 |
| Climbing the giant sand hill near Wahweap |
Lake Powell this year was awesome! We started the trip with Jodi and Chris who drove down to take us on their boat. The first day, they took us to the giant sandhill by Wahweap. Then we tubed up to Face Canyon where we stopped for lunch, soaked for a while and chatted under this cool overhang.
 |
| Ned found this awesome blue lizard |
 |
| Our amazing hosts: Chris and Jodi |
 |
| Exploring Face Canyon |
The Canyon walls were so narrow that at times, we all had to stand on the sides of the boat to keep it from rubbing against the rocks. However, we needn't have worried, Chris was an excellent driver and never once rubbed the canyon walls.
When we went as far as the boat would fit, we hopped out and walked the rest of the way. The water got shallow enough to wade and we ended up in some amazing slot canyons that ended in a trickling waterfall. It was gorgeous! I didn't want to drop my phone so I didn't get to take any pictures.
 |
| Tubing through the narrow canyons in Face Canyon |
 |
| Where we stopped to have lunch--right under the arch so we could be shaded. |
 |
| some crazy moves with Lincoln and Whit on the tube |
 |
| Lincoln looks like a squirrel or cat jumping. |
On the second day with Jodi and Chris, we went up to Navajo canyon and were amazed with the sheer cliffs that lined that canyon. We also had to watch out for all the driftwood. For whatever reason, Navajo canyon seemed to collect the stuff. We found a place to stop. It was a tiny beach and we picked a few pieces of driftwood and played in the water, in spite of a storm that rolled in and out. A few of the adults fell asleep on the boat while the kids played in the water. It was a beautiful afternoon!
Following our nap, we headed back to Wahweap so Chris and Jodi could head home and we could continue the Lake Powell journey by heading over to the Houseboat.
 |
| Lincoln was trying to avoid some sun after sunburn |
On day three of Lake Powell we woke up to head out on the houseboat in hunt of the perfect spot to beach. We found a spot that was less than desirable due to the inaccessibility of the cove and a discovered rattlesnake. Thus, the next day we picked up and moved about 3 hours closer to the dock to a new location. This one was more accessible, but we found that we baked in the afternoon sun so finally a day later, we went to the perfect spot that was recently vacated. This new spot was accessible, had soft, clean sand and had afternoon shade. The kids worked hard to hone their wakeboarding and surfing skills. Nyle earned a hat by doing the front slide butterslide trick on the wakeboard and then earned a hoodie by crossing both sides of the wake. Since Nyle was under 12, these tricks were available to him. Ned, having just turned 12 this year had many more challenging tricks to pass off in order to earn any Wake Monkey merchandise. Thus, when the uncles offered to take kids to a designated cliff jumping location to be able to earn a hat, Ned and West jumped at the opportunity. Even though Nyle had already earned the hat, he went along as well. We took two boatfuls of kids to the cliff jumping location. My heart was probably beating more than the kids up on the cliff. Fortunately, Zach went up with the kids and gave them all a talk about how to position their body for the best entrance into the water from cliff jumping. Cousins Bowen and Jackson were easily the gutsiest. After jumping off the designated spot, they scaled the mountain to a cliff jumping spot that was twice as high- we estimate to be at least 55 feet above the water. Many more cousins made the same jump. I was praying the whole time they'd all be safe!
 |
| The sandhill |
 |
| Cliff jumping to earn the Wake Monkey hat |
 |
| Wake Monkey Merch |
What a great trip! We always love our Lake Powell week!
