory boats attract attention where ever they go. I think the boat itself sells more of them than the dealer network ever could. Our friends El and Bill lived on their CDory for a number of years. If you want to read some interesting trip reports, read their blog on Halcyon. Bill is also the author of "The Geology of the Great Basin". He is a geologist, and a great person to travel with. Getting a 'Bill' guided tour of Glen Canyon is an education. Bill did a lot of work in the canyon before the dam was built. He's one of the few folks who got to see it before and after the lake. He also did a lot of geology work in Death Valley.
At Hall's, we encountered a Catalina 25, sans mast that was exploring the area. Walt and Patty had just completed a trip down the Mississippi, from St. Paul to Venice, Louisiana. Impressive!
Tonight, we are in Hall's Creek Bay. It's a beautiful place, but popular with the go-fast crowd, and also popular with the "Instruments of Satan", better known as personal watercraft. Still, I really like the area.
I started having swelling in my feet (bad words, more bad words). I'm not sure if it is too much sun, too much salt in the diet (chips???), or not enough exercise because of sitting in the captain's seat and pointing the boat at things.
Tomorrow, we will start back towards Wahweap, with an exploration of Annie's and Iceberg Canyons. In Annie's, there is a large amphitheater where we pull in, kill the motor, and swim under the overhang. This year, the water level (and another boat) made it impractical.
We wanted to spend the night in Iceberg, but when we got to the end of the canyon, all of the campsites were taken by houseboats. More bad words!!
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