Lake Powell...the event that was!!

[gcarter]

This is an unbelievable place to go boating. We're so glad we went. It could be a once in a lifetime experience. Yeller, thank you for the ride!:)
The amenities at the lodge were outstanding. The dining room overlooks Wahweap Bay...what a way to start a day.
The temp was in the high 90's...about 10* cooler than Vegas. The water temp was in the low 70's.
The sights and landscapes were unbelievable.
I think the next time, I'd like to go in early October. It would be much cooler, the crowds would be gone, and the water temps would still be up.
Here are a few pics...

[farmer tx]

We got home about 2:00 am. 12 hour drive on the dot,788 miles. Man we had a great time. Nice resort,great lake that goes on for miles,great weather, great folks out west. It was nice to put some faces with some of the people we have met through this web site. I would make that drive anytime to be on a body of water like Powell. We will be back.

Mark & Polly

[Lenny]

:( :( :( Got over the FLU finally. HAD to get the kitchen/laundry and twin baths in for the Granite people. Should have been done on Tuesday night, travelled on Wednesday. Ended up getting finished on Saturday morning (instead of Tuesday) just in time for the granite folks. :( The Flu took me out for 3 days, man, was this sad :(. Planned all year for it and blew it. The couple I am working for are from Atlanta, Georgia, and they flew up for this installation ordeal in their new Summer home on Saturna Island.

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

What a cluster#$@% :(

Only bright side is I went out in the boat on Saturday afternoon/evening, all day Sunday and what will be this afternoon once again. :)

90+ degrees here too. Three weeks of cloudless weather ahead.

Sorry folks. Looks like I missed a LOT of FUN. Don C, how fast does she go ?

[gcarter]

We all missed seeing you Lenny.
We really enjoyed meeting Yeller, Thriller and their families.

[boldts]

Hey, whats the lake like in May? Might loose a few regulars from our normal attendance at AOTH in KY, but also might convince folks who have never been West of the Missippi to hook their boats up and make a week of it to see a place they've never been to. Biggest issue I see would be school for families with children that time of year but that has always been an issue even holding our gathering in KY. Hummmmmm the wheels are turning and I love to travel when possible.

Can't wait to see more pictures when available.

[Trueser]

We had a blast!!!!!

27 hour drive home. 2 plus hour delay in Denver Sunday weekend traffic.

I would do it again for sure.

Lenny I was thinking you would be sitting at the ramp with a 12 pack waiting for us. We missed you!

I have over 500 pictures. I will see if I can get them on a DVD and mail it to everyone that was there. Email me your address at Trueser@comcast.net

here are a couple of Pictures.

Look who's in the water:confused:

[Trueser]

More Pictures.

[gcarter]

Look who's in the water:confused:

Me and Farmer Tex for sure!!:yes:

Scott, the problem with May is the water temp is probably 50*!!!!!!!
Remember, this is snow melt from the Rockies!!

[DonCig]

Got home at 8:30 p.m., 642 miles and it takes 11-13 hours drive time from Denver depending if you stop to smell the Roses!

