For the past several summers my husband, Jerry, and I have vacationed in Lake Havasu, Arizona with our best friends, Dave and Karen. But, in 2016 we were all invited to be part of a group embarking on a week-long houseboat trip at Lake Powell. Our group of eight included my husband and I, Dave and Karen, Ray and Vera (the couple with the houseboat timeshare), their young adult son, Clayton, and Jill, the mother-in-law of Dave and Karen’s son. Oddly enough, the only people who knew everyone on the trip, were Dave and Karen. The rest of us were meeting each other for the first time.
Coming together:
We all first came together in Page, Arizona, from different parts of the country. Dave and Karen are from Pasadena, California but had flown to Denver to make the drive out with us. Ray, Vera and Clayton drove from Sacramento, California. And Jill flew down from Portland, Oregon.
The plan:
As you can imagine, getting eight people organized and in sync might be a challenge. But, there was a plan! Ray and Vera have been doing these Lake Powell trips for several years already and have a checklist. It explains everything, from what to do in an emergency, to what everyone’s duties and responsibilities would be during the trip. “Uncle” Ray was our Captain and called all the shots where running the boat was concerned. His first mate, Vera, kept everyone in line as far as keeping our quarters in “ship-shape”.
Sharing is caring:
One of the main things we all shared in was the grocery shopping, meal prep and clean up. Each couple, or person, was to plan and prepare dinner for at least one of the nights aboard. I actually loved this because the only thing better than cooking for friends, is sitting back and letting them cook for me! During the six nights on board we had quite the variety of cuisine; grilled salmon, tri-tip, spicy grilled chicken, steak salad, Jamaican chicken, and turkey tacos; it was pretty gourmet. Of course our drink selection always complimented our dinner menu. Margaritas, fruity rum drinks, beer and of course wine.
Our fellow traveler, Jill, actually owns Methven Family Vineyards in Dayton, Oregon and managed to bring along a case of her various wines. Whether you are a “wine snob” or someone who just appreciates a nice bottle of wine, you have to check these out!
Another responsibility was helping moor the houseboat. Apparently, digging the holes to sink the anchors in, is a lot of work! Between that, a ski boat, and three personal watercraft, there was a lot of cooperation and coordination needed.
Exploring Lake Powell:
As I mentioned before, Ray and Vera have been coming to Lake Powell for several years. Therefore, they know a lot of great places to see and explore. This was fortunate for us because it was our first time there. At 254 square miles it is much larger than the 30 square miles we were used to at Lake Havasu!
Cookie Jar Butte:
On our first day at the lake we went out and found a spot to “park” for the week and got settled in. After all the work was done we hopped in the ski boat and our tour guide, Ray, took us to Cookie Jar Butte. This particular landmark is a big pillar looking rock formation with a small ball-like knob on top which from a distance resembles a cookie jar. We spent the better part of the afternoon hiking up and exploring the area. Afterward we headed back in to prepare and enjoy the first of our group dinners together.
Labyrinth Canyon:
Day two was probably my personal favorite of all the sites we saw. We took the ski boat and a couple of jet skis and headed for Labyrinth Canyon. The lake was down by 17 feet and made hiking through this narrow maze of sculpted canyons possible. I wasn’t the only one utterly fascinated by how the water had carved these beautiful walls of red rock.
After our hike we found a nice beach area to explore and have lunch. Meanwhile, some of our crew had fun zipping around the glassy lake on jet skis before we had to head back to the houseboat. They really got a kick out of the narrow canyons where the water was so smooth it felt like they were flying through the air. This illusion was caused by the reflection of the sky and the canyon walls in the water. They dubbed these the “flying canyons”.
That evening, while waiting for dinner, we broke out the acoustic guitars, cajon, and harmonica to perform some tunes. It was then that we accidentally came up with an idea for an original song. As you might have guessed already, the title of the song is “There’s a Song In There Somewhere”. We spent the next few days coming up with lyrics inspired by the experiences we were having during the trip.
