September 8-16, 1990: Walk Like Anasazi, Lake Powell, Utah (by Mike)

One of many trip reports under the SilGro home page for Alan Silverstein and Cathie Grow.
Email me at ajs@frii.com.
Last update: July 26, 2024
(Previous trip report: 1990_0908-16_LakePowell_Alan.htm)

Originally from email:

From: Michael Berry 
Subject: Walk Like Anasazi, Lake Powell, Utah
Date: 8 Sep 90

(Mike's humorous take on my more serious report.)

W A L K  L I K E  A N A S A Z I

Lake Powell Adventure Log, 1990, Michael Berry
(original co-owner of Houseboat Wildwind 1 with me, Alan Silverstein) (edited/reformatted)

Saturday, Sep 8: The long drive [to Bullfrog Marina, Lake Powell, Utah] is over at last!!! Wait! Where is the lake? Oh, there it is, down a full 75' from its highest point. OK I'm the captain, where's the boat? Better launch the small boat to find the big boat. Sure enough, on buoy 501 where it belongs. Prepare to be boarded! It is in great shape, even both motors run. Start cruising through the buoy field looking for my crew. Oh, there they are on the radio. You want me to drive this where? Sure, can't you find a smaller canyon? BTW how do I get there?

Quote of the Day: Alan: "See that speedboat? Follow it in and you'll find us."

I only see roughly two dozen speedboats, no problem, follow the closest one. Run houseboat up on shoal. Hope others don't notice. Use full power to try to bring Valdez off shoal. Look for oil slick, none found. Continue nonchalantly.

Anchor houseboat in compact-boat-only parking zone. Requisition wheeled dolly. Load with food/gear. Move to houseboat. Empty. Repeat about two dozen times. Who brought all this stuff? Guilty party to be keel hauled later as time allows.

Drive houseboat in large S-turns down to Annies Canyon. Park in wonderful spot. Crew bitching about weight of anchors. Problem to be solved tomorrow.

Sunday, Sep 9: Start generator. Start coffee pot. Wait. Generator dies, won't restart. Crew fights over existing coffee, losers grumble.

Perry Scott does Vulcan mind-meld with generator, says "Choke cable knob feels pain." Greatest mechanical minds on board ponder best solution to conundrum de jour. Duct tape solution seems to have been tried several times before with tell-tale signs of epoxy. Captain decides that this kludge is ready for the hose clamp panacea. A short 1.5 hours later all engineers on board are fondling the choke.

Move houseboat. Crew is really tired of anchors now. Discussion of frangible JATO-assist anchor system formally begins. Concept seems elegantly simple. Argument begins about how large a cache de poudre will be placed in the bore and who will hold the anchor line for the alpha test. Idea shelved. New twist is later presented by the Captain that involves using rifled bores to fire Narwhal tusks into sandstone roofs of soundcaves. Idea is promptly shot down on two fronts: Sand will cover roof of houseboat, and if lake level was to drop dramatically houseboat would be left hanging out of water. Anchor detail seems to be here to stay.

First disagreement of trip: 1st Mate [that was me, Alan] likes dish towel to be hung nicely on stove handle so it can dry out; Captain likes to leave towel in shapeless damp heap on counter so he can see what has grown there in the am. Captain feeling like a gentleman, yields to his crew's wishes.

Quotes of the day: Gwen Roe: "It's good we brought so much food. It gives people something to do."

Perry: "Hey! Check out that satellite! It's right next to that star!" [which of the billions and billions of stars? - ed]

Monday, Sep 10: A really big day on the lake for Amateur Operators and fisherman. Lies before damn lies.

Bill Vodall gets a nibble. Bill gets a bite. Bill fights a mighty squalus before finally landing the monster on the back swim deck. Bill seems pent on revenge towards this fish. Fish is tortured with a stringer and and paint bucket. Final disposition of stripped bass is unknown.

Later, Bill rigs up long range communications device with sawblade, Speak-n-Spell mop handle and duct tape. E&F layers of Ionosphere separate leaving the bands wide open. Everything after this point was blurry but here are portions of the Captains log:

Bill works Australia on 10M

Alan works Daniel in Alaska

Perry works coffee pot on 110

Val Scott works rubber band on her novel

Gwen works dorsal and ventral tan lines of demarcation

Mike works Texas toast with Zed Spread.

This day was a lot of work -- I thought vacations were supposed to be fun? All in all, a fine day for ham radio. Code seems to be gaining popularity.

Quote of the day: Val: "If it were an animal cracker, it would have bit you."

Tuesday, Sep 11: Weather: Clear, calm, highs in the 100's. The usual.

Move houseboat to "slope hike". All crew members jump ship like so many mice. Scramble up slope. Only the most Motivated Fanatical Walkers make it to the "top." Others are happy to be on shore even though it won't stop rocking either. With some reluctance, houseboat is moved to yet another location. It is with the utmost of concern for safety that I relate the following story to you:

At 17 hundred hours we anchored the houseboat. At 19 hundred hours the Captain's Log was spotted in the toilet (head) although the Captain claims to have no knowledge as to how it got there. The Captain also said that he was both unable and unwilling to retrieve the log and suggested that it might actually be the Third Mate's Log. When questioned, several other crew members independently verified that the Third Mate was on the top deck during the two hours getting drunk. Being unable to retrieve the log, the only choice that remained was to jettison the log using the flapper valve. A new log was begun at 20 hundred hours. This case remains unsolved.

Quotes of the day: Mikee: "Don't ever do that to me again!... unless you mean it."

"We save these." [someone else asks why] "Inventory."

Wednesday, Sep 12: Time to move houseboat again, this time in the name of shade. Anchors stowed, etc. boat under way. A dauntless crew of frail humans attempts the trip to Dangling Rope Marina in small boat to retrieve ice and view Rainbow Bridge. Rumors abound that the bridge is actually constructed of styrofoam and is a fake. Pictures taken will later be analyzed in much finer detail.

First Mate and Captain disagree about where to park houseboat. The Captain uses his helm veto power to choose his spot. Unbeknownst to the Captain, the mate sequesters his beer and "augments" it with ingredients other than hops, malt or yeast. He allegedly sneers while committing the deed. Replaces beverage without the Captains knowledge. Captain notices the added body of the beverage, assumes it is warm because it has been in the sun. Situation was resolved as win-win.

Thursday, Sep 13: Slept all day. No log entries.

Friday, Sep 14:

Defiance House is very defiant this trip and eludes our discovery.

Saturday, Sep 15:

Reached EOT (End Of Trip.) Prepare to cease fun. Cease fun now.

(Next trip report: 1990_1009_SteamboatSprings.htm)