A Bitter Sweet End, The Seasons of Lake Powell

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Marina Bum

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It's the same every year when just after the summer season seems to hit full swing the kids go back to school and Labor Day is here. For many it's the end of large group trips and the cessation of time share boats leaving the marina in heavy rotation. You can sure feel it wandering around Wahweap Marina like someone flipped a switch off. Only rarely do you hear the Kubotas and golf carts roaring up and down the docks these days, evenings are eerily quiet and calm. While the bustle is over the absolute best is yet to come of the temperate weather and conditions most conducive to quiet enjoyment of this amazing place.

Our Springs are unpredictable, windy and the water is still cold. I've been snowed on as late as Memorial Day here. The power of the winds can not be overstated, It's a crap shoot. One weekend is pleasant, the next is unbearable. I'm usually busy with maintainance and improvements projects too getting the houseboat ready for the anticipated recreations of summer.

Early Summer has us watching water levels and praying that the snowpack melt is aided by the right kind of weather. (assuming we have a good winter) The Marina and Lake wake up with a burst of energy but you can still find a parking place in the lots or on the beaches. As the lake starts rising you'll see crews out on the docks reeling out the mooring cables to let the docks float freely up.

The high water mark of Summer starts with July 4th and carries through the 24th Pioneer days and the start of August and just like that it recedes. My daughter started classes at her Jr High on August 4th. Like many other families that ends the opportunities to spend days or weeks with our kids on the lake; My son starts classes again at NAU on Monday. Labor Day is next weekend and it will be our last time out as a family for a long weekend this year. And just like that unofficially early fall begins as the marina crews are back out ratcheting down the cables again as the water levels recede.

The lake is growing quiet again with a familiarity I recognize from years past. Not near as many people coming to the lake now. The water is bathtub warm, the intense daytime heat is much less and the winds seem to come and go quickly in small batches. This time of year the weather is close to perfect, you can walk away from the warmth of your campfire in the evening on a soft sandy beach and right into the lake where the water temperature is warmer that the air. Days and nights are getting closer to the same length and the beauty of the sunsets are aided by extended monsoon storms. Scattered clouds cast shadows highlighting the formations and colors of the canyons some brightly lit like a spot light is on them. Rainbows are a daily occurrence in late Monsoons; Lighting, Rainbows and a Canyon Sunset all at once, surreal. I only wish my family had a little more time to head out with me to see it too. Three or four days of this out on an empty beach can sure change your perspective

And soon it's Winter
 
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I am doing one big happy dance! Football season and hunting season has begun, school had started, and the drunks and surfboats are going somewhere else to be annoying. There is water in the lake and the ramps are open. Once November comes, it is usually the mustangs, coyotes, and me. I love Powell in the winter months even in January and February when you can have sub zero temps just a hundred yards from shore before the sun comes up. The cold is a small price to pay for a little solace.
 
It's the same every year when just after the summer season seems to hit full swing the kids go back to school and Labor Day is here. For many it's the end of large group trips and the cessation of time share boats leaving the marina in heavy rotation. You can sure feel it wandering around Wahweap Marina like someone flipped a switch off. Only rarely do you hear the Kubotas and golf carts roaring up and down the docks these days, evenings are eerily quiet and calm. While the bustle is over the absolute best is yet to come of the temperate weather and conditions most conducive to quiet enjoyment of this amazing place.

Our Springs are unpredictable, windy and the water is still cold. I've been snowed on as late as Memorial Day here. The power of the winds can not be overstated, It's a crap shoot. One weekend is pleasant, the next is unbearable. I'm usually busy with maintainance and improvements projects too getting the houseboat ready for the anticipated recreations of summer.

Early Summer has us watching water levels and praying that the snowpack melt is aided by the right kind of weather. (assuming we have a good winter) The Marina and Lake wake up with a burst of energy but you can still find a parking place in the lots or on the beaches. As the lake starts rising you'll see crews out on the docks reeling out the mooring cables to let the docks float freely up.

The high water mark of Summer starts with July 4th and carries through the 24th Pioneer days and the start of August and just like that it recedes. My daughter started classes at her Jr High on August 4th. Like many other families that ends the opportunities to spend days or weeks with our kids on the lake; My son starts classes again at NAU on Monday. Labor Day is next weekend and it will be our last time out as a family for a long weekend this year. And just like that unofficially early fall begins as the marina crews are back out ratcheting down the cables again as the water levels recede.

The lake is growing quiet again with a familiarity I recognize from years past. Not near as many people coming to the lake now. The water is bathtub warm, the intense daytime heat is much less and the winds seem to come and go quickly in small batches. This time of year the weather is close to perfect, you can walk away from the warmth of your campfire in the evening on a soft sandy beach and right into the lake where the water temperature is warmer that the air. Days and nights are getting closer to the same length and the beauty of the sunsets are aided by extended monsoon storms. Scattered clouds cast shadows highlighting the formations and colors of the canyons some brightly lit like a spot light is on them. Rainbows are a daily occurrence in late monsoons; Lighting, Rainbows and a Canyon Sunset all at once, surreal. I only wish my family had a little more time to head out with me to see it too. Three or four days of this out on an empty beach can sure change your perspective

And soon it's Winter
Well said.
 
It's the same every year when just after the summer season seems to hit full swing the kids go back to school and Labor Day is here. For many it's the end of large group trips and the cessation of time share boats leaving the marina in heavy rotation. You can sure feel it wandering around Wahweap Marina like someone flipped a switch off. Only rarely do you hear the Kubotas and golf carts roaring up and down the docks these days, evenings are eerily quiet and calm. While the bustle is over the absolute best is yet to come of the temperate weather and conditions most conducive to quiet enjoyment of this amazing place.

Our Springs are unpredictable, windy and the water is still cold. I've been snowed on as late as Memorial Day here. The power of the winds can not be overstated, It's a crap shoot. One weekend is pleasant, the next is unbearable. I'm usually busy with maintainance and improvements projects too getting the houseboat ready for the anticipated recreations of summer.

Early Summer has us watching water levels and praying that the snowpack melt is aided by the right kind of weather. (assuming we have a good winter) The Marina and Lake wake up with a burst of energy but you can still find a parking place in the lots or on the beaches. As the lake starts rising you'll see crews out on the docks reeling out the mooring cables to let the docks float freely up.

The high water mark of Summer starts with July 4th and carries through the 24th Pioneer days and the start of August and just like that it recedes. My daughter started classes at her Jr High on August 4th. Like many other families that ends the opportunities to spend days or weeks with our kids on the lake; My son starts classes again at NAU on Monday. Labor Day is next weekend and it will be our last time out as a family for a long weekend this year. And just like that unofficially early fall begins as the marina crews are back out ratcheting down the cables again as the water levels recede.

The lake is growing quiet again with a familiarity I recognize from years past. Not near as many people coming to the lake now. The water is bathtub warm, the intense daytime heat is much less and the winds seem to come and go quickly in small batches. This time of year the weather is close to perfect, you can walk away from the warmth of your campfire in the evening on a soft sandy beach and right into the lake where the water temperature is warmer that the air. Days and nights are getting closer to the same length and the beauty of the sunsets are aided by extended monsoon storms. Scattered clouds cast shadows highlighting the formations and colors of the canyons some brightly lit like a spot light is on them. Rainbows are a daily occurrence in late Monsoons; Lighting, Rainbows and a Canyon Sunset all at once, surreal. I only wish my family had a little more time to head out with me to see it too. Three or four days of this out on an empty beach can sure change your perspective

And soon it's Winter
Aman
 
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