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Many of our friends are Elderhostel regulars, and we look forward to their stories and pictures whenever they return from an Elderhostel trip. "Someday," we think "when we are fully retired, we'll be able to do that!" And then Larry discovered he had a week of vacation time that had to be used by Dec. 31. With various project deadlines, he figured the first two weeks of October would be the best time to take it. Several nights of scouring the Elderhostel catalog, making a list of trips we'd both enjoy, and we were ready to make the call to Elderhostel headquarters. At this late date, chances were slim we'd get exactly what we wanted, but "Houseboating on Lake Mead", our second choice, had two places available. We snatched them up!
And then, what did our Elderhostel savvy friends say?
Echo Bay Resort was something straight out of a glossy travel magazine. Sunshine, sparkling waters. Bustling, busy people. Beautiful boats.
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 This map shows our route. The larger arrow points to our starting point at Echo Bay. We went south to Temple Bar, and then moved eastward through Gregg Basin where we pulled into Gateway Cove (1) for the night. The second night found us at Burnt Springs (2), on the third day we went as far as Separation Canyon (smaller arrow)and turned back to spend the night at Spencer tower (3). The next night found us back in Lake Mead, at Driftwood Cove(4) and the last night we were on an island off of Temple Bar (5). At night, the boats were lashed together and lines tied to pegs driven in the shore. The boats rotated dinner duty; and we ate on the decks, passing easily from one boat to the other. Meals were good, well planned and provisioned and the cooking easy.
left: view of kitchen. right: on deck dining
The boats could accomodate up to 8. The bunks had foam mattresses, and rather than hoist ourselves up and down to our assigned upper bunk, Larry pulled our mattress out onto the back deck and we slept under the stars. We were all in bed by 9:30, and awake by 5. The kitchen crew soon had the coffee perking, and by 6 we were ready to push off. We had a long day of motoring ahead of us. A Little Geography lessonWhen continental plates collide one side will crumple, creating mountains, while the other plate slides underneath, lifting its partner even higher. Millions of years ago this same thing happened in the Lake Mead area; the Colorado Plateau was pushed up by the colliding plate which became the "Basin and Range" landscape that surrounds Lake Mead. There are later episodes of geologic history in the Grand Canyon, of course, but this is the one that caught my fancy, because the transition of the landscape from the Lake region and the Colorado Plateau is abrupt. (It happens before one actually enters the Grand Canyon National Park , however). 
Suddenly we were surrounded by mesas. The scenery we now passed through was incredible. Mile after mile, and around each bend in the river we were presented with a new vista more beautiful than the one before. We were in the Grand Canyon 2 days, going as far as Separation Canyon. The reason we were able to do this at all had to do with the high water level in Lake Mead, due to heavier than usual rainfall in the catch area. We passed through groves of drowned trees. We were able to beach in places usually unbeachable. We spent half a day at Separation Canyon. Many of the group took a 'little hike" up into the canyon, pausing to observe the plaque dedicated to the Howeland Brothers and William Dunn.
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 A Little History LessonThe rapids at Separation Canyon were the worst the group had encountered. 3 of the men, convinced that these rapids were unpassable, argued that the mission should be abandoned and the group should climb out of the canyon and beg help from friendly settlers. Powell and the remaining men felt that with careful study, they could surmount these rapids as they had the others.  After a full day and night of discussion, Powell agreed to let the three men leave. There were tears on both sides for each felt the other group was doomed. Howeland carried a duplicate log of the expedition with him in case the main party did not make it out of the canyon. They said their good-byes and the three men began their climb, never to be seen again.Powell and his men did navigate the separation rapids successfully, and were surprised to discover these were the last rapids: the next day they left the Grand Canyon behind them and were in the range and basin area where they were befriended by Mormon settlers. What happened to the Howland brothers and William Dunn? Some say they were lynched by Indians, seeking revenge for the rape of some Indian women by miners. New evidence suggests that their execution was connected in some way with the Mountain Meadow Massacre.
I saw no wildlife while in the Grand Canyon. In Lake Mead we saw Western Grebe and Coots, quite tame - they came swimming up to the houseboats to beg for scraps of bread. We obliged. We also saw herons and ducks.   | ||
And now, a small astronomy lesson -
Larry took us up onto the roof of the houseboat. "Look for the spout of the teapot" he said, pointing to Sagittarius. That was easy. And to the right of the spout was a star cluster, a feature we could never see in Pittsburgh. There was another star cluster above the teapot and another above the handle. A very rich part of the sky.Then we moved our binoculars to Pegasus - a rectangle marked by 4 bright stars. Below it was the constellation of Andromeda. And another star cluster there. Not so easy, I tried and tried, but never found it. And when I lowered my binoculars in frustration, I was rewarded with a shooting star! And another, and another! | ||
My favorite mooring was at Driftwood Cove. This is a small arm of Lake Mead where driftwood is driven up on shore by the action of wind and waves. The water is bath water warm. We were able to swim; with the air a little brisk, we stayed and stayed. There are wild burros in the area, we climbed a hill to see them but they were too far away for photography, and blended in with the rocks and bushes perfectly. 
We gathered driftwood for a camp fire the next night, and some of our group who had driven to Echo Bay selected choice pieces of driftwood to decorate their gardens. I knew this was not practical for a flight back to Pittsburgh, but scanned the driftwood anyway. And found my treasure, my Lake Mead Souvenir.There, bobbing among the driftwood, was a little turtle! No, not a real one, a little plastic toy, probably swept off some other boat. We have a turtle collection at home, this would fit in nicely.
After a night at Driftwood Cove, we headed out into the lake. One of the boats ran out of gas, and we lost some time going to Temple Bar to send a launch with gas after him. The other boat developed engine trouble. We decided we'd spend the night on an island off of Temple Bar while these problems were attended to.
Coming across our side, the waves caused the boats to jostle and crash into each other. It was a fearsome din! We were not in any danger (although one woman on the outer boat kept asking, "Are we safe? Will we be OK?") but it sounded terrible. Those of us who slept on deck bore the brunt of the noise.  The next morning we turned the boats towards Echo Bay. We were bucking the same waves that had kept us awake most of the night, and the going was slow. We were several hours late in arriving at the dock, and one of our people had already missed his plane. "There's always another" he shrugged, philosophically.We bid farewell to our new found friends. It had been a wonderful experience and all the worries of my Pittsburgh friends were for naught. The minimal privacy, the sharing of a bathroom - we quickly adjusted to that. We were all of a like mind and very compatible. Of the 7 on our boat, 4 were radio hams! All were avid travelers, and all were on-line. We'd keep in touch and maybe, some day, on some other Elderhostel adventure ---
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I must admit they put some worries on my mind as we flew to Las Vegas, rented a car and motored to Echo Bay on Lake Mead. Was I headed for a new adventure, something completely different and wonderful, or would it be "The Trip From Hell"?
