Cruising a Desert Lake

CRUISING WITH DOLLY ALL ABOARD CANYON LAKE'S EXCURSION 'PADDLE WHEELER'

"Hello, Dolly. We-ell, hel-LO, Dolly." Louis Armstrong's gravelly voice rolled over Canyon Lake northeast of Phoenix, welcoming sightseers aboard the double-deck excursion boat Dolly. The motorized paddle wheeler bobbed at anchor, her red and white paint a vivid splotch of color against the desert reservoir's towering buff-colored cliffs, the muted green of grass and trees scattered along the shoreline and the sky's brilliant Van Gogh-blue. Stepping onto the Dolly is almost like getting transported back to the days of the stern-wheelers and America's riverboat past. When not docked at Canyon Lake, just inside the southwestern edge of the Tonto National Forest, the Dolly cruises the lake and its secluded flooded canyons. Accessible only by boat, the Dolly's route follows the original path of the Salt River. When President Theodore Roosevelt visited this area, he said it "combines the grandeur of the Alps, the glory of the Rockies, the magnificence of the Grand Canyon and then adds an indefinable something that none of the others have."

With everyone on board, the Dolly lifted anchor to begin her 2.5-hour journey through the watery canyons. Jeff Grimh, the Dolly's captain, set the tone: "We had a tragedy here a few weeks ago,"

he said, pointing high into the rocks. "A e walked right over the edge of that cliff to her death." He paused and, with perfect timing, added, "Yeah, she forgot to make a 'ewe' turn."

As the groans and laughter subsided, he added, "It's worth remembering that you can believe only about-well80 percent of what I tell you today."

Soon the aroma of grilling steaks, chicken and ribs wafted through the air. People wandered about the top and lower decks, some leaning out over the water. Laughter rippling through the cabin mimicked the water churning from Dolly's paddle wheel.

As the panorama of cliffs glided by, Captain Jeff pointed out spots of interest, such as the bat caves that pock the cliffs where, after a heavy rainfall, you can spot breathtaking waterfalls; and the rock formations that, with a little imagination, simulate many different images, such as the bust of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Third-generation Arizonan Suzanne Wagner has seen many of Arizona's wonders, but after experiencing the Dolly and Canyon Lake, she said, "When I realize these mountains were here tens of millions of years ago and will be here for millions of years more, I feel so insignificant."

Although he's made this trip literally