Now that is saying something! With Covid the past year and a half, so many things got postponed; our family vacation was one of them. We had planned an Alaskan cruise with our adult kids and the ship we were scheduled to be on was one that was in the news with the beginning of Covid in 2020. We waited patiently for Princess Cruises to cancel and got our money back. Hopefully we will get to Alaska someday!
Then our SIL got the chance to go with a friend to Lake Powell and they had a terrific time. I had seen pictures of Lake Powell a long time ago in Family Fun magazine, probably 20 years ago. I always wanted to go there and houseboat but it seemed an unreachable goal with young children, being so far away, and quite costly.
We decided to check it out. We started planning and reserved a houseboat for fall 2021, which is shoulder season. The water is still warm and the temperatures are still pretty hot, too! Turned out to be a perfect time to go! We decided to do 5 days on the boat and a couple in Page, Arizona. It was my major research project for the last 9 months. I learned all about different houseboats, that you also rent a speedboat, anchoring, which canyons to explore, that the marina at the half-way point was closed due to storm damage, what kind of meals work best when houseboating, what to pack, toys to rent, things to do on the way there and back, etc, etc, etc. Horseshoe Bend was on the way and Antelope Canyon tours opened up! Woohoo! Right up my alley!
Here's a few of my favorite photos:
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| Horseshoe Bend - surreal! |
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| Sunset at Wahweap marina with my son |
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| The Hubs taking us out of the marina |
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| We chose this area to stay in for the week - Gunsight is the name of this rock formation. |
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| I dubbed this Coin Rock as it looks like a coin standing up (from a distance). |
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| Entering Labyrinth Canyon |
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| We all paddle boarded in! |
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| Exploring the slot canyon! |
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| We paddleboarded to the other side of the cove. |
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| and we found a balanced rock! |
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| The kids and their spouses playing games. |
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| One of our dinners was a campfire dinner! |
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| My son who loves to drive! |
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| We boated up the lake and then hiked to see one of the world's largest natural bridges, Rainbow Bridge. |
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| After that we found what they call the Toilet bowl! |
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| The girls and myself in our cover-ups! |
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| Man, I will miss this view each morning! |
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| Family photo with the houseboat before we go. |
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| In Page we took the Antelope Canyon tour - simply wonderful! |
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| Our guide took some neat photos for us. |
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| Coming out! |
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| We also hiked a short trail in Page they call the "New Wave." |
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The last day there we drove and checked out Lee's Ferry, where the Grand Canyon begins!
It was truly amazing and had I known I would love Lake Powell so much,we might have stayed there a bit longer. But we really had no idea, since it was our first time there and first time houseboating. Favorite moments were singing for hours on the top deck, looking at the stars on Sunday night, exploring Labyrinth canyon together, playing games at night, paddle boarding and hiking, Rainbow bridge, quiet mornings on the top deck with The Hubs. We did enjoy our activities and eating out at some different restaurants in Page, too. If you have some experience with boats in your family (that is, someone confident enough to drive a 59 foot houseboat and anchor it, I would say, definitely GO!
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