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 Hell Houseboat 
a lake powell houseboat adventure

(EPISODE V)
Bloody Bat Cove

 click thumbnails to see the big picture 

Morning at Skull Cove came early. Our heads ached from Wanda's libations. We wanted to get away from this place and find our last campsite early, so we could enjoy swimming and relaxing in the sun. We decided we would stop at the first good looking spot we saw as we headed back towards Bullfrog...but as Big Ed ran the engines at full throttle, heading uplake at least twice as fast as we headed downlake, we passed one good looking campsite after another. We flew past Bobcat Cove in a blur, as we grew closer to Bullfrog we grew more anxious in our demands that the boat be stopped. But Homer and Big Ed ignored our suggestions. Homer was in a frenzy of looking at the navigation map and the two of them were co-babbling in their incomprehensible twin-speak....soon Homer spotted a canyon on the map, 8 miles past Bullfrog, named Moki Canyon, promising plenty of campsites, good fishing, and Anasazi Ruins. We all knew the real reason Homer fixated on this canyon was because of his bizarre affection for a tourist trap called Moki Cave. We all knew Homer would not be fishing...

Captain Durango pointing towards a great place to dock the boat, while even more great docking sites are clearly visible behind him...

About 3 in the afternoon, with the sun starting to cast long shadows, we headed up Moki Canyon. There were many side canyons. It was very confusing.  Big Ed grew wary and now chose to slow the boat way down. Durango took over piloting and sped us down a side canyon that looked promising, eventually getting the houseboat stuck in a thicket of reeds.  Big Ed was fairly vexed, but he managed to easily get the boat turned around.

We backtracked and found the main canyon, many miles deep, we saw many good campsites, already occupied. The canyon grew narrow, very narrow, we saw a sandbar ahead that looked promising. When we got there we saw a nicer beach just around the tight bend. Big Ed managed to get the boat around the corner and aimed it at the beach to ram the pontoons on shore as we had been instructed. All of the sudden Homer pitched a hysterical fit that was an absolutely amazing tantrum to witness, it echoed off the walls, sent birds flying and fish jumping. After we anchored Homer marched off, up the canyon, not to be seen for hours. It was a major emotional crisis for him. But not his last!

We tried to make the best of the late arrival at our final campsite.  Big Ed began fishing feverishly, abandoning his store bought lures for pieces of muffins and beans from chili. The muffins worked great.  Big Ed was soon reeling in one fish after another, eventually the fishing deck turned bloody from the carnage.

This is Bloody Bat Cove, the houseboat is that white speck docked on the sandy beach. We were at the absolute dead end of Moki Canyon. This photo was taken during Jack and Durango's hike in search of the Moki Steps. We found the steps but they were a bit too steep for our tastes...

Lulu paddled off to her own private reading beach, Jack climbed a cliff to take photos, Wanda studied her mixology book, Durango floated and swam.

Durango swimming to get Lulu's boat leaving her stranded on the wrong side of the canyon...Lulu was rescued later when her screams became too loud to ignore...

The water in this dead end canyon was not as clear as the main channel. It was warmer. Swimming was not as aesthetically pleasing as Bobcat Cove. Fish entrails didn't help. When we remembered our shower water supply came from lake water, the Bloody Cove made that activity unappealing.

Big Ed's fishing was out of control, he was reeling them in from both sides of the boat...he released most of what he caught which caused us to be surrounded by a virtual veterans ward of wounded fish...

As dusk approached Durango and Jack took off to find the Moki Steps. Upon their return they were surrounded by a guardian phalanx of swooping bats cleaning the air of all flying insects. As it got darker hundreds, maybe thousands of bats appeared. We were in a protected flying-insect-free zone. The bats were so aggressive, at one point two bats battled over one of Big Ed's more edible baits. Bat bait. Big Ed began fly fishing for bats. Bat fishing. Very disturbing.

No one wanted to sleep outside this night! Except for Big Ed. He felt the bats were his friends. So, Wanda and Homer and Jack and Lulu suffered sleeping in the bunk beds, enduring the up close noise-making of Homer's failing respiratory system. Durango slept in the galley, as usual, to guard against night intruders.

Here we see another view of Big Ed fishing, well actually he is not fishing in this photo, he is trying to untangle his line...

The next morning we wanted to get around quickly, back to Bullfrog and off the houseboat. Everyone was exhausted from not sleeping due to noisy Homer. We scurried about preparing the boat, but when Big Ed went to start the engines they would not go. This set the twins into fervent mode, Homer tearing off the engine cover, Big Ed tinkering with wires. Durango read the manual. Big Ed pulled Homer away from the engines since having Homer do anything technical was disturbing to everyone. And then the engines started. It was like a Bat out of Hell back to Bullfrog. A quick check in, and then we were gone, off to catch a ferry across Lake Powell to continue our journey, off to  terrorize Jack and Lulu on a treacherous piece of ancient road called the Moki Dugway, sending Jack into near nervous collapse requiring a bag over his head to conquer his acrophobic panic. And paying him back quite adequately for sneaking up behind Durango and making a bat squeak with a flick of Durango's ear....

or float the houseboat to episode
I or II or III or  IV or V

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