Greatest Place on Earth!

 We just came back from Heaven on Earth. Ha! They say Lake Powell is the greatest. And I'd have to agree. It is just amazing. I took way too many photos, naturally. So I narrowed down to just a few. Here is some of the scenery from cruising around on the boat. I felt like I was in a post card.

Here is Gregory Butte. Fittingly called my hubbies name. (he he) Our view from West Canyon.

And here it is from the other side from the mouth of Last Chance Bay. We stayed in this canyon, way towards the back. 

 

 And this is in Forbidding Canyon, where Rainbow Bridge is. I had to look at the pictures I took just before this to see where it might be. Then to look at a map to get the name.

Ok, now for the vacation details and pictures... this is long.

Tuesday morning we drove down towing our boat the 7 hours to Wahweap. Then loaded up the boat and drove almost an hour to the house boat we were staying at with 3 other families. Greg's sister and bro-in-law Andrea and Abe Denzer were going with some good friends and invited us to join. There were 22 of us on the trip. The Taskers and Smith's. We all fit on two motor boats to cruise around on. 

I got heat stroke while at the marina loading up the boat. And while driving out to the house boat I hadn't had anything to drink and then I felt nauseous and a bad migraine hit me. So I took medicine, threw up 4 times, and slept it off. I was just so hot. It was awful. Luckily we had an ER Doctor on board and he had some nausea pills I could take to get me under control again. That whole first evening was a blur. Did it really happen? What happened? I was so out of it. Greg was awesome and took care of me and the boys and our stuff getting settled. He's a keeper. :)

We bought the movie Frozen for the boys to watch on the way down and back. We knew they'd love it. And they did. On the Houseboat all the kids watched it again and we had a big group sing-along (shout along) to Let It Go.

We cruised around in the boat and explored everyday. It was so fun, so tiring, so sunny, so hot, and so great to experience it. I've been to Powell a few times. Greg has been lots. So it was neat to be there with our kids. And it was also SO different to be there with kids.

The day we hiked to Rainbow Bridge it was too bloody hot for me (100's) and I didn't want to risk heat stroke, so I waited half way up in the shade with Bo and Rafe. Man I don't do well in heat or freezing cold (like snow skiing).

 One day our boat had oil trouble so we didn't drive it and while Greg left on the other boat to go buy some oil, their new boat broke down. They were gone for hours, had to get towed and fixed, they lost a speaker while hitting the bad waves, it was a windy day. The rest of us stayed and played on the house boat all day. We had no way to contact them to see where they were. I was starting to get a little worried.

In the picture is our family on a rock bridge that is slowly getting deeper underwater everyday. I think they said the Lake is rising about a foot a day. We lost a little of our beach and had to move the house boat to adjust to the rising waters.

We spent our time with the Denzer's. Luckily we had the same idea on what to experience while on vacation. There was wake boarding, skiing, swimming, jumping, sliding, sand playing, fishing, exploring, and much more.

These are of Greg Cliff jumping, being a "homeboy" and driving us around some narrow canyons. We only scratched the front side bumper a little. :) - just one time.

 We swam, I actually didn't get in the water that much. Hmm, oh well. Rafe loved his sunglasses. He and Creed's hair got lighter from being sun bleached in the summer sun. The boys loved the fishing and watching fishing. The kids loved playing on the beach. For hours and hours.

One adventure we are sure to never forget, but we will have to rely on memories because we didn't have our camera with us was in Labyrinth Canyon. We drove our boat through the narrow canyon, then randomly found a sand patch to anchor to because it got really narrow after that. It's for Kayaks, in fact some were leaving and told us how far until the sand to hike and said there's no way to swim. But that didn't stop us. So then we loaded up the kids and swam over maybe 60 yards? 100 yards? Probably seemed farther than it was. But it was swimming through a thick layer of all the twigs, crap, muck, and prickly weeds you can imagine. Oh my yuck!

I was really not wanting to do it. Knowing my kids would whine and complain. Ugh! And Bodie and Rafe cried and screamed. But Greg and I had them, Jax and Creed swam it. Then by the end, we all made a Lorenzon Family train to get through it. Then we cleaned off, left the life jackets and explored an amazing slot canyon. In our bare feet. Prickly thorns, and hot sand. Bodie and Rafe had forgotten the gross swim out, and then quickly realized we had to do it to get back. Bodie didn't really cry but Rafe cried the whole way back. He didn't like it. But once clean and back in the boat with his towel he was fine.

Here I stole some pictures from the internet. This is what we walked through and saw. Beautiful and amazing. Creed got kinda dizzy and nauseous. I started too as well. Then back out to the gross swim back to the boat. But we did it, wow! As Andrea said to me, we are LIVING life, having a real adventure. Or something similar. :)

 Um, what else?

Jax tried water skiing for the first time. We counted and he tried getting up 10 times. He did it a few times, but immediately fell over. But I am so proud of him for trying. Creed loved the Easy Ski (tube ski thing). And poor Bodie didn't want to do it and didn't love it. But we made him. Look at his sad crying face. But he did it, and he finally stood up and we went super duper slow and he was super close to Greg holding him with the rope on the back of the boat. He smiled when every one gave him high fives after. But it didn't give him the desire to do it again.

 Riding on the boat for hours, being in the sun all day, loud motor and windy makes you just a little tired. There were plenty of naps by all the kids. I had to take pictures. Andrea was good and completely covered her kids in a towel. And they only got stepped on a few times, right? The kids thought a lumpy towel on the floor means you can step right on it. Kinda funny, as long as they didn't get hurt. :)

We sure sun screened our bodies and none of us really got burned. In fact I kinda don't even look like I got any sun. A little I guess. All the kids got rashes on their arms and chin from rubbing the life jackets all day every day. 

Did I mention I was the only one to get my own room. Greg would tease me about if I was enjoying "my state room". 4 bedrooms, each family got one. The 2 babies had the lower deck and the Smith's had the master and I had an upper bunk. There wasn't room up top with any padding and I was fine in the room with the fan blowing on me. It was so hot, only one night was "cooler". But I also survived with the fan's "white noise".

After a couple nights we moved Rafe from the living area to the top deck and he loved it! He was so excited to wake up in the morning and see the sky. We were worried about Jax. He sleep walked. He said he woke up and was across the deck on a lounge chair. We felt kinda freaked. So Greg kinda made a blockade so he couldn't just wander in the night and off the side to drown or something. One night his sleeping bag zipper was stuck all zipped so he couldn't get out easy. Scary!

Last picture: Our group in 2014!  All 22 of us on the house boat. Fun great people, great kids, good food, lots of memories.

There is Stirling and Rachel Smith and their little family, Scott and Heather Tasker and family, Andrea and Abe Denzer and family, and then us. All the kids had a great time. 11 boys and 3 girls.

The 3 other families...(Stirling, Rachel, Stockton, & Hazal Smith) (Scott, Heather, Griffin, Weston, Cami, & Strider Tasker) (Abe, Andrea, Lucy, Will, James, & Andy Denzer)