Last vacation of summer..

Some friends of mine have a timeshare on a houseboat at Lake Powell and set up an adults only trip for Labor Day weekend. Having never been, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to visit this place that I have heard so much about. We left on Thursday morning and other than listening to sister's boyfriend talk 98% of the time, the four hour drive was relatively uneventful.

Arriving at Powell we unloaded the truck, the car, and the boat. The beach at Bullfrog quickly became a dumping ground for the Clampets. Food and supplies for 15 adults and luggage for 7 quickly piled up. After loading the houseboat, the womenfolk took the smaller boat out to seek a spot to "camp" the following night.

Being my first time to Lake Powell, I was in awe and wonder at the beautiful scenery. By the time we found our camping spot, my neck was stiff from looking up. It amazes me that these cliffs were over a hundred feet high while there was almost 300 feet of water below us (I really shouldn't have told my mom about that part, she hates the water).

The first night we stayed at the beach in Bullfrog and had dinner at the Anasazi Lodge. After dinner we went out on the deck where a couple of park rangers gave presentation on astronomy and the similarities between Mars and the Glen Canyon area. Comparing pictures from the Mars rover to those of Glen Canyon.

The next day the rest of the gang joined us and we headed to Moki Canyon for our first night of fun at the lake. Each night had a different theme and this one was Pirate night complete with a treasure hunt.

Part of Moki Canyon

"Aargh!"

The next day we moved to another part of the lake called Hansen Creek. On the way we went down Forgotten Canyon where they have restored some Anasazi Indian ruins. We were unable to hike to the ruins but did get picture of the petroglyphs above the ruins.

Forgotten Canyon

The Houseboat at Hansen Creek

We stayed at Hansen Creek for 2 nights. We had an 80's night and beach night. Also, while at Hansen Creek we took the smaller boat out for some water skiing and tubing. Several of us hiked around and explored. Of course, I had to collect rocks, shells, and sand. I am almost as bad as a little kid.

Beach Night

I finally caught a fish the last night of the trip. It was an ugly catfish but at least I can say I caught a fish at Lake Powell.

I would love to visit again and explore more of this 100 plus mile long lake. Our few days were just a small glimpse of this beautiful place. As we traveled along the lake I couldn't help but wonder at the history that lay beneath the water's surface; the Indian ruins and artifacts that no longer exist. At the same time I know that I would not have been in this beautiful place, enjoying the landscape and admiring how the wild Colorado River created these majestic canyons had it not been for the creation of Lake Powell. For more information about Lake Powell please visit http://www.utah.com/nationalsites/glen_canyon.htm.