Speeding thru Lake Powell

Like Gumby says you have to be flexible because you don't know where the next twist will come from. Well after a long day of travel we knew that an extra three hours of driving to Bryce Canyon in the dark was not going to work. So we took Gumby's advise and became flexible. This meant that we needed to change our plans and stay in Page, AZ at Lake Powell.

"Lake Powell is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona. It was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the controversial Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, a popular summer destination. The reservoir is named for explorer John Wesley Powell, a one-armed American Civil War veteran who explored the river via three wooden boats in 1869. In 1972, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established. It is public land managed by the National Park Service, and available to the public for recreational purposes. Lake Powell is arguably one of the most scenic reservoirs in America, situated in some of Southern Utah's finest red-rock desert country. It is second in size only to Lake Mead downstream." (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)


Little did we know the twists that lay ahead. Fortunately the folks (and they are Utah country folks) at the Bryce Canyon Inn did not charge us for the night. They must have a Gumby too! And we were able to get a great rate in the same hotel that we had reservations for in two days in the same style room, a real blessing. Twist number one allowed us to rent a speed boat and have a blast on the lake. Twist number, two while we were getting ready for the speed boat we found out that our airplane, helicopter, boat tour of the Grand Canyon had been dramatically changed. Without notification to our tour company or us the company providing the trip changed the time. Gumby Help! We do not know how to flex that well. We chose to cancel
:( Arrrgh!!!

After an unbelievable day on Lake Powell we made our way to Bryce Canyon a little disappointed but expecting good things ahead. Side note: we did confirm with M&M Surfing in LA that we were on for surfing lesson in California next week. As we left Lake Powell out of frustration and disappointment we did have little incident with Gumby (we are not proud of it) ... please view but don't judge the last picture on this post.

Beautiful Lake Powell - it was a real highlight so far!!!

Navigating through the canyons

Four smiling Glabs getting ready to tube on Lake Powell

Christiana!

Kimberly!

Corinne!

Kendall!

The Canyons were awesome!

The back side of the dam Lake Powell on this side, the Colorado River on the other

Our navigator!

Even with all the changes today we had a relaxing and enjoyable time - all due to Don's great leadership and God's blessings.

The next few pictures were shot on our way north to Bryce Canyon the next day .... a little out of order ... the gray haze looks like it could be an evening in D.C. on a hazy hot and humid day, but in fact it is smoke coming from the forest fires that were set by lightning in the Zion Canyon area. You could see a haze of smoke over the sky and smell the forest fires. We ran into a team of fire fighters from New Mexico on our way north. They said the 10,000 acre fire they were fighting was almost contained.

In a moment of disappointment and frustration with Gumby's life hanging in the balance cooler heads prevail. The little green guy has forgiven us all and we are moving on. We can't wait to get on the road again!

(Post by Don - pictures and captions by Kim)