This was one of the strangest Lake Powell trips we have been on. We went with Mark, Carolyn, Erin and Chelsea. Bryce and Sara Christensen with their kids Blake and Addie were able to come out from Florida and meet us there. Mark and Sandy Christensen came from Colorado and met us there. Grandpa Thomas also came with us.
We received word on Saturday as the houseboat was heading back to Wahweap that one outdrive was having problems. We were all packed up and ready to go Sunday morning without knowing if the boat was able to go. We heard that the boat was going to have to be pulled, but would hopefully be ready to go by late Monday. We decided to drive to St George rather than sit around in Salt Lake. We drove down and stayed at Grandma's house in St George. We were quite the caravan with 2 boats, 2 trucks an Acadia pulling the waverunners and one Tahoe. One thing about Grandma's house is that there is plenty of space inside, but parking is limited. We put the waverunners and Acadia in the garage with the 2 boats parked out front. The trucks and Tahoe filled every inch of the driveway.
We spent all day Monday exploring St George and trying to keep ourselves busy. Eating was interesting because we had plenty of food, but it was all packed in the boats. In and out of the boats multiple times was getting real old by the time we left. We drove through Zions on Monday and enjoyed everything it had to offer. Monday night came around and the latest update on the houseboat was now Wednesday. We were kind of tired of being hot and seeing the boats that we couldn't use in St George because they were packed with stuff. We voted and decided to drive to Lake Powell on Tuesday and spend the night in the campground.
Tuesday morning we drove through Hilldale and Colorado City to get to the lake. We were finally able to unload the boats into the houseboat in Old West Marine's yard. (Thanks Len). With the boats unloaded, we were finally able to play on the lake. We played all afternoon long and headed back to the campground that night. The night at the campground was fun. We were packed for a houseboat trip, not a camping trip. We took all the pads from the houseboat and set up on tables, tarps and every boat seat available. Dinner was cooked over an open fire. Wednesday morning came around and the houseboat still was not ready. The weather was overcast and rainy so we decided to go to the dam visitor center. It seemed everyone else had the same idea. The visitor center was crowded. We had signed up for the dam tour, but had just heard that it was canceled due to the weather. It was at that point that we were all disappointed that through the windows of the visitor center we saw the Dock Potato being pulled across the bridge!
We loaded the last of the gear into the houseboat and set off up lake in a rain storm. We were so excited to finally be on the lake! We made it to a beautiful canyon on the west side of Last Chance. Setting up camp took a little while because this was our first time with this combination of 2 boats and 2 waverunners. We were finally set up and ready to enjoy the rest of our week on the lake.
We enjoyed hours of wakeboarding, skiing, fishing, tubing and exploring. We took a trip up to Rainbow Bridge and stopped at Dangling Rope for ice cream afterward. For the first time in a couple of trips we were finally rewarded with ice cream! We were able to go see the stairs up the ramp to the employee housing that the Thomas family had built in the early 80's. It was very cool to hear the stories of their construction. We were hit by a pretty good storm while we were docked at the marina. It was strong enough that we had to move our boats to the other side of the docks to keep the waves out of the back of the Grasshopper. After making our way back to camp I was relieved to find the houseboat and the waverunners just as we had left them. Thanks for the time and help in setting up camp! We have not broken loose since our very first trip with the houseboat. One bonus of the storm was that we had a tube and a few other blow up toys blown into our canyon.
One tradition that we have started on the houseboat is theme night. We have done a luau, a western night and this trip was a pirate theme. We all enjoyed the night. The kids were heavily decorated with authentic make up!
It was so much fun to have so many different people that hadn't been to Lake Powell with us before. I love experiencing the lake with different people. It was definitely a trip to remember.
Trisha and Colbie at Zion's
Chaz was Grandpa's shadow all through Zion's
The entire crew at Zion's
Grandpa and his granddaughters swimming at the pool in Stone Cliff
Bargain pricing at the gas station in Hilldale
Luke, Sandy and Chaz hitting the lake for the first time
Sunset from the campground
The crew at the visitor's center
Finally we see the boat!
The strange weather made for some beautiful pictures. Mark took this one and it ended up in a 2011 Lake Powell calendar.
Another beautiful shot.
Rainbow Bridge to ourselves. Thanks to the ranger for the history lesson. (and answering all Luke's questions)
The Thomas family stairs
William on Pirate night
A bunch of Pirate kids!
And one sleepy pirate grandpa
Kids having fun on the tube
JT and I riding double. This was right before we had a slight collision with the rope and JT's ear. Luckily Trisha was driving and jumped out of the boat to save her little boy. Thanks Mark for taking over the driving and getting to JT first.
View from the mouth of our canyon looking down Last Chance toward the channel.
Our camp for the week.
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