Yesterday and today were very big days. Yesterday I had an intense day at work. It was already looking to be intense with the business that is fortunately starting to pick up, but then early in the morning I learned that one of my employees passed away. This news was tragic in its own right, and even more startling because 6 months ago, one of my employees also passed away. My team has been through a lot, but it is nothing compared to the grief of the families and close friends of my team members who have departed. My thoughts and prayers are truly with all of them.
I finished work around 9PM and then packed until 11 or so. Lily wasn’t feeling the best today, but she did a ton to pack, get ready, and prepare meals for Lake Powell, and the kids (mostly Mary) really helped her pack as well.
By 8:00 AM today (Saturday), we hit the road. We arrived around 1PM (we lost an hour because we arrived in Arizona). After checking in and loading all of our things into the house-boat, we got a tour and instructions from Jimmy. This was my first time operating a house boat. Jimmy’s instructions (many of which I caught on video) turned out to be critical. He was a little concerned that it was our first time, and it was just us two parents and four kids, but he gave us great advice about the generator, the jet ski, anchoring our boat and more. In the end, things went as well as they did because of him. Thank you Jimmy!
After Jimmy’s instructions, they helped us get the houseboat out of the marina and tie up our jet ski to it so we could tow it. After that, I was the captain, and with Lily as my navigator, we made our way to Warm Creek, a recommendation of the brother of our friend Derrek Marshall. We hung out with Derrek and Chelsea this week and they both gave us such great advice and encouragement about our upcoming adventure, and Derrek even called his brother (a Lake Powell expert) on the spot to get the advice on where to park the house boat.
We thought we hadn’t quite reached Warm Creek yet, and it was starting to get dark and we were getting nervous about daylight. We did see some nice beaches in a cove, though, so we figured we wouldn’t mess around with daylight. I jumped on the jet ski to scout around the cove to find a great place for our boat. After cruising for 2-3 minutes, I found the perfect beach. After driving up to it, I kicked my jet ski in reverse, and then it completely died. I tried over and over to turn it on, but had no luck. I thought maybe I flooded the engine somehow, so I slowly, but anxiously, counted to 60 and tried again, and still there was no luck. I realized it was a lost cause. I noticed there was another houseboat about a quarter mile from me as the bird flies. I kicked off my shoes and started to swim to it, and I quickly realized that would take forever. So I went back to shore, and with my shoes still off, I just started running along the shore line. I pretty quickly got into a massive patch of prickle bushes with no clear path around. Being in a hurry, I just ran straight through them, and yes, it did hurt. I then ran into a small channel I had to swim across before getting to land again, and then I ran to the other houseboat. I desperately pleaded with them to drive me 3 minutes to get back to Lily. I knew she and the kids would be worried sick. I foolishly didn’t take my phone. It turns out I would have had cell service, which I didn’t expect or think about. The people I bumped into acted a bit put out, and I could tell they were reluctant, and even a bit put out to help me, but they did, and for that I’m truly grateful.
When I got back to the houseboat, everyone was worried sick. The houseboat was drifting towards a rock ledge, and Lily couldn’t figure out how to start the boat. She knew how to start it, but the engines weren’t in neutral and she didn’t realize that and that is why it didn’t start. Once on the boat, everyone was very relieved. I explained everything, got the boat started, and went to the beach where my jet ski was docked. Once we parked, Lily and I started digging holes for the anchors. Then the boat started to float away. I rammed it up on the beach the way Jimmy told me (approach at 1,000 RPM then after you hit, crank it up to 3,000 RPM for good measure). Still, as my boat started to float away, I realized that didn’t quite do the trick. I hopped back in the boat, rebeached it, and then Lydia periodically would ram it forward to keep it beached while Lily and I dug holes for the anchors. My intention was for Lydia to ram at 1,000 RPM, but I didn’t communicate well and she was going full throttle, and probably rammed it 20 times. Needless to stay, It stayed put, Lily and I dug the holes, I put in the anchors and we were all set for the night. Lydia also helped dig after the inner anchors were in and we no longer needed her at the throttle.
It was a very adventurous day and we were grateful to be done at the end of the day. I don’t think we had a formal dinner because Lily and I were so tired and shook up, so people snacked and we all went to bed. Unfortunately we didn’t sleep super well either. Jimmy recommended we turn off the generator at night which means we can’t run the AC. I knew nothing about generators at night, so I followed his advice to a T worrying that any deviation could cause more problems. I later found out that we could run the generator 24/7 and he was probably just giving us advice to save some money, which was too bad because we boiled that night (and the night after) not realizing it was avoidable. Eventually, after the first two nights, we ended up sleeping on the roof (which Jimmy also recommended) and that was nicer.
It was a big day, and I felt happy to be in Lake Powell, to all be safe, and to have learned a new skill operating a house boat!