Mine are all going to center around disastrous times at/on the way to Lake Powell. I've vacationed at Lake Powell almost every summer of my life, and I love it dearly, but things seem to go wrong A LOT there. Good times.
Oh, and for those of you who don't know, THIS is Lake Powell:
Beautiful, isn't it? I always sleep on top of the house boat so I can look at the stars. The view of the stars at Lake Powell is one of the most gorgeous things I've ever seen.
One year we shared a house boat with three other families, which means a lot of stuff and a lot of people running around jostling things. Not to mention the two boats and two jet skis tied to it's side, bumping against it. One morning I woke up thoroughly confused. It was barely light out yet, and I thought I was still dreaming when I saw the cliff two feet away from the top of the boat. We had tied off at the beach across the cove; were we trying to rescue someone from the top of the cliff? (Yes, I actually thought that. I am a genius.)
As soon as my head cleared I realized I was conscious, and we had in fact drifted across the cove in the night. All of us kids had been sleeping on the roof, and several of them were huddled near the edge watching the action. I got up to join them and immediately fell over since the wind kept banging us against the rocks. I crawled over to my friends and watched as all the boys and their dads attempted to push off the rocks while someone tried to steer the boat away. My parents were sleeping in our ski boat and witnessed the whole thing. We eventually got away and anchored properly to shore. There was no going back to sleep after that ordeal, so we made breakfast early and kept re-telling the story (as if we all hadn't just experienced it). The best part is, my sister and another friend slept through the whole thing. They came down wondering why we were all awake, and everyone just died laughing. We hadn't even realized they weren't up.
Needless to say, much of the rest of that trip was spent "diving", looking for clothes that were hanging out to dry and other missing things.
Another year, my parents, my sister and I were driving over to Lake Powell for a short trip. I seriously think it was a four day weekend or something. It was the trip from Hell. My sister was sleeping in the middle seat and I was in the back. We were about two and half hours into the drive (through the mountains) when a rock roughly the size of a golf ball came crashing through the window, right where my sisters head had been 30 seconds before. We attempted to fix it using a tarp and some duct tape, but it was no good. We had to stay the night and get it fixed in the morning.
I know tons of other things went wrong, but I can't remember them all. I just know that we gave up on going to Powell and stayed in Glenwood Springs for the weekend. Glenwood Springs does not have a lot of things to do for fun (it's gotten better, but at the time, there was NOTHING). There isn't even a movie theater. The "mall" consisted of 3 miscellaneous stores and a K Mart. Obviously we couldn't DRIVE anywhere, so we were running around this mountain town in our bathing suits, tank tops, and flip flops. A hike was considered, but got shot down (probably because my sister and I were sick). Sounds terrible, right? Somehow I look back on that weekend fondly. I guess we managed to make our own fun, though I can't really remember how.
Then of course there are the various weather problems. One year there was a massive windstorm, and our parents stayed outside holding our tent up all night. We seemed to have a talent for getting stuck in rainstorms. The waves would get white caps and spill into the boat; I swear it felt like we were in the ocean. I can think of a few times where we ran out of gas in the middle of the canyon, and had to paddle out and flag someone down. It seems like the trip isn't complete without a stranger towing us back to the marina.
Last year, my aunt decided to tell a Ranger that we had killed a rattle snake. Apparently that snake is more valuable than her 2 to 8 year old grand kids. It was there first, after all. And anyway, half the time they don't even inject poison, they just bite to scare you off. So it's a 50/50 chance on whether you'll live or die, which is totally a risk worth taking, to save the wildlife.
I'm sorry, I'm all for animal rights and what not, but that lady was INSANE.
And this has gone on ridiculously long.
Basically, I love Lake Powell and the crazy adventures we have there.
Lucky to be alive?
-Linds
Sounds like good times!
ReplyDelete