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Show This tanaled mass of driftwood. Dovdd Amomig Ylhe by Corke and Jack Pepper r V RELATING objects from driftwood is a fascinating hobby, but sport lies in the hunt. Filled with danger,! surprise, action, and suspense, driftwood hunting Is no longer an adventure restricted to the rocky coasts of Mainer beaches of the Pacific, or uninhabited isles. For Westerners of the Intermountain area, driftwooding on Lake Mead can produce more exciting treasure than any beachcomber ever found at sea. On a recent weekend, my husband and I loaded gear aboard a rented outboard from the Lake Mead Marina and sped forth to see what we could find. The prime object of our expedition was a baroque-shapeiece of driftwood with strategically placed worm oles through which we could stuff artificial orchids. This exotic sculpture we envisioned in our formal living room planter. With the popularity for use of driftwood in decor, both interior and out, commercial specimens have grown exorbitant in price. Our hunt resulted not only in finding exactly what we wanted, but the vacaexpenses incurred included the nicest two-dation weve ever had. , minerets and monolith Sphinx guarded pyramid, peaks Farther along a broken obelisk fell into volcanic ruin, driving a giant camel into the sea. Many of these rocky structures werenjt discovered by us alone. They were officially marked on our U.S. , humped-bacMarine map. The camel, however, should certainly be included in future charts. As we turned each curve into the future, we were met by evidence of the past. Ten thousand years ago, dinosauria lumbered along these mesas, sil-- , houeted against the sky. A mere 136 years ago Jede- diah Smith, the first white man to pass this way, trapped foxes, badger and bighorn. Between those distant times the earth tilted, exs ploded, burned, and reset. Then again, between . day and ours, metamorphosis struck this time by the hand of man rather than God. Hoover Dam blocked the great Colorado and its waters flooded the land. Much of the afternoon had passed by the time we reached Temple Bar, so instead of loitering in the coffee shop to listen to fishermen report, we quickly refueled, filled our chest with ice, and sped on our way. Beyond Temple Bay, Jack skillfully navigated the tight walls of Virgin Canyon which open to Gregg Basin where our first exposure to driftwood began. Looking like matchsticks, it scattered about the distant shore. Farther up the lake, however, we imagined It jamming coves in such quantity that like Northwestern logrollers, wed Walk 4over water. -- thick-lipped- d y driftwood existed in quantity. Quality came even beyond that Immediately before the turn to Grand Wash Bay, a minute island resembling a childs drip castle caught our eye. Moving close for a picture, we discovered beyond it a charming cove. Driftwood, with patina and movement of Maillols sculpture, lay bleaching in the sand. Dunes cast long smooth shadows along the curving shoreline, broken only with desert willow, catcjaw, and tamerisk clustered in groups like miniature oasis. We built a driftwood fire and camped Mr the night. The next morning while Jack caught black bass for breakfast, I collected driftwood from among the finest, specimens on the shores of Lake Mead. If it werent illegal to carry it away for commercial use without a license, I would have been tempted to open a shop. turned into temples, escarpment became desert fort; priests chanted prayers from butte MESAS - k Jede-diah- ' TO TEMPLF BAR anchorage in Arizona, our route from Boulder Beach was familiar. Beyond that, this was a virgin trip. Lake Mead is 115 miles long. We planned to travel to the extreme, or until silt and shifting sand bars would prevent further passage. The driftwood area lies almost entirely beyond the Arizona-Nevadboundary where the Colorado River throbs through its original channel, and the Current is strong. As the lake widens, ' the current dissipates and no longer carries wood along. Overnight accommodations are available at Temple Bar Resort, but in this wild, wonderful country its more exciting to camp on the beach, ICEBERG CANYON, the last narrow pass, sliced The boats motor roared full speed. Coffee from f our thermos flavored the air. I lazed while Jack, enthrough the mountain head. Gray strata zigzagged up its peaks, spiked as if cut with pinking shears joying the view from over the. top of the boats canopy, steered with, his toes. Pogo, our poodle, - from a piece of sky. Low sun flickered in the gran-Ite labyrinth, reminding us that wed better look for a stretched amid life jackets in a comer of the cabin, beach to camp.' Occasional driftwood logs bridged, like Anthony floating down the Nile. Varying faces eroded gaps In the canyon wall, but It wasnt until we shoreline carried of the mysterious, our imaginations on a world cruise." passed through the canyon into more open area that a , 1 time-erode- d AFTER BREAKFAST we investigated Grand Wash Bay and onward past Paiute Poiit to an Intimate cove calledcGods Pocket which, nestled behind an island in the channel, is almost inaccessible. Gods Pocket had been suggested as a likely camping spot, but it in no way compared with our unidentified cove we named Peppers Pad. Farther up the lake silt and shifting sand bars slowed us down. The shore was colorful and rugged, but the choicest driftwood appeared to congregate below. When we could go no farther, we returned to camp to collect our gear and then headed back to driftwood congested areas wed passed at a late hour on the evening before. Driftwood was stranded high. on the tumbled rocks of Chuckwalla Cove, apparently deposited during a time of higher tide. Although we carried away a few choice sculptures which would enhance our coves such as patio, pieces caught in quarry-likChuckwalla consist mostly of twigs or else logs too large to carry. The best preserved and shaped specimens are found on sandy, gentle shores. Superintendent of Lake Mead National Park Recreation, Charles Richey, says that some of this driftwood has traveled 1,000 miles. Caught in flooded tributaries which rise in the mountains of Colorado, e - (See - 4 V r Page 5) The Salt Lake Tribune Home Magazine i |