1. This has become my favorite destination lake to go boating on. It will only match up with certain personality profiles, but with mine it is a hit! If you like the impact of your psyche of the Great Southwqest, then this place is for you.
2. Many thanks to Rick S, his wife and two special kids, they put on a great event. Hello Elizabeth! (Their youngest daughter)
3. You will never fully comprehend the size and magnitude of this lake unless you boat on the ocean or the Great Lakes. On Sunday my son and I took a round trip run of approx. 200 miles, all after 1:30 p.m, but before sunset. Think about that for a while.
4. This huge lake offer three distinct profiles.
A. Rough Water, Lake of The Ozarks weekend style that makes you say wow, that was a big one! See picture # 408
B. Normal water from the daytime ski boat traffic that keeps you running in the comfortable 30-40 mph range.
C. Late afternoon and early morning water, everbody has gone home or they are still in bed. Hammer to the peddel territory that makes you grin form ear to ear! Wind chop rules.
5. Know your cruise and WOT mpg before you go to this lake. I was expecting 2.5-3 mpg from my new engine, what I recieved was 3.66 and 3.87 mpg on a 200 mile run one afternoon. All 200 miles posted after 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon. I only made it to Hall's crossing before turning around and heading back to beat sunset (96 miles each way for a total of 192 miles). If I had known that we would average over 50 mph on the return run I would have gone all the way to Bullfrog Marina to make it a major afternoon endurance run.
6. The main red/green channel buyos are a lot easier to see when you are running at 60-80 mph versus 30-40 mph. Remember that the next time that you are racing the sun back to the Waheep Marina.
7. When you put a new engine in a boat, it is always a good idea to carry a full toolbox all weekend rather than only on the first day on the water. Lesson learned. I spent and hour on Saturday morning wishing that I had brought a 1/2" open end tappet wrench.
8. If you do not have a map, you had better be carryingt a GPS of the Lake, and better yet carry both. Also please take some spare batteries. I have some knowledge of some people that spent three days lost and without assistance on this huge lake by ignoring these points.
9. I would always carry a VHS radio on Lake Powell, not for emergency service, but for all the youg girl trash talk that occurs on the radio. I was trying to track down Rick S; but all I received were young female offers to come and save me!
10. This is a destination resort, which is a polite way of saying that you should stay awhile. To do this Lake justice in the future, I would jointly rent a houseboat in the future and make a base camp and then spend a week on the water fully exploring the various entertainment activities that this lake affords.
11. You can never drink enough water at this lake. And yes it is a "Dry Heat".
12. They have a Super Wal-Mart right up the way from the Waheep resort.
13. I prefer the southern Arizona side of the lake to the far northern Utah side of the Lake.
14. Plainview TX, Jalapeno Popcorn will always get you free cocktails at the Wahweep bar!
15. If you have never been Caribou hunting in Alaska, you may never see as many stars as you will see when camping out at Lake Powell.
16. I have found that our Canadian brothers to the North are all Calss acts, thanks for coming.
17. For thise that are contemplating a trip to Lake Powell, I will offer some free advice; the first week of June or the forst week of October, you can not go wrong.
18. And last some pictures to carry on the memories!

If you see a picture that you like, write down the number and send me an email for a copy:

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[patolucas962000]

It was very awesome to cruise the lake with fellow donzian's. I'm sure Rick will be adding to the thread but he took off this morning to meet up with Glen and Steve at Lake Havasu. I'm sure he'll be making some exciting passes without having to worry about the family being ejected from their seats :boat:
The answer to how the lake is in May (besides the water being cold - Rick wears a wetsuit) is that the weather is very unpredictable and the wind can be very nasty (ever experienced body sandblasting?), just not good. I would recommend that September and October are nice times to go, definitely not as hot as late June and July.
We are very appreciative of everyone that traveled great distances to join the fun! We really enjoyed the time spent with everyone! I think pet lizards are in the future for the Strones family, :tongue: .
It will be very cool to plan this again and get more to join the group next time.
Also, has anyone seen Rick's map? It's laminated and he has no idea where it could be. Just thought I'd check to see if anyone came across it at some point. :bonk:
Once our pictures are developed (yes, I know need to move up to the next generation - digital - saving for the SLR) we will get them posted. :convertib

Take care - Patti, Kaelan and Elizabeth....
patolucas96@hotmail.com

[patolucas962000]

Just some pic's...

just a "little" difficult to keep everyone in one picture - displaying us all cruising together.

[patolucas962000]

when their not runnin' around

their hiding in the "weeds"!

[patolucas962000]

just some "odds" and "ends"....

[RickSE]

Well............. I'm finally home for good; Donzi Week is over for me. I left Glen, Mike and Steve in Havasu last night around 7 pm. Waking up Tuesday morning I got dressed for work and then said aaaa-the-heck-with-it, hooked up the boat and took off for Havasu, arriving by 11am to meet everyone at the ramp.

This entire event was incredible. I really appreciate everyone coming out and traveling such long distances.

For us, we pulled in around 5pm Wed. evening to find the majority of the lake draped in smoke from a fire up near the Grand Canyon. We found FarmerTX and Trueser pretty quick and proceeded to compare boats and chat about the lake since they'd already been on the water that day. The next day we woke up to clear skies and hit the water, meeting up with Fegettes in his Blackhawk about an hour later and then headed up lake. After running for most of the day we found Yeller bobbing in the channel on our way back in. After finally pulling out for the evening we proceeded to run into members left and right as people showed up, GCarter, Verdugo and Don, with Thriller showing up later that night. After having a meeting and diner we established a plan for the next day.

