Senior Trip to Lake Powell

This past weekend, we had a big adventure joining about 20 Senior students on their class trip to Lake Powell, AZ.  Lake Powell was formed when the Glen Canyon Dam was built on the Colorado River; it is an otherworldly place of water in the desert--stark red and white rock canyon walls rising from beautiful blue water.

I am far from an experienced camper, and so this trip was a stretch for me.  We spent three nights camping: the first and last at the Wahweap campgroup, and the second night we took two motor boats out to an empty stretch of beach for some rustic camping.  As we unloaded the boats onto the sand I felt like a contestant on Survivor, or like one of the pilgrims to the New World!

Benji at the Campground

This scene looks so peaceful...but just an hour earlier, 50 yards down the beach, our tent blew over in the wind!

Dinner over the campfire

This was a truly gorgeous spot, but the weather did not totally cooperate.  Between 30 mph wind gusts and the hot sun (with no shade), there were some tense and uncomfortable moments.  Benji did amazingly well for all of that.  He enjoyed riding on the motor boat, digging in the sand, and getting lots of attention from all of the students.  Plus, he got to sleep in the same "cave" (aka tent) as Mommy and Daddy and woke up next to us each morning: what fun!

"Trucks and cars" was the game of choice each  morning

Showing Baa-Baa the amazing view outside of our tent

On the last day we also go to visit a spot I've always wanted to see: Horseshoe Bend, which I hear is the official starting point of the Grand Canyon. What an amazing sight!  It was just a little nerve-wracking to have students sitting so close to the edge with no railings, but thankfully we all made it back safely.

There were a few smaller casualties on the trip:
1. A big crack down the screen of my new smart phone, incurred (ironically) not while camping, boating, or hiking, but while shopping for supplies at Wal-Mart.  Go figure!
2. Several tent stakes, buried somewhere in the sand on Wahweap Bay, after our tent got blown over..
3. My lower back, temporarily wounded by sleeping on the ground while 7 months pregnant, now (thankfully) restored to full service!

But there were also some highlights:
1. Becoming a more experienced camper...after three times tearing down and setting up camp, I finally put up our tent all by myself!  I consider this a major accomplishment!
2. The view outside our tent each morning.
3. Spending time with some of the students who were in my first 8th grade class.  They were great kids then, and are amazing young adults now!  It was awesome to see how they have matured and yet have still kept their wonderful personalities.  Can you imagine they graduate from High School on Saturday!?

May 2012--8th Grade Class Trip

May 2016--Senior Class Trip