Lake Powell Is Gone !! 

No matter what you take from nature, nature will always take it back.

Hey Russ, I stumbled upon your videos recently through RU-vid recommendations. I'm from Belgium (Europe) and it's always been a dream of mine to go and explore the States, but your videos are probably just as good ;-) They got me out of a rut, and made me remember how big and beautiful the world is, so thank you!!!

I love everything about your edits. Your comments are so honest and true . Thank you for helping folks that cannot travel well for all your efforts.

Love your videos. We were at Lake mead in early September. So sad how much that lake has disappeared as well. Thanks for taking us along!

I was in 6th grade back in '58/'59 when the dam was "half way completed", we used to see "newsreels" in school back in those days and the dam was big news, along with film showing the latest nuclear tests and rocket launch failures, all kind of things little boys liked to watch. My first visit to the dam was about 1980, when the lake was brim full and the round overflow tubes at the bottom of the dam were wide open, very spectacular...

Don't worry. The drought will pass. The lakes will fill.

Wow! Beautiful hometown Page, Az. I'm Navajo grandma from small town Page America . Thanks for Sharing.

I have houseboated out of Bullfrog marina a couple of times back in the day. The lake is magical when you get way back in there. I never thought it would look like this. ☹️

I am tired from all that walking down toward the water and then the hike back up. Glad we had water in your van Russ. We do appreciate you taking us with you on your travels. Stay safe on your travels Russ.

My grandfather took me to Glenn Canyon the last summer it was open. I think it was 1957-58. It was a beautiful place!

I just rewatched your trip there from last year. Stopped the video at the same spot as the lookout ( by the dam ), wow, low is an understatement. Looks like at least 50 feet lower.

So gorgeous!!! Love these road trips! Thank you Russ!!!