Friday we woke to the rumble of Don's new motor in the parking lot and tried to help Steve fix an exhaust leak with what parts we could find. After gassing up we all headed to the ramp together. It was a sight to see, in a sea of houseboats, cruisers and runabouts people soon discovered that 8 beautiful Donzi's were here to make a statement on Lake Powell. We idled out into the bay and laid on the throttles to head up lake and into West Canyon. After stopping at the first marina for a head count I soon realized we were missing one, Verdugo and the 16, where did he go???? I turned around and eventually found him near our start point. I soon discovered that Verdugo and his wife were Donzi troopers and were here to stay; he'd had some motor popping issues but had decided to hang in there and was trying to follow us up the lake. By the time I found them the motor was fine and they proceeded to follow me back to the others. With everyone accounted for we then headed out again rumbling through the no-wake zone at Antelope Marina then back on the throttles. After another stop and a head count of 8 we made a hard right to head up lake. At the next stop I took another head count and once again we were back down to 7, all right where did Verdugo go again???? I turned around and headed all the way back to the last stop with no sign of the little 16. I then shot back to the others worried that we had lost one of our most enthusiastic members, only to find the 16 bobbing with the others when I returned. Apparently running in the back of the pack he followed a houseboat through a short cut into another bay and looped around an island on the other side where I could not see him. Back to 8 we headed into West canyon and rafted up in the shade next to a 200’ cliff wall after Don tied off in a rock slot. We chilled here for quite some time while the kids swam to an island and my daughter caught her buddy for the day a small sand lizard. After getting washed loose from the wall by another boat we all scrambled loose and headed out of the canyon on our way to Dangling Rope Marina for gas and ice cream. The goal for the day was to go on to Rainbow Bridge but after Trueser tracked us down after picking up friends and going to Rainbow himself we scrapped the idea heading his warnings that it was a long hot walk. Since it was already about 5pm we were left with only one thing to do, a 50-mile run back to the hotel. My daughter still grasping her lizard proceeded to explain to her buddy the entire way back that "it's ok little buddy it's just a boat and it bounces". Her little buddy made it all the way back and now has a new home near the hotel. Friday was a long day, after pulling out near dusk we dispersed until the next morning.

Saturday morning we woke to a 9th boat, my old 18 was up for the day. Back to 8 though since Thriller stayed behind with family we headed up lake to a beach where my buddies were camping. Leaving Wahweap we switched things up a little, Trueser's son jumped in Verdugo's driver seat, my wife jumped in Fegettes' Blackhawk and Verdugo's wife in my boat; the lizard stayed on the beach. Just prior to entering the main channel I spotted a tour boat and tried to give a signal of big waves ahead, apparently no one saw the signal though since I then proceeded to see the keel of everyone’s boat as they flew through the air. First one then two then three in the air at one point. Everyone landed safely than we went on. On this day every time I turned around the little 16 was there with Matt at the wheel and Verdugo in the back seat hanging onto a rope tied to the dash. All I kept hearing was “he’s crazy….. he’s crazy”. We found my friends, pulled up to the beach, set up some shade and proceeded to chill for the rest of the day. I talked to my buddy later who said he was out looking for us when he heard this incredible noise coming up the lake and into the bay. The incredible noise was the Donzi wolf pack. I took the owner of my old 18 out in his first ride in a 22 and Yeller's boat had its turn at being piloted by a few people. I believe Mark is now convinced that all new 22's suck, but this is a story for another post. After chilling for most of the day we all eventually ended up back at the hotel and headed out for another nice diner together at the Dam Bar & Grill.

Sunday we awoke to find Verdugo's 16 hooked to Yeller's truck, thinking Yeller had given up on his 22 and arranged a trade the night before, only to find out it was the work of some 2am pranksters. Some said their goodbyes, Trueser had left sometime during the morning, FarmerTX and Verdugo departed and Don reappeared after a night of camping on the beach. We were now down to 5. Thriller, Fegettes, Yeller and my clan hung on the beach for a while and then headed out to cruise Wahweap Bay one last time. Don reappeared on the water but than headed off into the distance for his run up lake. We floated, swam, talked and then pulled out to say our goodbyes. We headed home while Fegettes headed to Havasu to be joined later by Thriller and Yeller and then myself on Tues.

