Lake Powell: Enduring Memories In The Canyons

As we drove toward Lake Powell, with our twin 4-year-old boys in the backseat, my husband, Cullen, and I reminisced about how we'd met there 25 years ago, when both our families were invited on a houseboat trip with friends. I was 16; he was 15. I was from a family of all girls; he was the youngest of four boys. He was shy; I was social. That serendipitous one-week vacation way back when had started us on a 25-year journey that we were about to celebrate — aboard a 70-foot chartered houseboat from Forever Resorts, at Antelope Point Marina in Page, Arizona. Finally, after so many years, we were returning to Lake Powell, this time with our children and friends.

Lake Powell straddles the Utah/Arizona border, and the number of coves and inlets is so expansive that it would take many trips to do it justice. That first day with the houseboat, we decided to make tracks. After six hours of travel, my friend Julie and I jumped on the speedboat we were towing to look for the rightcove. We found an amazing one in Face Canyon, where the rock in front of us was so large that our 70-foot houseboat looked like a 12-foot dinghy. Perfection! We were alone, the water was completely calm, and we were far from the sounds of daily life. The kids jumped off the boat and immediately started exploring. Within a few hours they'd hiked, swam, fished, and now were building castles of sand.

After two days and nights, we headed farther north. Lake Powell's canyons and rock formations are endlessly fascinating to watch as they unfold. Our next stop was Rock Creek Bay, where we found a spot so amazing that it would hold us for the rest of our voyage. We beached our houseboat in beautiful sand. To our left was a small open bay with the three separate inlets for which Lake Powell is famous — each goes back for miles and fits only a PWC, paddleboard, or kayak. Down each of these inlets lay boundless adventures. Nearby were two separate beaches and a point that provided us with endless amounts of striped bass to throw on the grill for dinner.

Each day brought our children so many different adventures. They each caught their first fish here. Both boys rode on an inner tube behind the boat with their dad. I, of course, was terrified, worried they were too young. But once I put the boat in gear and immediately heard laughing and giggles, I turned around and saw the look of pure joy on their faces. As a parent, you can't ask for more. They each roasted marshmallows over the fire pit. Collected walking sticks and went hiking. Looked for bugs with their new headlamps. Took endless trips down the waterslide. Sat on top of the houseboat and took in amazing views of our solar system while searching for shooting stars. These wonderful experiences will shape memories for our children just like the ones my husband and I grew up cherishing.

One afternoon, Cullen asked me to take the moms and kids on a boat adventure for an hour. I happily loaded up the boat and off we went to look for Native American artifacts in the caves, one of the kids' favorite games. When we returned an hour later, I was blown away. My husband and his friends had taken the furniture from the boat and set up the most romantic waterside dining spot we'd ever seen, even including torches and candles!

That evening, surrounded by some of the most beautiful sights in the world, we enjoyed a fantastic meal prepared by my husband, who's a chef, and chatted about the great memories we knew we were creating together. Cullen is a man of few words. So when he got up in front of our friends and expressed his love for me and our family and our life together — 25 years after he and I met here as children — it meant everything to me.