Deep Blue : There's plenty of water to go around at Lake Powell

BULLFROG — The parking areas were full, houseboats could be seen coming and leaving along the main channel, boats were lining up for fuel and ice was being sold as fast as last-day lottery tickets.

Nowhere was there talk of a dry lake bed. Those rumors have long evaporated.

Proof lies in the fact that visitation to Lake Powell is up. Numbers are not yet up to predrought years prior to 1999, but up over counts both in 2005 and 2006.

There is, as one boat owner said as he worked to retrieve his craft, "Plenty of water to go and do whatever you want."

The current level is higher than prerunoff predictions, but it is still 94 feet below the full mark. On the positive side, there's still several hundred feet of water in the main channel and in adjoining canyons.

The lake is still a deep blue and the rock cliffs still rise from the water's edge, launch ramps run into the water and people scurry about in flip-flops and shorts to load and launch as quickly as possible.

A few years back when the lake was lower, rumors spread that the lake had gone dry, and some stayed away or visited other lakes.

"We spent a lot of time dealing the negative reports," said Bubba Ketchersid, district manger for ARAMARK, marina concessionaires. "Some people really thought the lake was dry and that it was impossible to launch boats.

"We're seeing a 180-degree turnaround in how people are viewing the lake. They come now expecting to see it a little lower but realize there's still a lot of water."

Looking at visitation counts, he said, visits to the northern areas are increasing slightly faster than those in the southern reaches of the lake.

This could be due to increased traffic coming to the lake from Colorado.

The greatest number of visitors to Bullfrog still come from Utah.

"But we are seeing more people from Colorado, particularly the Denver area. In fact, Colorado has overtaken the No. 2 spot in overall visitation. New Mexico was No. 2, but now they've switched places," said Ketchersid.

There was some concern back in the spring with fuel prices rising that the higher costs would restrict travel.

"We thought we'd be impacted by fuel prices, but that really hasn't happened. Overall gallons sold here are down. But what we're seeing is that instead of going long distances, boaters are staying closer to the marinas. They aren't traveling as far (in boats) and aren't using as much fuel."

Also, more people are opting to take advantage of dry-land lodging and taking excursions, either in private or rented powerboats, for the day.

Still, the most popular means of enjoying the beaches of Lake Powell is in a houseboat. Houseboats put comfort into the camping experience.