More Pictures from Lake Powell

Rainbow Bridge

The last two days have been more like the Lake Powell we've come to love.  The sun returned bringing with it near 100 degree temperatures.  We've kept busy:

• Wakeboarding - Taylors friend Jayden came along and wakeboarded for her first time.
• Tubing - Tyson, Camryn and Jayden had the longest tube ride in family history riding the tube all the way from beyond the San Juan Arm of Lake Powell to warm creek - about 45 miles.
• Swimming - If our bodies could become water-logged, ours would be.  You've got to keep cool.
• Touring - we've seen some great areas of the lake, some which have opened up now that the water level is about 25 feet higher than last year.  We visited our favorite canyon - Cathedral, and explored a new one - Twilight.  
• Relaxing - we always find some good shade to relax under mid-day while we have lunch and take a break from the other fun.






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Lake Powell 2011

We arrived in Page, AZ for our annual trip to Lake Powell.  Boat - check.  Hotel room - check.  Beach towels - check.  Sun screen - check.  Lake full of water - check.  Sun - oops, forgot to bring that along.  In all of our previous trips to Lake Powell, we've never had a day without sunshine.  There is a first for everything I guess.  We were able to get out on the lake today, see some sights and do some tubing, but in the early afternoon the clouds were joined by their friends heavy rain and lightning and we were forced off the lake.  The storms were pretty intimidating, but we were able to avoid them for the most part, hiding in a canyon for the worst of it to pass through.

Scout Camp

The weekly pilgrimage to the mountains for our scouts week long camp started today.  Taylor and I volunteered for delivery duties which meant meeting at the church at 6 a.m.  The trip was filled with unbelievable stories told by the scouts and every sentence starting with the word "dude".  It took two and a half hours to get to Camp Evergreen which is in the high Uintas.  There was still snow on the ground in some areas and word quickly spread that the water temperature of the swim / canoeing lake was 35 degrees. 

Taylor and I stayed long enough help put together Tyson's "Tajmatent" and make sure everyone was situated.  Tyson and another scout are staying in an eight man tent with cots, pads and all of the comforts of home (almost).

Stadium of Fire - Paragliders

I quit filming just before the last paraglider came in and crashed into the barricade - bummer for both of us.

Stadium of Fire - F-16 Flyover

Stadium of Fire

I gave the family the choice of flying to Seward and each of us running the Mount Marathon race or go to dinner at the Brick Oven followed by tickets to see the Stadium of Fire and to my surprise we didn't have to pack our bags. 

Our evening started with a great meal at the Brick Oven.  Pasta, salad bar and homemade root beer - what's not to like.  The pictures below capture the fun and entertainment we enjoyed.  It could have only been topped if Darren were with us - but we know he is where he should be!

Aren't there laws againt false advertising?  I couldn't get anyone to confirm my suspicion, but I doubt there was any honey and if there was....?

The temperature almost hit 100 during the day.  We were thrilled to find that our tickets were on the west side of Lavel Edwards Stadium.  We almost felt bad for the people who arrived early and had to sit in the hot sun for a couple of hours before the sun went down.  Tyson going old school with the rabbit ears to mom's head.

Sky-divers delivered the flag which was flown during the evening.  The flag was brought back from Iraq by the 388th Fighter Wing located at Hill AF Base.  It was unbelievable to watch the four para-gliders come in.  When they were dropped, they were so high you could barely see them or the plane that dropped them for that matter.  They came in extremely fast, circling the stadium and landing one at a time.  The fourth and final diver carried the flag into the stadium.  Each of the first three came in hot and landed flawlessly.  

Things didn't go as smoothly for the fourth skydiver.  Coming in fast he clipped the barricade and tumbled to the ground knocking over the barricade and a man standing by the barricade.  The troops rushed in and gathered the flag.  The injured worker didn't get as much attention as the flag, but he walked off after a few minutes.

David Archuletta sang the national anthem and as the last note was sang, four F-16 fighter jets from the 388th buzzed the stadium.  The lead pilot was connected via video and delivered a message to the stadium.  It was cool.  We would have paid the ticket price just to see the jets fly over. 

David Archuletta (American Idol fame) performed several songs.  He has a great voice, but is still working on his performing skills.

Brad Paisley was the main performer.  He said a ten song set that included most of his most popular hits.  Tyson tolerated it - not a country fan.  The rest of us loved it. 

The fireworks show itself was absolutely amazing.  I'm not a big fireworks guy, but loved the show they put on.  The colors, originality, noise, # of fireworks, etc. was just awesome.