Lake Powell

It has been an incredible week. Our friends Jonathan and Lynne rented a houseboat on Lake Powell for the week, and invited us up to spend a few days with them. Lake Powell is this massive lake on the Colorado River that is created by the Glenn Canyon Dam. There are countless canyon offshoots along the lake, and there is over 2,000 miles of coastline in all. The canyon walls are several hundred feet high and are mixture of sandstone and rock. They are stunning, especially when the sun hits them at sunrise and sunset. It is hard to understand the scale of them until you see a boat beached up at the base of them. No picture could capture the beauty, but that did not stop us from trying.

It is a 10 - 12 hour drive to get to Lake Powell, and in the interest of maximizing our time on the lake, we drove straight through. We camped with Sean and Marci Tuesday night, and met Jonathan and Lynne late Wednesday morning. It was a very nice campsite, but nothing in comparison to how we would be spending the next three days.

We set out from the dock and wandered down the lake for a couple of hours, and in that time we saw such a small percentage of the lake that it is hardly worth mentioning. We picked a canyon off of Padre bay, and found a nice sandy beach to set up "camp". There was talk of pulling up stakes each night and finding a new cove, but we ended up staying in one place. Houseboats move pretty slowly, so several people also had conventional boats in tow to do their exploring.

The three days went by all too quickly. There was lots of sun, swimming and indulging in fine meals and spirits. We also purchased fishing licenses before we set out, and most mornings there were a couple of people fishing off the second deck or in a quiet cove. But of course the main activity was just spending time with friends.

My birthday was on Thursday, and it was a wonderful day. It was in the upper 90's all week, so I spent as much time in the water as possible, either swimming or standing thigh-deep casting out a line. I even managed to catch a fair-sized fish that day. We had a wonderful dinner and Lynne even made a cake topped with a '4' and a '3' candle. Sadly it is not because I am 34. The highlight of the day was an original song composed by Sean to the tune of The Star Spangled Banner, made up on the spot. We were so busy laughing, no one thought to catch it on video. I slept on the top deck of the boat each night, and drifted off to sleep underneath a perfectly starry sky. Best birthday in recent memory.

Along with myself and the three couples, there were five children ranging in age from eight months to four years old. There was lots of time building sandcastles and throwing rocks into the lake. There were two TVs on board, but they never were turned on (even for a distracting video). There was also no cell or internet service, so the adults were also distraction free. It was a great trip for Annabelle because she loves being outside, feeling the wind in her face, and definitely has her Dad's water gene. Annabelle LOVED splashing around in the water.

On Friday, Sean's sister and brother-in-law met up with us. They have visited Lake Powell several times and were happy to join in on the fun. They have a 23' boat, and took everyone out for some skiing and intertubing. The winds really kicked up that afternoon, so they headed back and we spents some time trying to resecure the houseboat. Along with the high winds, the lake level rose a couple of feet while we were there. When the winds kicked up, Sean brought out a couple of kites for the kids (though I think the adults had more fun with them).

We docked on Saturday afternoon, and then made the long drive home, arriving home sometime near one in the morning on Sunday. It was a tough haul, but absolutely worth it for the time we had on the lake. But maybe next time we'll take an extra day or two so we can enjoy it even more.

It was just a wonderful few days, and I have no idea how I have stumbled upon such wonderful friends. But I continue to enjoy every minute of it.