For Travis's birthday, we took a quick trip up north to Lake Powell to paddleboard into Antelope Canyon. I have NEVER been to Lake Powell before. I know, right?! So sad. Aubrey watched the kids which was so nice and we left Friday morning, April 29, to make the 5 hour drive. We drove straight to the lake and found the boat dock to be closed, so the place was pretty much deserted. The water level was super low. It's all anyone can talk about is how low Lake Powell is right now. We dropped the paddleboards off at the end of the dock then drove back up to park the truck and change. Travis hiked a little ways down to get the boards to the water, then we headed off! It was MAGICAL. I had always heard how beautiful Lake Powell was but I had no conceivable idea. I was entranced. The sheer cliffs on all sides and blue water were stunning. And we were essentially alone! Occassionaly, we'd pass other kayakers and I think once or twice a boat passed by, but it felt like we had this oasis to ourselves. I couldn't help but pause every few stokes and take more pictures. I couldn't believe my eyes! Really, words will never do justice to this experience. We paddled for a while until we got to a part where the cliffs had an opening for us to pass through. Luckily, Travis knew what he was doing. We entered a more narrow pass and this is where we saw a few more boats... the pontoon kind. Again, the cliffs took my breath away. How was this real life??! The most gorgeous scenery and we had beautiful weather!
We had been paddling maybe two hours and got to the end of the line. The water was still and glass-like. There was a little opening with a few feet of shore where some kayaks were stashed. We pulled our paddleboards up onto the sand and started walking through the canyon. The beauty overwhelmed me. My jaw was on the ground. Seriously, it was like we had entered a storybook. One that I couldn't have dreamed up if I tried. The sand was powdery soft and the walls of the canyon were smooth and grained. It looked as if it were sculpted from a giant artist. And again... we were alone! Alone to wander through this peaceful, majestic haven. We oo'd and aww'd with every step. And kissed and took pictures and marveled that this was our life. I will never forget this day for as long as I live. And I got to experience it with my best friend and favorite person in the world. Pinch me.
I'm not sure how long we hiked, but maybe an hour to two hours. Once we got back to our paddleboards, we had a few snacks then started paddling out. It was just as breath taking and beautiful on the way out. Maybe more so. I don't even know how, I just know my whole soul was stunned to stillness. It was peaceful and grand beyond adjectives I know.
Once we got out to the main water way, I had to really work to make any progress. Travis made it look easy, but I struggled a bit. The wind was against us and I swear it seemed like I paddled with all my might for 10 minutes and stayed in the exact same spot! It was slow progress, but we finally made it back to the dock. The only thing I'll add is that it did cross my mind a couple times that if something were to happen, a storm for example, we would basically have been screwed. There would have been no escape or safety. And I hear that storms will come in frequently and suddenly at Lake Powell. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking kids but we had a wonderful time.
We went straight to dinner at the Grand Canyon Brewing + Distillery, which was fine but probably wouldn't recommend unless you were with a big crowd. Grabbed pints of ice cream at the grocery store and headed to the hotel to relax and watch that documentary movie about Kirk Warner.
Perfect. Day.
The next morning we went to the meeting place for our tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon. Very annoyingly, they were still enforcing masks. The group was divided up into different cars and we were put with a couple and their young son. Our tour guide was awesome! We drove in a suburban with 4 wheel drive over some terrain to the entrance of the canyon. He let the other groups go first so that we could take our time and have as many pictures as we wanted without other people in them. Then he became tour guide/photographer! He'd pose us in the best spots, adjust our cameras and tell us where to look. At one spot, he threw sand onto a ledge so that it'd be spilling over in the picture. It was cracking me up. I loved it! The way the wind had carved out the walls was incredible. The grooves and lines were mesmerizing. It felt like being in Aladdin. A mystical wonderland of truly epic proportions.
Ok, but really, this is a picture I took!!!! It looks like it's straight from a magazine. The stark, contrasting colors. This world is so beautiful!!
After our tour, we drove the little ways to Horseshoe Bend. I had never been there either! It's a 10 min. walk from the parking lot and the heights are a bit staggering. No desire to get close to the edge for me, no thank you! This is where Travis paddleboarded with Gary last year. Arizona, you're pretty rad.
We passed through Flagstaff at just the right time for some dinner! Fat Olive's for pizza did the trick.
Once we got into town, we saw that silly, new movie with Brad Pitt, Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock, The Lost City. Not gonna lie, we laughed pretty hard. We almost never see movies so this felt like a treat.
Blizzards and what else but grocery shopping for Sunday. Now that sounds exactly like us. This trip was absolutely perfect. Couldn't have asked for better. I LOVED getting to do something new and adventurous and beautiful and then end it with simple and ordinary.
Happy birthday to the best guy.
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