Wow.... I have never seen Lake Powell from ground level, but I have flown over it way back in '87--that was after the 80-86 years of heavy rain, and it looked like a lake then. My parents and I saw this type of drought in the great California drought of '77 at Howard Prairie Lake in Oregon, then the rains came, really lasting from about '77 to early '95, the year I quit RV'ing with my parents and got married, just b4 I turned 34. Weather is an oddity--despite global warming, we may be in for more rain, as ocean currents change, or if a large volcanic eruption happens in the Northern Hemisphere like Mt. St. Helens in 1980, and our weather in the Northwest changed like a light switch was thrown--we even had snow down into the Napa Valley, near sea level, dusting our hills down to about a 300 foot elevation--took my nephews up to see it. We campers know--what's underneath us we just do not know how it will affect us, because it sneaks up on us the way Mt. St. Helens did. Mt. Ranier, Mt. Lassen, and Mt. Shasta can all change our global warming scenario into the big chill, and like Mt. St. Helens we might only get a few months warning. Many of us in the Bay Area knew in our gut the 89 earthquake and the 2000, and 2014 Napa afterquakes that followed were coming, because the 89 earthquake was preceded by some smaller quakes near Gilroy, garlic capital of the world (good to mention on All Hallows Eve since it is well known that garlic, due to the smell alone, keeps vampires away :) ). I kid u not, I took in 89 a trip to Tahoe, and I took a sailboat ride there, the day before the Loma Prieta Quake. One of the tourists asked the 20 something boat captain about quakes since they were headed to San Francisco to see the World Series. All of us who lived around the City By The Bay then were euphoric, knowing whatever team won the series it would be a home team. The boat captain bragged to the tourists, with all the "invincibility" some kids think they have at that age, that he'd lived in California "All his life" and had never felt a quake. Given he had lived in Tahoe, that is, I had felt about a half dozen quakes since our parents moved us to the Napa Valley in 67, the strongest being the 69 quakes and the Livermore Quakes, and several others leading up to 89 some being strong enough to put cracks in our stucco and walls. I drove home to Napa, assigned to help my Mom babysit my nephews, and got there about three hours before I unpacked and collapsed in a rocking chair to rest from the drive down from Tahoe, which is harder than driving from Reno because of the two lane mountain stretches. My nephews were watching TV in our den, and I was not going to turn on the World Series since it was just about to start, but then I heard the TV go to static and was going to yell at my nephews to quit fussin with the remote control (they were not scared of me, but they were scared of my Mom which is why I always gave them a lazy, preemptive warning. Since the center of the earthquake was about 80 miles south of us, and since earthquake waves travel close to the speed of sound, it took 8 seconds for my chair to start rocking, a confused second or two to realize one of my nephews had not snuck into our frontroom to get even at me for yelling at them, and about a millisecond later my Mom in a panic yelled "We're Having an Earthquake" I yelled to everyone, "stay where you are" estimating the shaking was too strong to even walk, which it was, and knowing the location of my Mom and Nephews, that they'd be safe. It took about a minute before we felt we could walk. Our den bookcase almost, but not quite, fell on my nephews since the shock came from that direction. Our outside sidewalk was moved up like the slant of a pup tent, a lamp fell down in my parent's master bedroom, and we had a wide, one inch wide crack, around the stucco surrounding our foundation (termite bait but not as serious as it might have been). I had warned my Dad about my growing sense we were going to have a strong, though not as strong as 1906, earthquake. He had a contractor bolt our non-slab foundation into the wood beams holding it up above the flood plain, as homes in that area were required to be elevated from the local creek's flood plain. Our homes were undamaged, as that was being done already by many in the bay area fearing a big quake was coming. After that quake, my Dad bolted our tallest bookcases to the walls so they would not fall and put a belt around our gas tank for our gas appliances so it would not break our gas main. He passed away (RIP) in 99 and in 2000 along came a strong earthquake, an aftershock of the 89 quake on an unknown subsidiary fault just six miles north of my Mom's home--dumping the contents of every cabinet into the home, but not causing the bookcase in her bedroom to fall on her. I am happy to say she got the heck out of California after that and moved to be near me, where only dust storms happen. Nature, like that sailboat captain should have known, is nothing to scoff at. The resorts in Las Vegas consume so much darn electricity I'd be curious how their size city compares to an average size city's electricity use. The rampant building of suburbs, vs more efficient apartment living, has also caused challenges with water uses, especially when it comes to lawns. We who RV and camp, know nature more than those who sit in their homes watching the boob tube, or sit at slot machines all day long waiting for Santa to reward them with money and his maiden elves to give them a drink, not that I am condemning that--moderation is key even in that, leading to a happier life, and more time in the outdoors, and if you are in a tent, you are more likely to survive a quake, but don't go tent camping in Tornado and Hurricane country unless u know the forecast...

Awesome ride! Thank you for taking us with you!! Happy Weekend time!! 😊

I lived there in the early 1970's, while my Dad and Grandpa worked on the construction of the Navajo Generating Station. In winter, only the top 3 feet of the white staining on the walls of the lake would show, on average. We toured inside the Dam, always put our boat out at Wahweap Marina. In summer... there were chains hanging off the walls on the right side near the Dam and looking towards the lake. It was summer fun, jumping into the lake from those chains! Many movies were made in Warm Creek. Lone Rock and Castle Rock are seen in the Original Planet of The Apes. Several men died in the construction of the Dam. And it was impossible to recover their bodies. I love that they constructed the Memorial in their honor.

Beautiful work on this one. Wow, great job!!!

How I love this area... it breaks my heart how low the lake is. Thank you for your excellent photography! I probably won't be traveling anymore to this area... but thank you for knowing I can virtually take trips with you!

3 years ago we spent a night there, toured the dam & lake Powell on a bus tour of 5 National parks in the area. Incredible difference.

Lake Mead supplies water to 25 million people- Las Vegas population is 650.000, so they use less than 4% of the total- the rest goes to Arizona, Mexico and California, with Los Angeles and San Diego grabbing the biggest share.

Thanks Russ for the tour. Am busy with corn harvest and enjoy watching for a relaxing visit to a place far away.

