Should Dangling Rope open again?

Vote yes or no

  • Yes

    Votes: 57 70.4%

  • No

    Votes: 24 29.6%
  • Total voters
    81
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Rainbowbridge said:
I agree, SeaLegs, and perhaps I wasn't articulate. What I meant was, the 'idiot' said he was having a 'problem' with the rangers, and I said I'd never had one in 45 years. Every ranger I've encountered was friendly and professional, even the very busy ones at the ramps in 100 degree heat. 'Idiots' are the problem..... not the rangers, but bet that's an age old issue....
;)
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Yeah. "I just put my finger in the water"
 
I have to add to my above post, we had a boat in our party lose their out drive in the SJ, by the time I towed them to DR it was almost dark and I was sure happy to see that facility! We left the boat there over night and returned early the next day to tow them to Wahweep where it was repaired. If DR had not been there it would have been much harder and more dangerous to leave it tied up unattended over night. DR has saved many trips and helped with emergencies many times over the years and the lake will suffer with it gone. I go to the middle section of the lake a lot and it is in the back of my mind that we truly are alone now with no emergency service at all close by. If you have ever needed help on LP you know how stressful it can be and DR was an oasis in the ”desert“ to many. The solitude is nice down there but DR is a needed resource on the lake. I agree with @Ryan that launching and services at bullfrog are a higher priority but DR should not be forgotten.
 
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Dangling Dooley said:
I'm split. If it never comes back online then it would be cool if the old employee cabins become something like the Sierra Club backcountry ski huts. You can only get a key if you are a sponsor/helper to keep all the idiots out. Do work trips to slowly improve the cabins over time and do some minor updates/fixes. Station NSP Interp, Maintenance, and Law Enforcement up there again for Rainbow Bridge and mid-lake. Would be cool for fishing trips, hiking, and scout trips. Just a dock and maybe pump out because the tools are already there. The problem is that if NPS was up there, you would need gas. I'm all for keeping mid-lake quiet, but I also am not a fan of having it unpatrolled/abandoned by all law enforcement. Keeps everybody a little safer in my opinion.

Otherwise idiots will keep being idiots...

However, if it does come back to normal...I wanna manage it. 😎
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been boating L.P. since 82. many changes for sure. have been to "village "many times . take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. "
we did play horseshoes.Gem is thinking like me. the problem is insurance and such.we like the way it is now, however we are experienced survivalists.that being said it will more than likely be a long time before enough water for a gas facility. mid lake is really sweet now only for the strong at heart.68 now, still rocking ! if you see the orange and white pontoon say hi.
Luv me some Lake Powell.
 
Now, I've never been to Dangling Rope so I have an outsiders perspective.

1. I can see how the lake would be A LOT less congested without that fueling spot at that point of the lake. My wife and I have shore camped North of Bullfrog and Hite on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. We absolutely love the quiet tranquility.

2. The lack of it's fueling spot might make some people's favorite spots unapproachable with their current set up. I feel that lacking the advantage of a fuel up at DR will/can greatly diminish the allure to come to the lake. The fewer visitors the lake gets, the less money the Gooberment will spend to keep it open. Yes, I know DR is private, but the numbers for DR come from both North and South lake. Keeping it closed could be a HUGE red tape situation for what we currently have at both ends...

3. DR had employees! They are no longer employed due to water levels. Will they come back if they re-open is a different story. But I bet the business owners would try 250% for customer satisfaction...If they re-open.

Having never been there, I still say it is a crucial point on the lake and needs to stay open. Much like I have said all 3 biggies need to flourish on the Bullfrog location.

Ultimately, It would be the best for the lake and tourism for DR to stay open in my honest opinion.
 
With DR gone, there is now a spot on the lake that offers an unspoiled place to experience the river without crowds, without the massive chaos & noise associated with wake boats and without the mayhem seen within closer proximity to fuel pumps.


My vote is a 100% absolute firm hard NO - never rebuild DR and never make fuel available except at current Marina locations. (A big shout out to Antelope for having gas $1 cheaper than Wahweap).


If you want to experience the lake in a more pure original state, midlake without DR now does this.


A single wake boat with loud speakers can ruin the calm water and calm air for everyone…


The discussion should be how to restrict the wake sector to only open channels marked by numbered buoys and require all wake enhanced platforms to go wakeless in all side canyons. Non wake boats like fishing and pontoon travel about at will.


I agree with the observation of a mid lake ranger station… but… with no DR the people densities of the crowds is less than 1% of the bullfrog area and south of 25 combined. Less than 1% is also considered near zero. I do agree with moving the NPS to Antelope and save 12 minutes getting to the masses in Padre.

No gas at Dangling Rope has enjoyed a very positive default byproduct.
 
bubba said:
With DR gone, there is now a spot on the lake that offers an unspoiled place to experience the river without crowds, without the massive chaos & noise associated with wake boats and without the mayhem seen within closer proximity to fuel pumps.