I have so many good memories from this trip and every night I lay down with a big grin on my face. My trips to Powell will never be the same; I'll always be looking over my shoulder searching for the other Donzi's that I wish were there. Maybe another day or another year, I'm always here if someone is over this way. I believe we will plan something next year but we'll see on the timing. Our first trip up is usually in May, the week before Memorial Day. The weather the last few years has been great in May and the water is usually OK, in the upper 60's. Our last trip is typically in early to mid October with cool air and warm water. The other option we discusses is a rotating west coast meet changing lakes every year, Powell, Tahoe, Shasta, etc.

[DonCig]

Rick, I have not had time to reach you since getting back, but on Sunday afternoon my son and I made the decision to go it alone with our GPS and VHF radio and head up the lake. We left around 2:00 pm and pulled into Halls Gas Dock at 6:00 pm, a 4 hour ride. 96 miles up the lake and sittting on 12 gallons of gas. We averaged 3.66 mpg on the way up. I looked at my son and said you know, it gets dark around 8:30, so lets put the medal to the pedal on the way back. The gas dock guy at Hall's asked us to do a fly by; he said they do not get a lot of power boats up that far north. We obliged him as any Donzi owner would do.
We headed out of Hall's at 6:25 p.m. and we covered the return 96 mile trip in under 2 hours, house boats and all. We passed by three "Park Ranger Boats" at a clip that I am sure they noticed. But on a Sunday afternoon on light chop water, they smiled and waved from their 450hp outboard Whalers. At times we were able to run at 76 mph, but most of the time we kept it pegged at 4,000 rpm good for 60mph. After 80 miles on the return, I turned to my son and said, take over it's your turn. My neck, back, throttle hand and head were tired after a solid 170 mile run. He said dad, understand I am only comfortable driving it up to 40 mph, and told him that was fine. I needed a smooth cruise home the last 16 miles. I shot one of the nicest videos on the last 15 miles coming in to Wahweep with my son driving and the sun setting. I have sent a copy of the video to VanAlstine and asked himn to post it with this thread.
Needless to say, the new engine is broken in and the memories are implanted for the rest of my life. The most amazing thing was that we averaged 3.66 mpg on the way up with the tabs down and running at 3,000 to 3,500 rpm. Then we averaged 3.88 mpg on the run back with no tabs and the boat skipping off the top of the waves. That makes my 40 gallon tank good for a run of at least 140 miles before looking for the gas dock.
This was the nicest Donzi event that I have enjoyed to date and I look foward to a future October evebt. I agree that we shoud set up a western rotational schedule between Powell, Tahoe and Shasta or something along that line. It was nice of the three boats from California to join us.
Thanks to all for coming and I will be sending out picture CD's next week.
Don

[RickSE]

Don, could we convince you to come over later this summer, Sept. or Oct., for a camp trip? Sorry I bailed out on you Saturday night for the camp night. Sounds like you two had a fun ride. One of the things I really enjoy about Powell is the ability to just take off and run for long periods of time.

[yeller]

Well I finally made it home. As said earlier, I went to Havasu after Powell. Not at all like the horror stories that were posted in the original thread....don't you agree Rick. :yes: Although I'm sure long weekends could be scary. Definitely worth checking out if you like hanging out with other go-fasts. After Havasu, we went to the Sacramento River Delta, but didn't like the looks of the boating so we headed to Shasta for a couple days. After that we went to Klamath Falls (OR). I'd never been to that lake but it looked good on the map. I couldn't figure out why there were almost no boats around. After gassing up and getting ready to launch, I asked a local if there were any hazards to worry about. "Lots", he said, "average depth of the lake is 8 feet". :eek!: I almost launched in the largest mud puddle in Oregon!!! :eek!: So we packed it up and headed to Portland to cruise the riverways. Beautiful weather when we arrived, but the next day was crap! So we left and spent the next 2 days doing a 6hr drive home as the wife had to stop at every Mall north of Portland. :garfield:

Anyway...Powell was AWESOME!! Definitely want to head back. Bobi and I were saying we wanted to come back even before we had made it to the lake. That area truly is amazing. Pictures do not do it justice. The little canyon arms are incredible. I was reading 200' deep in spots that were less than 30' wide.