Lovely, at my age this is the closest I’ll ever get to a trip over the pond, thank you Sir ❤️

The dam was built in the early 60s. My dad worked on it and I remember my mom driving us kids up to visit him when I was a toddler.

I love your videos….It’s like I’m riding with you….I like when you are narrating….you are talking to everyone…With you..

Thanks for the tour Russ!

Thanks for showing Page. I haven't been there since 1992 when it was 101 degrees in the late afternoon. I camped near the north rim of the Grand Canyon in my new 1992 Tioga RV that night.

The party never stops & the road goes on forever✌💜🎼🎵🎶

Hi Russ, I had a friend who was the corporate pilot for the contractor on this project. On the other side at the marina was the construction headquarters. He use to haul parts and people in there in a C-47 and DC-4 His name was Frank Walker and just pass away 3 years ago in Kanab UT.

Best RU-vid channel out her in tuber land! I really enjoy these. Thanks so much!

Aloha Russ, I spoke about your Lake Mead video on my nationwide 2 hour radio show this past Thursday morning and got one hell of a response. Then you pull off another great video of Lake Powell. I hope you reach 100k pretty soon, you deserve it. Maybe someday you’ll tell me about those antennas on top of your van and your off grid system, it’s kind of a thing these days, a good thing that is, and a valuable resource now. Mahalo and Semper Fi

More water is diverted from the Colorado River Basin than any other river in the US. The water that has been diverted for livestock, agriculture and personal use has increased dramatically in the last twenty years...coinciding with a cycle of a 20 year drought period. Southwest drought periods are nothing new, even 20yr droughts, they have been going on for centuries with at least 3 worse than the current one. The only difference on the Colorado River is the number of dams and the amount of water being taken from it.

Lake Powell was my favorite place as a kid so sad to see it that low. Thanks for sharing.

i love your sun rise adventures.

you sir make a great tour guide. thanks for bringing us along. no more lake just a river now, it’s going to take a lot of rain to become a lake again.

Thanks again Russ for another great video! Last time I went over the bridge was May 2014.

Good video Russ, that's just amazing that the water level is so low, hard to believe that all that water is gone, too bad the visitor center is still closed probably don't have anyone to work in it. Thanks for sharing. Travel safe.

I was on lake Powell when it was full. How times have changed.

Awesome scenes! Thank you, Russ!

👍👍 Glen Canyon Dam, construction started 1956, ends and Dam opens 1966. Very interesting. It took 10 years to build and fill Lake Powell for the Dam to be operational while much bigger and at the time largest dam in the world Hoover dam, construction started 1931, and ends and Dam opens 1936. That's 5 years to build and fill Lake Mead. Different generation, different types of people. It's worse now. Nowadays, you ask an Engineer how long will it take to build a dam exactly like Hoover Dam? He will answer, 50 years. Wow!

Beautiful rock views! Thank you for a great tour 😊.

Lake Powell Getting BONE. Great scenery thanks for the Trip.

Awesome tour, thank you for taking us along!

Great video, thanks for taking us to such interesting places.

On April 11th 1956 the United States Congress authorized the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam.

Do you have any pictures of Lake Powell when it was full ? It would be interesting to see the before and after.

Love your presentation and chuckles lol. Makes me want to travel these areas.

Interesting trip!! You sure have a great life on the road!

I've been watching all of your videos for the past 3 days! Amazing body of work!!! I live in White Hills Az and have learned so much!!! I got a 2007 Thompson School bus a few months ago. She's registered insured and converted into an amazing camper. Thanks to you I will have some idea about where to go and what to expect. Many thanks!

Thank you for this! I'm doing a book review soon on the book "Cadillac Desert" which is about water in the west and predicts things like this. I'll be putting links to several of your videos because I can't get to some of these locations. This illustrates exactly what the book is talking about.

Thank you for the LP/Wahweap video. Brings back a lot of memories, I once worked at Halls Crossing and Page on LP 1993-1995 where I was Captain on the Canyon King paddle wheeler and the car ferry John Atlantic Bur, paddlewheeler is now long since gone. Sad to see the lake empty, but thanks you for showing us.

