Lake Powell Day 1

So excited for our first time to Lake Powell.

We drove down to Bullfrog Marina for our first trip to Lake Powell. The boys rode in the motorhome with Laurie and Glen, while Mom and Dad drove the truck. It was a long drive, but we broke it up with a stop for lunch at a Stan’s Burger Shak in Hanksville.

The burgers were amazing!

Mom was excited for a new restaurant.

When we arrived at the lake, we got the rig parked and Mom fixed up some pork burritos that she’d had in the crockpot all day. Then we played a few games and got ready for bed. Before we turned in, though, we headed outside to look at the stars. It was so dark and perfect that we could easily see the Milky Way, and just about every star in the universe.

Dax and Seth played in the sand/dirt until dinner.

On Friday morning we got the boat launched a little after nine o’clock. None of us had ever been to Lake Powell before, and we didn’t really know what to expect. We were shocked to find out that Lake Powell was like Zion but underwater. We spent the entire day motoring up narrow canyons with massive rock walls towering on either side of us. It was so amazing!

We rode in the boat over to the marina.

Glen loves to be on his boat.

We let Dad bring his own camera. That might have been a mistake. 

The walls at Lake Powell were beautiful.

We couldn't believe how pretty is was.

We touched the walls.

We went into little caves and alcoves.

Sometimes we stopped to get out of the boat and explore.

It's chilly on the boat in October, so we wore jackets a lot.

Mom didn't even puke. 

For lunch we stopped in a shaded alcove and Mom made sandwiches. The boys started throwing their bread crusts into the water, and before long, there were dozens of fish popping to the surface. We didn’t have any fishing poles, but the bread crusts were more fun anyway. The boys did eat some of their lunch, and then we got in the water. We swam around a bit, and the boys played with the tubes for a while, and then Dax said, "Look, there's an otter." Over on the rocks, two otters were running around. We got right over close to the bank, and they hid behind the rocks, peeking their heads out to see what we were doing. Eventually, their mom came out, and then they stayed in their den.

We ate lunch under his beautiful alcove.

Mark and Dax helped spot for trees and rocks.

The fish were excited for the bread.

The boys loved feeding them.

Mark loves getting in the water.

Seth jumps right in, too!

The water was not that warm, but it wasn't freezing either.

Dax and Seth like to float around in the tube.

Then they tried to kick their way back to the boat.

Mark had to rescue them.

Lake Powell was stunning.

Dax spotted these otters on the rock.

This guy had a fish.

They kept peeking up at us.

 

After lunch, we went exploring. We found a place to cliff dive, and Seth seemed totally into it. With the older boys watching from the boat, Seth and Dad climbed up the rocks for a jump. Seth only hesitated for a moment while Dad counted to three. He jumped right in! Mark was a kind older brother and got in the water to help him after he dove in, although he didn't need it with a life jacket on. After that, the big boys had to give it a try. Dax did a little slide into the water, and Mark did a six foot plunge. It was perfect for their first time cliff diving. 

Mark got in the water to catch Seth.

I wish I had a better picture of Seth jumping. He did so good!

Dad was the best cliff jumper!

Mark jumped after watching Seth and Dad!

 

We visited a place called Forgotten Canyon, which included a hike. We had to take our shoes off to cross the stream, and then we walked about a third of a mile up to some old reconstructed ruins. We were able to climb right down into a pit house. There were some petroglyphs on the wall, too. It was such a cool hike. Meanwhile, Laurie and Glen stayed moored in the boat. We also saw a few types of lizards, lots of ducks, who also liked our bread crusts, and a great blue heron.

We loved exploring different canyons.

We had to cross the water for this hike.

Seth liked the sandy dirt.

Dax found a tiny arch!

Mark is a good older brother. He's showing Dax the petroglyphs.

We went down into the pit house.

The ruins were replicas, but we still enjoyed seeing them.

Mom went in this large room.

Seth checked out the smaller room.

We had so much fun on this hike.

We fed the ducks once we got back to the boat.

 

On this trip, Dad received training on backing the trailer and boat down the launching ramp. Luckily, the ramp wasn’t too crowded on this day. In fact, there was no one on it, so Dad zigzagged the truck back down so Glen could drive the boat onto the trailer. When we got back to the motorhome, we found Nate, who’d driven down to spend the next few days with us. Dad cooked up some hotdogs on the grill while Mom cut fruit and veggies for dinner. Then we watched the Sand Lot until bedtime. 

Lake Powell is a beautiful spot.

We were cold in the mornings and warm in the afternoons.

This looks just liked Arches or Zion.

We saw a ton of Great Blue Herons.

And a ton of Grebes.

Seth was tuckered out. 

Dax was freezing in the wind a lot of the time.

We stayed out as late as possible on the lake.

Glen and Randy always have fun together.

The boys love hanging out in the motorhome.