We had originally planned to go to Mount Rushmore in September, but plans changed around some church things, so we were left with the decision of what to do now that the weekend was freed up again. We hadn't been to Blanding in a while, and it is the best place to go in the Fall, so we decided to head down and see Steve's family.
I have been having the itch for over a year to play on Lake Powell with a boat and expose the kids to boating. I enjoyed boating when I was a young teen when we had a boat and would cruise the Ohio river and knee board and tube. I ran into 3 obstacles. 1. Steve was not interested in that type of boating (he does like fishing, but not water sports per se) 2. The kids are scared of boats. They are good in water and enjoy swimming, but all of them (aside from Zac) do not get excited when I talk about boating. 3. We don't have a boat.
I am weird about my time off. Its PRECIOUS and limited so, by darn, we WILL do something fun and memorable. The evening before we left I had an idea that the kids may do well with a pontoon. They saw one last time we went fishing off the dock in Lake Powell (Halls Crossing Marina) and showed some interest. It's not too intimidating or speedy. I spent about 30 min trying to find a boat to rent and came up with some very pricey speed boat rentals. I left a message about renting a pontoon because I couldn't tell where this guy was located or see any prices. I essentially wrote off the idea and went about the evening.The next morning Steve and I were getting some things together when I got a call about the pontoon. To my surprise, it was affordable and available for the weekend. The boat was in Utah Lake and we could pick it up and we could have it for the weekend, on our honor to only run it for 1 day to get the price he quoted. WOW! So now I had a boat, but now I had to see what Steve thought. He said yes- mostly because he loves me and then had second thought when we went to pick it up because it was a beast! He still agreed though. We brought it to the house as we finished packing. When the kids got home from school, there was some trepidation, but no melt downs. Zac and Gage showed real excitement. The ride down, you could feel the boat behind us, but it was largely uneventful.
We stopped and ate at El Charro in Moab and managed to find a place to park without trouble. Scot and Julene and Brandon met us in Moab for dinner.
Friday we hung out in Blanding and Jenna had her first encounter with driving. She did pretty well. Scot, Steve, and I all took turns taking her out.
This is Grandma Great's old white car than may have learned to drive in.
Saturday we got up and were on the road to Lake Powell by 8:45 or so. Everything went off without a hiccup, even launching the beast. I am grateful Scot was there. It took the pressure off me to help with the trailer. (Heaven help us). The time on the water was awesome. The kids all enjoyed it and relaxed into riding the water in no time. To my surprise all wanted to tube, even Brandon went.
Jenna and Uncle Brandon
Trev is not scared riding at the front of the boat!
Trev and Zac
Me and Jenns
Exploring Lake Powell
This is where we beached the boat for lunch
Gage and Zac
Brandon
It was a huge success! I am grateful to Steve for agreeing to my ideas. I am glad the kids had a positive experience with boating and got to see the beauty of Lake Powell like you can only do when you are on the water exploring.
Thanks to Scot and Julene who are also great hosts and ready to adventure with us!
