Lake Powell Day 3

Iceberg Canyon was beautiful. 

We spent a lot more time in the water today. After Mom made waffles for breakfast, we got the boat on the lake and headed south. It was cold on the drive to Iceberg Canyon, but by the time we got there, it had warmed up nicely. This was the most beautiful canyon that we visited. It reminded us of Kolob in Zion, but it was so cool to visit by boat. We saw a great blue heron along the way, too. As we got deeper into the canyon, Mark and Dax climbed onto the tube. They glided along slowly as we crept to the end of the waterway. Eventually, the water got shallow enough that we scraped some submerged tree branches, so we had to turn around and back track. 

We loved this canyon.

The water was smooth, and made for great reflections.

Mom didn't get sick once on this trip. 

We were so glad that Nate was on this trip with us.

Once we were clear of the trees, Glen got the boat going fast so that Mark and Dax could have a real tube ride. They loved it, and we all loved watching them laugh and smile together. Finally, they got thrown out of the tube, but they still had a great time.

Lake Powell was a gorgeous place to tube.

Mark and Dax love tubing together. 

Lots of smiles!

Glen always gives them a crazy ride. 

Finally, they got thrown out. 

The boys really wanted to watch Dad ski today. After he popped right up and skied in and out of the wake for a while, they all wanted to give it a try. Dax went first, and by the time he got the skis on, he was pretty nervous. He was saying, “No, Dad, I don’t think so,” as Dad was yelling “Hit it.” Much to our surprise Dax popped right up, too. He only skied for a few seconds before losing control of the skis and crashing, but he actually skied. His second try went about the same, and then he climbed happily back into the boat.

Dad was excited to see if he could still ski.

He popped right up like a champ.

Dad even went out of the wake.

The boys loved watching Dad ski.

Dax was nervous, but so brave to try water skiing. 

Dax popped up for a sec, and then went down, but we were all so proud of him.

Seth was next. He had never really been comfortable in deep water, but he got out there with Dad. We didn’t have the trainer skis, so he was using skis that were really too big for him. He gave it two tries, but he didn’t get up. On the second try he did body surf for about 30 yards after forgetting to let go of the rope. Later in the day, he popped up for a bit, but the skis went every which way and he was down quickly.

Seth loves to swim in the lake.

Seth was also brave to try water skiing.

He tried later, and popped up for a sec, but then crashed. 

Mark took his turn, but he wasn’t able to make it up. Still, we were proud of all the boys for getting in the water to try. Next year, all of them should be able to water ski! Nate took a turn skiing and even Glen wanted to get in and try after watching everyone out on the skis. Finally, he decided to just tube, and Dax got in the tube to ride with Glen.

We had a blast on the boat with Laurie and Glen.

Glen and Dax had a great time in the tube together.

Dax was all smiles on the boat.

After Iceberg Canyon, Glen and Dax tubed to Slickrock Canyon. We sailed around up there for a little while before moving on to Annie’s Canyon for lunch. We found a nice little cove and Mom made sandwiches for lunch. She did so well at not getting sick on this entire trip. She was even brave and got in the tube, but only because Mark rode with her and promised to keep her safe. He was so nice to make sure they didn't go out of the wake, and they had a great time tubing together.

Mark and Mom went for a tube ride together.

They laughed a lot.

Mark said the ride was easy-peasy.

Mark made sure they stayed in the smooth part of the water.

Finally, we found a really narrow canyon called Lake Canyon. Up one of the arms it narrowed down so far that we had to turn the boat off and keep it away from the walls with the oars. Mark and Dad sat on the back and pushed off the walls, while Nate sat in the front and watched for things going under the bow. Eventually, we got to deep sand. We could have hiked it out from there, but instead, we had to back the boat up by pushing against the walls. Glen, Mark and Nate really loved that part.

Mark loved kicking around in the lake.

The boys were pretty worn out after a long day on the boat, so they played some games on the long ride back.

Mark couldn't wait to go in the narrow canyon.

He got to use his oar a little bit to keep the boat safe.

 

We got back to the motorhome and were greeted by Mom’s barbecue beef, all ready in the crockpot. After we ate, Dax and Seth built a fire ring out of rocks they scavenged, and we roasted marshmallows for s’mores. We stayed outside looking at the stars until the fire burned all the way down, and it was after nine o’clock when we finally came in for scriptures and prayers. The boys were already asking to come back next year!

Dax and Seth worked so hard to build a fire pit that was safe.

It was the perfect way to end our trip.

Sleeping in the motorhome is always an adventure.