That's why I am going north and will put up with the snow and rain. Thanks for the video, Russ

Thanks for sharing! Beautiful yet sad

had a great time traveling with you thank you

Las Cruces gets it's water from an aquifer. If water does not come down the river, no water going into aquifer. The city is not even thinking about that. Our aquifer most likely looks like the lake.

We found Lake Shasta in a similar situation--shockingly low.

Thank you.👍🤗🎶. My childhood memories....still have them ... beautiful lakes and rivers. And mountains. And desert. The future may need alternative sources of water. Be safe.

In 1983 an early snowmelt filled Lake Powell to capacity and more- the spillways were used to lower the lake and the force of the water damaged the spillways ( cavitation) and they had to be repaired later- hard to believe the lake is so low now but nature is an uncontrollable force.

Stationed at Wahweap, 1987-1990 and worked the entire length of Glen Canyon NRA with Aids to Navigation, boating and diving. That was the more interesting aspect than rest of the work load. The lake was starting to draw down from being dangerously high. Now look at it.

Thanks for the video. Can't wait to visit there because it's a beautiful place and if the waters low it will come back again but there lots of awesome things to see in that area.

Hey Russ thanks for venturing to my old “watering hole”, not that kind. We used to visit Lake Powell every year for about four years in our fifth wheel and stay at the awesome Native American owned RV park near the Marina. Never went out on the river, just hiked along the coves on the Utah side and enjoyed the sunrises and sunsets! It’s very sad what climate change and over use of these reservoirs has done to this and other lakes on the Mighty Colorado! Stop taking those one hour showers and irrigating so many golf courses Phoenix and Scottsdale!!!!

Glen Canyon Dam was finished in 1963 I think. But the build was approved in 1956 and cost around 300 million dollars. My family and I used to spend time camping at Bullfrog in October. The days were warm, the nights perfect for a big campfire to sit by and tell stories about our day. Very sad to see this place so drought ridden. I remember the first time my daughter, who was 4yrs old at the time, refused to get on a boat we'd rented. She wasn't going to get in cause the water was so clear you could see the bottom of the lake in the marina. She thought it was floating on just air. We all had a good laugh at that one. And our 6 months old collie pup decided to try and catch a fish he could see in the water and into the water he went! Surprised him and us. Never tried to do that again. LOL! 😅🤣

THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS BEAUTIFUL LAKE

The mighty Colorado doesn't look so mighty.

If all of Utah got a foot of rain, Lake Powell would fill to it's maximum in just two days. That's how fast these Lakes can be recovered.

Hey Russ, good video, We want to see you riding that new Ebike 😊❤👍

🇺🇲👍🏼😎👍🏼🌴🚐 That water level will never recover in our life time mind blowing 🤯

The water will never recover to the fill line. The only way to get water in the lake Powell and mead is to build desalination plants. Winter storms might rarely come. We are in a drought for 2 or 3 years.

In the late 80s the dam nearly over flowed. The diversion spillways had to be opened. There were 8 foot emergency boards placed on top of the dam to keep the water from going over.

I worked at that dam. Saw it start filling up in 1964, the 1983 flood, Lady Birds event etc.

Nice work Russ! Travel safe 👍

Thank you so much for your videos. I am hoping to become a Nomad someday.

Thanks for the tour

Love riding with you 😎😱

Stayed the night at Page in August, 1967, while on family vacation. Having checked in late afternoon, made the trip out to the dam. The visitor's center had yet to be built, so the big thing to do was to park and walk out on the bridge. You talk about a "fear of heights"? Back then, the bridge deck, both roadway and walkway, was a grate! Out in the middle, you could look BETWEEN your feet, 700 feet down to the river! And I swear, every time a truck went over, that bridge bounced at least two feet! Dad and my brother thought that was really fun. Me? Not so much! In 1987, took my family up 89 up to Northern Utah. Driving across the bridge, I was somewhat relieved to find a solid deck!

Hi Russ! The West needs to get the rain that the Midwest has gotten this year 😑. It has rained on and off since you left Michigan.

