Lake Powell over the 4th

This is a picture overlooking Bullfrog bay


Hiking up a slot canyon. Jackson, Josh and Pappa

I always get excited when we get the opportunity to go down to Lake Powell. I have spent over a year of my life on this lake and now I get to share it with my kids. The red rocks, blue sky, warm water and hot days make this place a paradise for me. I have pictures of my as a baby at this lake, my first kiss was at this lake, and I fell in love with my best friend turned wife at this lake so with 35 years of adventures you can see why I am get excited about LP.
This trip was going to be just my family and my parents. We left Denver after a very busy week of work and made the 7 hour drive from Denver. I am always impressed with how my kids travel, they do so well and it is not such a struggle to make a long drive. It was the 4th of July weekend so I was able to have one extra day on the lake and not have to take time away from work.
Mom and Dad were still awake when we arrived and they helped us put the food away and the kids to bed. When we stay in the slips we get water and power and do not have to use any engines or generators. The trade off is that we are not able to park the boat on the beach and sleep on top of the houseboat or have a beach to play on.
The next day and the 2 days after that we spent our time swimming, playing on the boat and playing games. This trip was very special for me because Jackson was able to get up water skiing for his first time. He tried last year and was not able to get up and so when we wanted to try again this year I was really hoping that he would get up. I help him with getting ready and my dad drove the boat and as Jackson yelled “hit it” seconds later he was up like he had done it 100 times before. He fell shortly after and after 3 more attempts he was able to stay up and have a good long ride. The rest of the trip he spent talking about water skiing and what tricks he could learn. I remember when I first learned and how big of a deal it was to me and now to see those same feelings was a pretty big deal for me. Josh tried and was not able so maybe next trip he would get up. One thing that Josh is getting good at is the knee board. He was able to even stand up and ride the board like a surf board by himself. We have two knee boards so Jackson and Josh would ride together and would do tricks and try to splash each other. It was fun to see them enjoying themselves so much. This trip was also the first time that Lexi wanted to ride the kneeboard by herself. I rode double with her and after a few minutes of getting use to it she was up on her knees going side to side and having a great time. She would jump from her board to mine and she even rode on my shoulders.

Jackson, Lexi and Josh having fun on the tubes

Lexi up on the Kneeboard for the first time

Jackson, Josh and Lexi also had a blast on the tubes and the yellow banana. We would tow the tube and the banana together and they would jump from one to the other as the boat was making turns and going over bumps. They had a blast and the days seemed to last only hours. We went touring and went hiking in slot canyons. We soaked in as much of LP as we possibly could in such a short trip and as the last day arrived I was very sad to leave. I was wondering if my best friend turned wife would love the lake as much as I did and over time she did and to now see my kids love it as much as they do brings great joy to me. LP has special powers and for some reason time stands still. The feelings I had as a little sunburned boy have never gone away. I am so very thankful to my parents for give us this place. This magical wonderland that never gets old or boring. I realized this trip that I need to figure out how to keep going to this place with my family. At the end of the month we have our 2nd annual 48 hours of LP fun. My entire family gets together and for 2 straight days we do nothing but play. We let the kids play as long as they want and they get to play with family.

Lexi with Dad on the Kneeboard

Love you Anne,

T