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Show Sired by the muddy Colorado in magnificent canyon country, a great blue lake has been born in the West. It is called Lake Powell. When full, it will be 186 miles long. Its shoreline will total 1,860 miles. It formed behind Glen Canyon Dam, which is at the town of Page, Ariz. The lake begins in the northern part of that State. Most of it is in Utah. Lake Powell holds working water- water for many purposes. And one of those purposes is to provide the people of this country with the finest scenic and recreational area in the Nation. At intervals along shores of astonishing beauty will be 10 recreation centers developed by the National Park Service. Their names have a tang of the Old West: Wahweap, Lee's Ferry, Warm Creek, Rainbow Bridge, Hole- in- the- Rock, Oil Seep Bar, Hall's Crossing, Bullfrog Basin, Castle Butte, and Hite Crossing. Five of these will have marinas, four will have airstrips, seven will have complete lodging accommodations, all will have boat docks, supplies, camping sites, and picnic grounds. Work is underway on over half of these sites. Wahweap- nearest to Glen Canyon Dam- is virtually complete. All you need is a boat- or there are excursion boats for hire if you prefer. Where you go and what you do in this water wonderland is for your personal choice. You are rich with opportunity before you begin. I'd like to invite you to visit Lake Powell and especially to see that natural marvel- Rainbow Bridge. Before Lake Powell, Rainbow Bridge National Monument could be visited only by the rugged few who " packed" in. Now all of you can see it- easily. Your boat will moor to floating docks at the entrance to Rainbow Bridge Canyon. Then you take a walk on a trail along the canyon's side. You'll find the bridge undamaged by Lake Powell's waters- for even when the lake is at maximum elevation its waters can never reach the ledge upon which the bridge rests. And you can marvel at its arched and graceful beauty in the peace and quiet of its natural setting. How can I describe the sculpture and colors along Lake Powell's shores? Every time I go back, I search again for a new set of words. And they always seem inadequate. Over eons of time, wind and rain have carved the sandstone into shapes to please ten thousand eyes. The graceful, the dramatic, the grand, the fantastic. Evolution into convolution and involution. Sharp edges, round edges, blunt edges, soaring edges. Spires, cliffs, and castles in the sky. Colors like a symphony of Nature's music. Bright orange, brick red, ocher, pink, deep brown, vivid purple, granite black, mustard yellow- and a soft, pale green so delicate no artist could ever capture it with paint. page 15 |
