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The daming/damning of the Colorado River to form Lake Powell in southern Utah
was one of the most egregious and pointless acts of destruction ever committed. Even
Barry Goldwater, who was not exactly a radical environmentalist, later
said that his vote to build Glen Canyon Dam was his greatest mistake as a Senator.
I know some people who will not go there because they feel that it would be like picnicking at
Auschwitz. But I prefer to make the best of the situation and enjoy what is left
of the flooded tributaries of the Colorado River in southern Utah.
Ann and I and three friends spent ten days one October sea kayaking in the drowned lower
part of the Escalante River, where I took this photo of Ann, and on the main Colorado.
Every day we kayaked, swam, and hiked in the desert. It's true that in the main
channel you encounter houseboats and jet skis and people whose idea of roughing it is to go without
TV. But it is possible to find solitude in the narrow side canyons where power boats can't go.
We had a great trip, and I rate Lake Powell as one of the world's top ten sea kayaking
destinations.
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