Ann.. Luv these road trips.

🙋‍♀️Hello Russ! Such a beautiful area rich with all the shades of brown in the various layers rising up from the turquoise lake, reaching to the soft blue sky. Picture postcard perfect moments like these, you want to hold onto forever. Between triple digits & 22 years of drought has really taken its toll on Lake Powell. If we could get one of those huge icebergs that break off? I don't know how or if that would help?

Lake Powell is my favorite. It's a shame it's so low.

Great drive today, sad to see it that low. Thanks for this vid. 👍👍🇦🇺🇦🇺

Thank you Well done, I have lived just west about an hour on the AZ side of the border for 23 years. Just about 10 years ago the lake was Very High 2011 2010 just 40 ft or so from full. Sine I have live it here its varied a lot. Politics a side the Colorado, Green, and other tributaries are not consistent water resources hence the Dam so releasing the same consistent amount different from what goes is is what got this to this state. Demand has exceeded the in put, on all the damns I guess this means they damns just have to go. Sorry venting. it's a beautiful recreation area and the visitors center is very nice I will be retiring Next spring and Hope to do some Fishing out there If my health holds out Your Videos are very Nice thank you and The Do launch from Wahwep like you though to the right of those barricades you saw at the bottom of the ramp. they re opened an original( after some renovating.) ramp from the 60's and 70's.

We have been watching your videos for some time. A few gentle corrections. The Pacific northwest has pine trees but those are mostly fir trees that you see. It doesn't get that cold on the coast and western valley of Oregon with snow being a rare occasion. We live in small town USA (pop. 1600) and we don't know everybody. 😊 Anyway, Fred and Della have enjoyed traveling with you. Love the drone shots!

Man meddling with Mother Nature. Whales beaching themselves, lakes disappearing, and and carbolic acid rain. Dark reflections as I huddle in my van.

Thanks for the tour. I think I've been there only once since I took the raft trip down through Grand Canyon. Your discussion of the National Parks senior pass reminded me of my experiences with one of the Golden Age Passports that were issued when the program was started way back when. I think I paid $15 for it then. In 2017 they increased the price to $80. Every time I go in a park now the attendant always comments, "Oh, you've got one of those old original Golden Age Passports." I must be one of the few still surviving!

I just drove down from Denver. And there's no snow in those mountains. And that's what feeds that River

Wow! That was stunning..but beautiful. San Luis reservoir in Monterey County CA is at 8 percent! It is shocking. But your video was sooo pretty. Thank you.

That is unreal Russ! Thanks for taking the walk for your viewers. We appreciate it as we get to sit back in our recliner. You walk and I will sweat for you... 😊. Be safe climbing back up to the van. Stay safe on your travels my friend. Hope one morning you get to enjoy the coffee I sent your way.

My old stomping grounds. Was there as a kid during construction. Lived there for over 50 years! Sad to see the lake level.

We have a lake ,t or c. New Mexico. Elephant Butte. And cabio lake. Very little water. Thanks for your videos.

Not long and we'll be calling it Colorado Creek

Great video Russ.

Got to wonder, how much silt is in the bottom by the dam anyhow? These Colorado river lakes have to be nearing the end of their use full lives anyhow; unless they take this time to muck out all that silt...and gold...

Thanks for the video I probably won't get to see this part of the country.

Compared your pics to mine from exactly 4 years ago (Sep 2017). Back then water level was just below the tops of the rectangular dam support columns on the lake side. Water agreements keep taps open to supply population centers down stream, despite Lake Powell & Mead being emptied. Too many people and more arriving every day = certain disaster when these water “banks” run dry.

That old "Art Deco" is beautiful!

love the quality of your camera!!!

That marina at 24:00 was pretty surprising 🇨🇦👋🏼

Good footage! I think the light is better this time of year for video of the high desert, seems like more contrast. Praying for rain for SW US.

Great video my friend!

The Sun looks amazing.

How feasible would it be to do a video through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River.

Awesome video live in New Jersey love to send you some rain. We have to much water here.