When Aramark, the Lake Powell concessionaire we rented our houseboat from, surveyed users about amenities they wanted on boats, guess what came up first? Not air conditioning (which despite temperatures in the 90s we never had to use). Water slide. Here are some photos to show you why, plus a few more scenics.

We're back on land and missing Lake Powell. Here are a few quick photos, more to come about the place, the people and, whoa, the weather! Gorgeous most of the time, and wild at other times!

Here's more about the storm!Yesterday, day's end. We're back from Rainbow Bridge, a stop at Dangling Rope Marina,  fishing (in vain), tubing (much  more successful) and water skiing (I finally got up,  not on the mono ski but on the kid's skis, a little short, but hard to balance but illustrating dramatically that I am a  two-ski water skier.  I tried about 20 times to get

As part of the continuing vagaries of this trip, it is 4 p.m. Arizona time.We are actually in the Utah stretch of Lake Powell but the whole lake just sticks to Arizona time to keep simpler.We are  loving it here, despite the cranky generator on the house boat which keeps kicking out, most recently with what I considered an ominous amount of thumping.  This after Aramark, the concessionaire

So, what was the scariest moment of canyoneering for this acrophobe?The drive to our canyoneering spot,Yankee Doodle Dandy, in the Dixie National Forest.            Our guide casually palms the wheel while drinking coffee as he drives our van up a gravel road  that's nothing but a series of hairpin curves up a mountain.. The back  of the van fishtails gently;

We're moseying on down toward Lake Powell and stopping in Zion for some canyoneering and sunset rim hikes. We spent this morning canyoneering Yankee Doodle, a series of slot canyons in the Dixie National Forest near Zion National Park. A little rappelling, a little scrambling, a little slogging through mud and a lot of fun! Walls are a little higher, water's a little deeper and mud's a little thicker

Las Vegas is our gateway to Lake Powell, so we spend a day-and-a-half there. If you're 10, or traveling with a 10-year-old, Vegas is irresistable.In 36 hours we: did the Rim-Runner, bumper cars and arcade games at Circus-Circus. Then we lounged by the Four Seasons garden pool, moved next door to the Mandalay Bay to play in its wave pool and float in its lazy river. Then it was dinner under a beautiful--but

What's under Lake Powell's waters? Here's a photo of a world that was. Gregory Butte, before Lake Powell ...And in Lake Powell today ...Gregory Butte's elevation is 4600 feet; Lake Powell right now is at 3631 and dropping. As the lake's levels drop, more of what used to be emerges. By next spring, we should be able to see many of Glen Canyon's cultural and natural wonders that are at higher elevations

Lake Powell is the lake rising up out of the desert. It is also a lake that drowned a canyon of rare beauty.I asked the Glen Canyon Institute for a little background on the dam. Here's what they told me:In 1956 the Congress was debating the Colorado River Storage Project act (CRSP) to authorize the contractions of 13 or so large dams in the upper  basin states of Colorado, New Mexico,