My vote is a 100% absolute firm hard NO - never rebuild DR and never make fuel available except at current Marina locations. (A big shout out to Antelope for having gas $1 cheaper than Wahweap).


If you want to experience the lake in a more pure original state, midlake without DR now does this.


A single wake boat with loud speakers can ruin the calm water and calm air for everyone…


The discussion should be how to restrict the wake sector to only open channels marked by numbered buoys and require all wake enhanced platforms to go wakeless in all side canyons. Non wake boats like fishing and pontoon travel about at will.


I agree with the observation of a mid lake ranger station… but… with no DR the people densities of the crowds is less than 1% of the bullfrog area and south of 25 combined. Less than 1% is also considered near zero. I do agree with moving the NPS to Antelope and save 12 minutes getting to the masses in Padre.

No gas at Dangling Rope has enjoyed a very positive default byproduct.
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To be fair, there was already an unspoiled place on the lake (Since Hite closed) and no DR just means more of the lake that isn't used by people and resulting in less tourism who view that part of the lake as their favorite destination.

Just because there is no fuel dock there doesn't mean there won't be surf boats there. Just means the possibility of more empty gas cans getting blown into the lake by the wind.
Once people find out the lake is still open and useable, that part of the lake will still be busy. Just no ice cream for anyone.
 
Dave I. said:
resulting in less tourism
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I think you're right that there were some trips cancelled due to DR being closed. However, I also assume that the majority of trips were simply modified to remain closer to the South or North marinas. The question becomes a cost/benefit analysis, is the cost of rebuilding/maintaining DR worth the money lost from those previously mentioned cancelled trips.
 
I think DR should be open. While I understand people want solitude, there are many parts of the lake that provide that. SJ and the North do provide that, even with DR open. Once you get above Oak, things are pretty quiet with DR open. Then take into account, only 3 months of the year the lake is crowded, October is quiet almost everywhere. I will say this again, we are only talking about June, July and August...........and I could really make an argument that June isn't that crowded as well.

The argument that the lake should quiet of wakeboard boats and music is not a far argument that the drainers use??? Peace, solitude, old days and so forth.................
 
I actually have several customers that have came to get their boats out of storage and took them home because they were misinformed and there was some real confusion. Several thought that the lake was closed indefinitely because they heard DR was closed. I'm not sure if it was speculation, rumor mill cross information or what, but my take away from several people thought the lake was closed. Business has been extremely difficult and slow this year due to the lack of boaters this year.

The cost of rebuilding (or not rebuilding) goes much farther than just DR in my opinion. I think it has hurt the lake in general due to what people are thinking when they hear any part of the lake is closed. Us small businesses have really felt the burn this year

Is it partially to blame for DR being closed? I don't know. Open it up and I'll let you know next fall if business gets any better. ;)

Like I said before, I'm an outsider on this subject. Mainly because we like the solitude of the lake and go during the off season and ALWAYS go North of Bullfrog where the solitude is a staple there. As long as they are not talking about opening a marina in GHB... :P
 
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Dave I. said:
I actually have several customers that have came to get their boats out of storage and took them home because they were misinformed and there was some real confusion. Several thought that the lake was closed indefinitely because they heard DR was closed.
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And as you know, Dave, many (including us) have pulled our boats out of full-time Powell storage and boating because of the incredible uncertainty of launching at Bullfrog. Thank you for towing our boat to Denver for us in August.

The lack of clarity from the “powers that be” on boating access for the North Lake has been a travesty. It really, really chaps me that this critical issue has so little communication. It’s all rumors and I heards — simply ridiculous.
 
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Personally I absolutely hate the lack of education and courtesy of the wake boat drivers.
I think DR should be reopened so everyone can enjoy the lake but I also think that because the wake boats are so destructive, they should be limited to where the can tow or have in close proximity, a skier and\or surfer. The boat itself isn't limited but the wake boarders are. That way if somebody has a group on a wake boat they can still visit the sites in all the side canyons, they just won't be able to tow skiers and the like. This is done at my home waters on both Saguaro and Canyon Lakes near Mesa to great effect. Towing or skiing\wakeboarding is limited to certain parts of the lake. It works out very well actually. Fisherman have calm, quiet waters to do their thing and wakeboarders have their own areas to play.
Best of both worlds.
For those times I want to fish in the wake boat areas, I can't complain because I know exactly what I'm in for. And the wake boats that venture into the fishing areas tend to be just passing thru because they can't tow anything. In Canyon Lake, all boats can still get on plane, just no tow\no ski. It's an extremely favorable system for all concerned that I would HIGHLY recommend for almost any body of water.
 
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I have never been to DR. We usually stay up north of Bullfrog, but we had to go down south this year and I found that I was concerned about venturing too far from AP so we didn't make it past Last Chance out of concern for the need to get back home, since we didn't have our houseboat toy tank to extend our range. If DR had been around, we definitely would have seen more of the lake and wouldn't have had as much congestion down in the narrower sections of Padre Bay. I think it needs to be there just to spread out the lake's users.
 
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