Lake Powell - Photos from the Early Years

If memory serves there was a neat little booklet at the museum in Page celebrating the 100th anniversary of Powell's 1869 trip. There were 1869 & 1969 photos of the same places....really kool to see.......and hardly any changes in that century....

(My friend's 8 yr old asked me why the pictures weren't in color......I told her the lake was black & white in those days.....then I got time out..... :cool: )
 
Ok. Finally figured out how to attach a photo. So here goes my first trip to Powell My Dad was very interested it the project so we had to go as soon as he could ge there when the gates closed .. Somewhere I have the invoice from Art Green for the boat rental as I recall the "tinny" with fuel was in the $18.00 range for a couple of hours. Needless to say I have spent X10,000 at least there now a days. More to follow if this works.

I might have been 8 or 9 years.
DMc
 

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Dean Mc said:
Ok. Finally figured out how to attach a photo. So here goes my first trip to Powell My Dad was very interested it the project so we had to go as soon as he could ge there when the gates closed .. Somewhere I have the invoice from Art Green for the boat rental as I recall the "tinny" with fuel was in the $18.00 range for a couple of hours. Needless to say I have spent X10,000 at least there now a days. More to follow if this works.

I might have been 8 or 9 years.
DMc
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That smile says it all....... (y) (y) (y)
 
Dean Mc said:
Here is the lake level. I remember thinking "No way the water could ever get that deep". Who had the job of climbing down that shaky looking rope ladder? JFR will probably tell us the month and day DMc
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Well, how could I resist a challenge like that? Without the second picture with the ladder (which is great, by the way), you know it has to be between mid-September 1963 and August 1964. That's because they were still working on putting the final touches to the top of the dam until mid-September 1963, and the water reached minimum power pool in August 1964, so it would have climbed much higher than shown. But your second picture pegs it at 3397. Although the LP Water Database doesn't show it, the lake first reached that level on or about October 15, 1963...

But... then after reaching about 3414 in the winter, it dropped in the early spring of 1964, to as low as 3394 in mid-May. You can see the lake was a bit higher judging by the wet line up to about 3400. That tells me it was spring 1964, and not fall 1963. On May 2, 1964, it had dropped to just below 3397...

So my guess is May 2, 1964. That was a Saturday. Final answer.
 
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Dean Mc said:
Here is the lake level. I remember thinking "No way the water could ever get that deep". Who had the job of climbing down that shaky looking rope ladder? JFR will probably tell us the month and day DMc
Click to expand...
Rumor has it a very young Wayne constructed and used said ladder to study Lake Powell fish.....and coincidentally fish for lunch......just coincidentally, of course.......

;)
 
Dean Mc said:
Ok. Finally figured out how to attach a photo. So here goes my first trip to Powell My Dad was very interested it the project so we had to go as soon as he could ge there when the gates closed .. Somewhere I have the invoice from Art Green for the boat rental as I recall the "tinny" with fuel was in the $18.00 range for a couple of hours. Needless to say I have spent X10,000 at least there now a days. More to follow if this works.

I might have been 8 or 9 years.
DMc
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FYI - I think you are using the "attach files" option to attach your photos. Which works, but only gives us the thumbnail that we have to click on.

If you want the full photo to show up in the post, you need to click on the "photo" icon to upload your photo. (Circled in green below)

Screenshot 2025-06-18 095844.png
 
JFRCalifornia said:
Well, how could I resist a challenge like that? Without the second picture with the ladder (which is great, by the way), you know it has to be between mid-September 1963 and August 1964. That's because they were still working on putting the final touches to the top of the dam until mid-September 1963, and the water reached minimum power pool in August 1964, so it would have climbed much higher than shown. But your second picture pegs it at 3397. Although the LP Water Database doesn't show it, the lake first reached that level on or about October 15, 1963...

But... then after reaching about 3414 in the winter, it dropped in the early spring of 1964, to as low as 3394 in mid-May. You can see the lake was a bit higher judging by the wet line up to about 3400. That tells me it was spring 1964, and not fall 1963. On May 2, 1964, it had dropped to just below 3397...

So my guess is May 2, 1964. That was a Saturday. Final answer.
Click to expand...
OK. I cheated a little ... I want thru the old slides. The ladder /water level slide was developed in Oct 1963 so had to be your first guess. In some of the other slides us kids were all wearing coats so must of been chilly so Oct makes more sense DMc
 
OK someone smarter than me will have to decode this one. This is from the same first trip to Powell for me Its a view of the dam but taken from the bridge?? What is all the buildings/stuff in the background. I presume this is a downstream view?? Lots of walkways /scaffolding on the dam. DmcIMG00004.jpeg
 
That’s a view from the bridge looking toward what is now the Visitors Center. The Concrete batch plant was there before the Visitors Center was constructed.

The large vertical tanks in your photo are located where the current overflow parking area is behind the visitor center.
5D1BA4E7-E724-4EFE-A865-8BDAED244D8C.jpeg
 
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Dean Mc said:
OK someone smarter than me will have to decode this one. This is from the same first trip to Powell for me Its a view of the dam but taken from the bridge?? What is all the buildings/stuff in the background. I presume this is a downstream view?? Lots of walkways /scaffolding on the dam. DmcView attachment 33014
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your great pic brings to mind that the batch plant ran 24/7, if memory serves. The tenacity, drive and dedication these men had is truly amazing and commendable. The dam, while giving us our lake, is also a testament to these men.... (y) IMHO....
 
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