The Young and the Restless

Lake Powell

Lake Powell has been on my bucket list ever since we decided that being a lake family was our destiny. Thanks to our awesome neighbors who invited us, we were finally able to make it happen. I only wish Kylie could have come with us, but we dropped her off in Flagstaff on our way up so that she could go to EFY. She had an amazing time and we'll definitely be planning a trip back to Powell so she can experience it too. We looked into renting a houseboat but that didn't work out, so instead we rented RV's and camped on the beach. It was the next best thing. We had a full day of travel, dropping Kylie and her friend off at EFY, picking up the RV, stopping in Page to stock up on groceries for the week then setting up camp and unloading the boat. As a side note, I have to pat myself on the back for towing the boat for the 2 1/2 drive from Flagstaff to Powell while Jason drove the RV. I was nervous because I have never towed it before, besides the late night driving lesson around the neighborhood and in the McDonald's parking lot the night before. That thing is a beast to tow, but thankfully it went well, I just took the turns wide and refused to ever back up. We finally got settled and finished dinner in time for a sunset cruise around the lake. The boat started making a funny sound and we thought the transmission was going out. Later we discovered we had just hit some drift wood that made the prop stutter, but I went to bed that night feeling discouraged. I have had Lake Powell dreams floating in my head that resembled lots of heads thrown back in laughter around the campfire and children giggling as we cruised in the shadows of the towering red cliffs. But all that I was feeling at that moment was frustration with the kids who seemed to fight non stop and worried that we wouldn't even be able to drive the boat the rest of the week. Plus I was just really exhausted and grumpy. Turns out, preparing for a camping trip is a lot of work. Thankfully things made a turn for the better the next day and we were back on track for a memorable vacation.

(when the picture on your RV matches the scenery. Winning.)

I think digging holes became the highlight of the week for them. Even the blisters wouldn't stop them, they just kept digging their way to China with band-aids wrapped around their thumbs.

Exploring the Labyrinth slot canyons was on the agenda for the day. Our friends said they were cool, but I didn't realize just how cool. The drive out was beautiful as the cliffs started turning from white limestone to red sandstone.

And then we took a turn through a narrow passage way

We were following behind our friends and as the wake from their boat sloshed us back and forth we felt like we were driving through a washing machine

It kept getting more narrow until we had to get out and push the boats along with our feet hanging over the edge to keep from hitting into the walls. It was quite the adventure.

Until we were wedged in and could go no further. We anchored the boats and waded the rest of the way (through filthy water, I might add).

Until we reached the slot canyon which held an unworldly beauty. It was truly breathtaking and the kids loved spending the afternoon exploring. And I only had one minor claustrophobic moment. And no lost kids.

Our cute neighbors, the Palmers. Ashley, was quite the trooper squeezing her cute pregnant belly in and around these narrows.

We stopped for some cliff jumping and lunch

Then headed back to camp for more digging, dinner, sunset surfing and yes, even throwing our heads back in laughter around the campfire. See, dreams really do come true in Lake Powell. And this dream even had dutch oven peach cobbler around the fire.