K-Fab Running: Lake Powell

Ahh.......I had forgotten how much I loved Lake Powell! My family went down last week (Sept.10th), so I went down with Daniel and Samantha and we met them down there. The drive was hell. I have had too many drivers in my life lately and haven't had to drive for long periods of times in YEARS!! When the kids were little, I would throw them in the car at 5am and go to the Cabin, Lake Powell, wherever. Now I am old and spoiled. But, after 3 coffees, one Dr. Pepper and a Red Bull I had a bad enough stomach ache that it kept me awake. Left home at 430 am and was lounging on the beach by 1030.

We stayed on a Houseboat that my sister and her husband, Cody, have shares in. It's huge and very comfortable. The weather was delightful! Warm in the day and nice and cool at night. We had one rain storm, on the second night, but we just pulled our sleeping bags under the bimini (sp?). I read two books, layed out and ate.

My dad's boat and the Jackson's boat.

Sleeping arrangements on top of the houseboat!

Cody taking his boat off of the anchor.

The houseboat from my laying out spot on the beach.

On Friday, we all decided to take the boats down to Escalante and have lunch together. Then those that wanted to, would go on a hike and those that didn't want to, would come back to the house boat. We took my mom, who doesn't get around well and is always cold. Being cold isn't necessarily a big problem, but I tell no lies when I say she got in the boat with her winter coat on. You know the kind, with the fur around the hood. Gotta give it to her for being prepared!!! Granted, on the way down, it was chili and we were all wearing our hoodies and sweats.

Matthew and Abby trying to stay warm.

Me and my nephew, Dylan. He's 17, a great kid..not great enough to put the whole face in the pic though..haha

On the trip down, we lost each other and then met up again after some time in the canyon. Lunch was a delicious fare of sammich's, chips and fruit. We all decided to go on Cody's "short hike" and mom was going to stay in the boat and take a nap. Well, needless to say, Samantha, Mark (my brother), Christie (his wife), Abby (niece), Jack (nephew) and I went for about an hour or more and turned back. Frankly, Precariously climbing on falling rocks through the scratchy weeds is just not my dealio.

Taking pictures of Cari, taking pictures.

So our group loaded ourselves in my dad's boat, leaving Cody and Cari's boat for the others and headed back. As the boat made it's way down the main channel, the gentle splashing put me right to sleep. Just as I was nodding off, the boat stopped. I looked up at Mark and he turned around and said, "I guess we are out of gas". ARE YOU SERIOUS????? Not that it was Marks fault, he was just driving and I know for a fact, he didn't pass any open fuel facilities. Here we were, in a boat with my mom and the two youngest in our group.

After about 45 minutes we were getting precariously close to floating down another canyon. So we decided to paddle our way back to the middle of the channel. Better odds for getting help or maybe even seeing Cody and Cari's boat. Well, guess what, law says you only have to have ONE oar. So we got THE oar out and tried to use it. Totally useless against the small breeze and frankly...........ONE OAR??? So Mark jumped in the water, we threw him a rope, and he swam to this little island that would make us visable to the boats going down the channel. Christie jumped in too and helped him out, all the while I was on the front of the boat, "rowing".

The island we were on was full of rocks. It was Jack's oasis. He loves to throw rocks and here we were, on a rock-a-palosa island. We put him out with his life jacket, 10 feet from the boat, and he threw rocks. This took his mind off of the upsetting fact that we were out of gas. When he had started crying I suggested we pick him up and flag other boats down with the crying baby. Pretty good idea, eh??

Finally an "angel straight from heaven" in a boat named "Sunken Treasure", came to our aid with 10 gallon's of gas and some awesome Karma. Luckily I had grabbed my wallet - because we were able to pay him and get on our way. We barely made it to Bullfrog Fuel Station when the marine radio (which we turned on immediately after running out of gas) called out for the Taylor family (my maiden name) and it was the national forest service. Apparently Cody, Cari and crew managed to pass by our little showdown with the gas tank, totally unaware of our plight. They got back to the houseboat and were worried, worried, worried. So I told them we were OK and we headed to the houseboat. (THIS after 189.00 worth of gas to fill up the boat....YIKES!!)

I have been going to Lake Powell since I was 12 (Don't even try to do the math!). I have watched my dad tow people and have been towed. People break down in boats - they are kinda like cars only wetter. One couple came over to see what was wrong and was AGHAST that we had run out of gas. Almost rude! Other boats just ignored us. The man and his family that brought us gas were truly helping us in a way that is indescribable. They have some monster Karma that will serve them well in the future. ...amen... (my little soap-box)

Now you might ask, why didn't you use your cell phone?

At the place of breakdown I didn't have much service. I had to stand on the top of the boat and I couldn't get anything to go through. I knew that my sister's cell phone was dead and I didn't have any of Cody's numbers. Looking back, I should have tried to text her and my dad, just so they would know what is going on, IF I could have gotten through. When we finally got gas and were back on the go.......about 90 minutes later...my phone was dead.

What about the Marine radio, you ask???

The radio went on right at no gas time, but we didn't call out to Cody's boat because he DOESN'T HAVE a marine radio. After we were back on our way, we all kinda just chilled and couldn't hear the radio. We were a little stressed over our plight, and spent the next almost hour back to bullfrog watching the gas gauge.

All in all it was a great day. Everyone on the boat was positive and happy. We were able to get back to the houseboat before dark and my mom and the little kids were no worse for wear. I think we scared my dad too much though. I'm pretty sure we took those few extra years he had for good living. Kids lost........oh they will be OK. Wife lost.........AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That's what you get for being married over 50 years.

The rest of the trip went off without a hitch and I had so much fun with Cari and her kids. We spent the 90's taking turns having kids and so we love getting all together. The kids love each other and Cari and I certainly love to hang out. There was lots of boating, wake boarding, tubing, swimming, digging, eating and reading. It is my happy place right now!!!

My sister Cari and I. Great friends, great sisters and very very very very good-looking!!

Daniel, Samantha and I. Wearing our night bandanas - so the wind won't blow our hair on our faces.

Even cuter!

Me and my niece Emily.........she got the cutie genes!!

I think Samantha and I had just a little too much flash by this pic!!

My dad always goes to sleep on the couch. We couldn't resist!

Thanks to my family for making it a wonderful trip. Cari and Christie did a great job on the food and I haven't eaten that well on a trip in a long time!! Cody, my dad and the boys kept the boats in check. A special thanks to the little kids, for the unending entertainment!! Matthew (9)taught me how to play "stupid Mongolian", which is a fun card game (especially with Matthew's rules) with a very un-politically correct name. Abby (i think she is 7) was the cutest with crafts and reading. Then there was Jack. He is three and he is the happiest kid and so much fun to be around. He is absolutely hilarious and I can't wait til my brother moves back so I can have him more often!!

Jack! A cute little devil!