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Wading Up A Slot Canyon |
LAKE POWELL - SPRING 2010 Launch: Wahweap Marina
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LOTS OF SLOTS
A Lifetime of Slots - Lake Powell
-----The
term slots conjure up different meanings for different people, or for different
circumstances. There are slots in Vegas, mail slots, coin slots, time slots,
slots between airfoils to facilitate smooth flying, a slot in an offensive line
in football, between sails on a sailboat, even another name for a socket in
a computer. But for hikers at Lake Powell, there is but one definition - a twisting,
winding narrow canyon - a slot canyon.
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Bill (left) and El (right) Heading
Up a Slot - Some (middle) Don't See Much Light
-----Lake
Powell had 408,966 visitors in August, 2009 - more than the populations of Honolulu,
Miami, Oakland, or St. Paul, MN. On this visit in June, 2010 we thought we saw
more houseboats and small boats than ever before. For the first time, it became
difficult to find a 'camping' beach for an evening. However, all one needs to
do to find solitude is bring along some adventurous kids or grandkids.
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Or An Adventurous Friend (Chris) Trying to Keep Up With Grandkid Ty
-----What?
Kids make for solitude? You bet. If they haven't already mentioned the magic
word to you, suggest it to them. Magic word? Yep - Slots! Nope, you aren't leading
them astray into the dark world of gambling - but into the dark world of twisting
canyons and outdoor exploration.
Sometimes the entrance to the slot is flooded by lake water, but on a hot summer
day this simply can be a nice cooling off from the busy world of sun, lake and
boats to the silence of dark rock and canyon.
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Ami Cooling Off; Chris and Bill Wading Up a Slot
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Ami Climbing Through a Slot; Pop in a Slot
-----Many
of the canyons leading up from the lake have slots since either the Navajo or
Entrada sandstones are often at water level, and these formations are resistant
to erosion. The canyon-cutting stream, usually ephemeral, slices vertically
downward along fractures, and then meanders as it finds weakness within the
sandstone.
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Life is an Ephemeral Meander, Sometimes with Potholes, As Kids Discover, Often With Joy
-----Some slots are wide enough for a boat to cruise through. We have reached places so narrow that someone must stand at the bow and another on the stern to fend off the canyon walls on the tight turns.
Getting Tight
(06/10)e