Background:
Just a little back-story; Ray and Vera have a tradition of coming up with a catch phrase for each of their trips to Lake Powell. It’s something that ends up getting repeated throughout the week. It may start out unintentionally but ends up being used with reckless abandon. This trip was no different. “There’s a song in there somewhere” quickly became our go-to saying about everything that happened during our week together.
Lake Hazards:
Day three was quite the adventure. We started out by taking the boat and jet skis out for more exploring. This time we went to a huge natural amphitheater. It was so big that our boat was dwarfed by it. After hiking around there for a while we headed back out on the lake. Not long afterward we came across a good-sized boat stuck on a rock. It was teetering there like a seesaw but unable to move off. The rock itself was a couple of feet under water, just enough to not be visible from the surface.
The Rescue:
As we approached the boat we saw there were 3 people aboard. The two men and one woman had been out there for over 24 hours waiting for help. Naturally, we decided we were going to be the ones to get these folks out of this desperate situation.
We first tried lifting the boat off the rock by hand. When that didn’t work, we tried putting big tubes underneath the hull and inflating them to bring it higher on the water. After almost two hours of trying everything we could think of we finally hooked a rope to the front of their boat and literally twisted it off the rock by pulling it with ours. Once free from the rock we had them follow us back to camp to make sure they were going to be alright.
That evening, while everyone was winding down at the campfire after dinner, Vera and I set up our cameras and took photos of the Milky Way. This was actually my first attempt at night photography and I was very grateful that Vera was there to give me some of her pro tips.
Rainbow Bridge:
We began day four by going to Dangling Rope marina before moving on to Rainbow Bridge National Monument. This is a spectacular arch nestled in at the base of Navajo Mountain and held sacred by the Native Americans in that area. The monument itself is about a one mile hike from the boat dock depending on the level of the lake. We, however, continued on past Rainbow Bridge to hike another mile or so to an area with gigantic overhanging cliffs.
After arriving back at the houseboat, Ray, Clayton, Jerry, and Karen decided they wanted to do some wake boarding before dinner. It was a great day for it as the water was fairly calm and smooth. Clayton showed off his skill at catching air while Ray just cruised along like it was the easiest thing in the world. Jerry and Karen, though less experienced, did great too.
Cruisin’:
On day five we went exploring once again. It was fun to just cruise around looking for new points of interest. We managed to squeeze down some super narrow canyons barely wide enough for the boat to get through. Luckily we found a place wide enough to turn around.
Afterwards, we found a beach to park at and hiked around that area. There were some cool rock formations we were able to climb up to get some great panoramic photos. I loved one of the pics I took so much that I had it blown up into a five foot wide piece of art for my wall at home.
As we headed back to the houseboat we encountered an incredibly brilliant sunset. The sky was “on fire” and became fuel for another line in the song we were still writing.
We ended the night off with dinner, drinks and a hilarious round of Cards Against Humanity.
Antelope Point Marina:
On our sixth day at the lake we went to Antelope Point Marina. We enjoyed lunch and a cocktail and then walked up and down the docks ogling the massive houseboats that were moored there. That evening Dave entertained us by reading a story he had been busy writing. It recounted a story that “Uncle” Ray had told him some time before about some crazy encounters he had had during one of his trips to Lake Powell. We all listened and laughed hysterically at the shenanigans that were reported in the story as we drank some wine and wound down the final day of our trip.
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We first discovered 
Cody, nestled within the sprawling prairies and beautiful mountain ranges of Wyoming, named for “Buffalo Bill” Cody who started the town in the 1890’s, is the epitome of the wild west. It’s a smallish town with a population of about 10,000 residents; but being only 52 miles from Yellowstone’s east entrance they get hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. Apparently there are a lot of people seeking to experience that old west charm. Don’t let that fool you though, Cody is a gem with plenty of modern amenities; nice hotels, restaurants, shops, and museums.
