Round One, Lake Powell 2012

Back by popular demand, another blog post by me. :) My little sisters (aka the worlds cutest and most devoted fans on the planet) need something else to laugh at and I am more than happy to oblige. This post is dedicated to our first Nelson Family week at Lake Powell in 2012.
Here is our rudy crew:

Mike - the leader of our crazy family.
Bahb (Yep, I know its spelled wrong.) - by far the most patiently angelic woman I’ve ever met.
Me, with homemade tanning oils, a BackZoning book, and guitar in hand.
My sister Andrea brought her guardian angels. She was miraculously saved from a brush with death...or at the very least a brush with reconstructive dental surgery...A rock interrupted her Pocahontas worthy swan dive and left its mark.
Red was there in all her coppery haired hay bail bucking bicep glory.
Svelt and graceful Mary came decked out in her new jean print, oil repelling swimsuit.
Fat Kathy full of energy and sassy as ever kept Sam and his two friends in line.
Spam’n was our boat’s first mate. He and his friend Nick kept a weather eye out for oncoming boats, rocks and buoys while we were traveling up the main channel.
We were priveleged to have Captain Jack Sparrow (aka Brady Bradley) on our family trip for the second year in a row.
No Nelson Lake Powell Crew would be complete without Voltron Darren Scothern. I am amazed that he wants to keep coming back year after year. This was his sixth consecutive year!
Sam brought Dustin Anderson and Nick Olsen.
Katherine invited Bailey Anderson and Jenna Olsen.

All in all it was a fantastic crew for our 2012 trip!

This year we got to the Marina, our car unloaded and the boat stocked in record time. We were chugging up...or down (whichever suits dad’s need for directional accuracy) the main channel by lunch time. Everyone was safely on board and the only thing that was left behind was a head of cabbage. Dad managed not to pull all of his hair out during the whole rigging adventure.

After motoring along for a while a reconnaissance crew, composed of Andrea, Brady, and Dad went ahead in the ski boat to scout out the camp sites. Mom was given the task of navigating the houseboat. Sam and Nick read the numbers of buoys to make sure we were on track while we slid through the water. This can be quite a challenging job. The buoys spin and bob. There is no guarantee that the numbers will be facing the right direction when you drive past them.

Finally Dad joined us in the main channel. He had left his two assistants to guard a perfect campsite while he came back to guide us in. There was a strong breeze blowing down the canyons which is never good for beaching the house boat. In all the times I remember being in Lake Powell I don’t think I’ve ever parked a house boat without the added excitement of at least a mild breeze.
Thick clouds were pierced by shafts of sunlight. Several torrential rain storms passed over us while we made our way to the campsite and parked the boat. The sun painted rainbows on the sheets of rain. Water poured like silver ribbons down the orange and red cliffs on either side of us. Lake Powell is always gorgeous, but this time it welcomed us with exceptionally breathtaking scenery.

Katherine and I were assigned to keep the ski boat out of the way while everyone else went through the stress of anchoring the house boat. We watched the process from a distance surrounded by alternating patches of rain and sunshine. When things looked fairly under control on the shore Katherine and I ventured over to dock the ski boat and help bury anchors.

After the stress of finding a campsite and anchoring the boat were over everyone settled quickly into the normal laid back routine of a week at Lake Powell. Time is calculated by everyone’s stomachs. We wake up to eat breakfast; head out on the Lake for some skiing, wake boarding, wake skating and knee boarding; come in for lunch when we’re hungry; take naps and play cards during the afternoon until our stomachs tell us it's time for dinner; after dinner we take the boat out for some tubbing or hit the card tables again. Some of us attempted to do some form of physical exercise. Tony led us all in a bit of P90X madness. Everyone hated it, but loved it! We discovered Aquatic P90X, which might be adopted into the Nelson Lake Powell traditions...as long as Brady is there to lead everyone through the grueling and sporadic workout.

Thinking about the limited nature of our Lake Powell activity list it is surprising to me that it is such a favorite vacation for everyone. There really isn’t much that we do once we get there…maybe that is the charm. Dad can’t load us into the car and take us on hot, seemingly never ending excursions to see olive factories or small Mexican markets. Actually, I think we all really like Dad’s crazy adventures. They provide lots of ammunition for stories. :)

Our week at Lake Powell seemed to fly by! It ended way too fast. I need everyone’s help. There is so much I could write about from this trip, but I want to include things that people want to read about. If anyone wants to add a story from this most recent Lake Powell trip please email it to me and I’ll post it. Or if you just want to suggest things for me to write about that would be great. Thanks!