Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Scenes from a Stellar Spring Break

One of the perks of being in post-mission-not-in-school-yet-limbo is that you can go on vacation whenever you want, since you're essentially already on vacation. BYU is infamous for not having a Spring Break. But ha, ha, I got Spring Break anyway this year. We went to Lake Powell as a family (big surprise) and it was perfect.


The last few weeks had been kind of tough (doing nothing but scrapbooking and going to ward activities takes its toll after a while and you start to go craaaazzzzyy...), and even though I thought I was relaxing, I actually needed to get to Lake Powell to truly relax and recharge so I could feel ready to move forward, start working, start school, all that good stuff that's happening now. I don't know what it is about that place, but it's like a fountain of youth. We go there and we feel healed, even if we encounter countless mishaps and unplanned delays or challenges. Boats break down, people get sunburned and sore, sometimes we get ourselves into dangerous situations. But that doesn't keep us from loving it and feeling like we're in heaven.

I don't know what it is about this special place, but I absolutely love it. Here are a few pictures from this most recent trip (though the family computer has about 1.5 million similar photos from over the years).

We arrived late at night and had to creep through the lake to the houseboat, hoping for all we were worth that Nessie hadn't migrated to Glen Canyon.


Luckily we all survived and were able to sleep well that night. The next day we went out exploring in a nearby canyon that we often hike through. I love those canyon walls oh so much. 



Then we returned for lunch and had all afternoon to relax while a few people had to go into town for a few things we had forgotten to bring. We all sat up on top of the houseboat, soaking in that sunshine like warm honey right out of the microwave. I had a strict rotation to follow: 
read a few pages, sleep 30 minutes, take some photos; repeat. 


(photo cred goes to my little sister who thinks she's funny taking pictures when I'm not ready and then they end up being ALRIGHT)

That's why Spring Break at Powell is so great. The water's too cold to do any water sports or swim much, so there's plenty of time for just lounging around. There also are hardly any other people on the lake. And it's great just separating yourself from responsibilities, social media, pressures, decisions, and all the things we face in everyday life and just clear your head. I never understood, until now, how taking a vacation can do that for you. What a magical thing. 


The next day we had another great adventure exploring more canyons and, of course, fishing! I "caught you a delicious bass," except I don't know if it was actually delicious because it just a little smallmouth and I threw it back. Then we decided to go swimming. I lasted for about 3.7 seconds in the water and decided that I'd had enough swimming for the day. Lake Powell's April water isn't exactly the same temperature as its July water; shocking, right?

Then the next day we went for one last hike to another one of my favorite spots. 



We returned, cleaned the boat, packed up, and headed out. I was so exhausted the only thing I wanted to do was sleep. But as we were loading up the truck, my sister reminded me it was my turn to take the least desirable seat in the truck. The cab of my dad's truck has a seat in the front between the driver's seat and the passenger seat. It's kind of like banishment - whoever deserves a punishment, or in my case, just has the shortest legs, gets that seat. I acknowledged that yes, indeed, it was my turn, since she had ridden the whole way down in that seat. 

You might be thinking, "Wait! But if she's your little sister, shouldn't SHE have the shortest legs?!" I know, that's what I said. But some unfortunate discrepancies sneak up on you while you're out of the country, one of them being your youngest sister growing taller than you. It's no big deal, it's not that bad. When she bugs me about it I just look at her tauntingly and say "Well at least it'll be easier for me to find a husband who's shorter than I am! Ha, HA!" and turn away and go cry in a corner. 

Anyways...
Of course, there's no comfortable way to sleep in that particular spot, so instead I talked to my parents the whole 6-hour drive home. Luckily I survived. Just kidding, I actually really enjoyed it. I don't think I've EVER made it the whole drive home without sleeping. This time I was forced to. I didn't even read or do anything. It's crazy. Anyway here I am, not very well rested but 100% rejuvenated. 



I don't know if I'll ever really know what's SO great and SO relaxing about Powell. It must be because it's so familiar but still an adventure every time. This time was surprisingly calm and uneventful - we usually have SOME kind of mishap. It was just what I needed before diving back into work and school. I'm sure it won't always be like that (we're overdue for some malfunctions or something soon), but I enjoyed it while it lasted. 


Just a little end note: I was feeling too lazy to do any photo editing so what you see here is PURE NATURE. I LOVE NATURE.

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