Bobi and I can't say enough about how much we enjoyed everyone’s company. Really hope we can all meet again sometime. :wavey:

I did learn a few things while there:

1) I learnt Mr. and Mrs. Carter are one of the nicest couples you'll ever meet. It was a pleasure having them aboard. George also discovered that if your noodle is big enough, it'll keep you afloat.
2) I learnt Matt is downright crazy behind the wheel!!! Garcia learnt that a 16 is capable of spending more time in the air than in the water!
3) I learnt Mark tends to seize up in any water below body temperature. I learnt this is not indicative of all Texans. Steve and Melinda managed just fine. :biggrin:
4) I learnt Don loves to drive his boat.....fast! The guy never stopped. We would all be chillin' and Don would be buzzin' back and forth like he was herding the cattle or something.
5) I'd like to say I learnt Rick loves Lake Powell and his boat, but we all knew that one already. I did learn Rick has one clean boat! I never cared for the SE graphics until seeing one in person. I sure do like em' now! :shades: Like the saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover"..... "Don't judge a boat by a picture".
6) I learnt from Mike (Trueser) that although color matched hardware is not stock...it looks damn good!
7) I learnt Mike (Thriller) can go fast...with sunglasses on.
8) I learnt not to jump into the water...with sunglasses on. Somewhere on the bottom of Powell is a $180 pair of glasses. :boggled:
9) I learnt I do not know how to tie an anchor knot. :bonk:

I didn't learn anything from Lenny.......I heard he had a cold and couldn't make it. :wink: :wink: :biggrin:

Something everyone learnt:
Not all Donzis can be driven without tabs.


We had a great time. We'd definately be in for another meet next year.....at Powell or ???. Just name the time and place! :yes:

[RickSE]

Can anyone burn an analog tape to DVD or a file? I have a short tape of everyone running out of Dangling Rope Marina but have no way to get it to digital or a file. I'll send someone a copy of the tape if thay can burn it or get it on the net.

Also I tried posting pictures in the photo section but if fails every time. Anyone else having this problem?

Glad you made it home safe Glen & Bobi. We really had fun running and visiting with you. I'll never forget coming around the corner and seeing that pretty yellow boat sitting in the channel. I knew it was you right away.

[RickSE]

Here's a few from Verdugo. Most of you should get these in the mail.

We're going up again this weekend if anyone wants to come along. Its gonna suck without you guys there.:(

Members in order of appearance.
Trueser; Us; FarmerTX & Feggetes; Verdugo; FarmerTX
Out Verdugo's backside w/Trueser or FarmerTX, DonCig & Yeller; almost everyone in the shade; DonCig; Yeller & GCarter; Rob T.
Verdugo, Matt and Verdugo's look of the day:embarasse ; Thriller & Verdugo; Thriller & Fegettes; everyone again; "The Man" Verdugo

Thanks for the pictures Verdugo, we love them.

[gcarter]

Heading back to Vegas, we travelled along the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Here are a few pics of our trip;
1) From the South of the Colorado Gorge, with the North Rim fire that made the news for a few days in the background.
2) The Navajo Bridge was built sometime in the '20's. This bridge is visible from near the North Rim Lodge about 40 miles away. Looking below, you can see some cayaks in the distance and their supply rafts in the foreground, all about 500' down.
3) Finally, a view to the East from the navajo Bridge back towards Powell.

The sheer majesty of this area is overwhelming. I'd go again in a flash.

[RickSE]

So we were sitting in Navajo Canyon last Saturday talking with some new people we'd just met. There was a guy there with a pretty nice 21' Advantage and he says, "Nice boat..... you know there was a bunch of these Donzi boats here a few weeks ago......it was pretty cool." I just kinda smiled and said "yes I know and it was cool". :yes:

[DonCig]

Like these?

[DonCig]

I finally learned how to use Microsoft Movie Maker.
Please let me know if you can play these files.

Thanks,

Don

[Donziweasel]

Next time, I am in. Been before on a 78 Ft houseboat. It took 2 days to get up the San Juan arm where we stayed for a week. One of the most amazing trips of my life.