Powell

No one does Lake Powell like my family. No one.

It starts with packing. Two swimsuits, a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a toothbrush if you're feeling particularly hygienic. Throw it in a little back pack, snag your pillow off your bed and jump in the car for the 4+ hour drive. Listen to a book on tape. This time? This.

When we launch there is always much prayer and finger-crossing that the boat will start. It causes a stressful beginning to our time on the water, but as soon as the motor roars to life the only thing on our mind becomes searching for the perfect camp spot.

Ingredients for a Perfect Camp Spot
1 sandy beach
1 spot to park the boat
2 things to tie off to
1 body of clear(ish) water
1 mountain to provide evening shade
1 clearing of flat ground for 2 cots
1 secluded area for the potty
1 outcropping of rocks for cliff jumping
1 boat
1 family
1 fire pit
6 tinfoil dinners

Our camp spot this time was nearly perfect. Aside from the "clear(ish)" water that wasn't so clear due to the rising water, it was all we could have hoped for.

Every day we have to boat in to the marina to empty the rubbish, buy two blocks of ice for the coolers, an ice cream cone, and an attempt at being "successful." What is the measure of "success" on the lake? Going poo. This is because the tradition in our family is that the first to dirty the porta potty is the one who has to clean it out. Needless to say, there is always a lot of motivation to get it all out of your system before we head back to came for the night.

When we get back to camp to settle in for the night we put up or make-shift swamp cooler. Basically we drench sarongs in the lake and hang them from the sun shade so when the breeze blows through them we can feel a bit of the mist and the cool. Then we play cards. Or swim. Or fish. Or I paint most nights. There's no refrigerator. No AC. No television or couches. Just basic needs, family, and as soon as the sun sets, a whole array of stars.

Our M.O. is quirky at best, but it allows for quiet moments, time to think, time to just be. Time to look out over the grandeur and feel blessed, and humbled and small. A good small.