Several years ago Rachel and I started saving all of our change for some unforseen purpose (what else are you going to do with change?). After seen the movie UP, we decided we MUST have a "Paradise Falls" jar in which to store our change.
Realizing we needed to do something with our change since we are moving to China in the next 6 months, we decided to cash it in! After all that time we had saved up $240 for something fun. :)
We decided that we would use this to help us go on a kayaking/camping trip on Lake Powell since I've been wanting to do a trip like that for a long time.
So, on our way back from our California trip we went to Page, Arizona, to rent a kayak and get on our way. One of the first things we thought was humorous was that our car ("Eddy"), was actually shorter than the kayak.
Day 1
We got out in the evening, so we only traveled a couple miles before we set up camp (which we have no pictures of since it was getting dark). One of the first lessons we learned when kayaking is that you need to take your wedding rings off, as they create blisters in a matter of minutes!
Rachel is modeling her blister tape and the random hat she found near our campsite, since she forgot to bring a hat.
Day 2
Due to very limited cargo space in our kayak, we were not able to take all the "boys" with us, and only Brian came. He enjoyed getting out of his waterproof bag in the morning.
The view from our first campsite:
Day 2 was filled with a lot of paddling as we were trying to get to a specific destination: Labyrinth Canyon. We spent most of the day paddling the 10 miles to get there.
We called it good once we got to the mouth of Labyrinth Canyon, which was an absolutely beautiful campsite!
View from the tent
Day 3
The third day started with pancakes (as did every other morning)!
The water in the morning was particularly still and beautiful!
Each morning we enjoyed a cup of tea... as did Brian, apparently.
After breakfast, we set out to explore Labyrinth Canyon. Lake Powell is particularly known for its "slot canyons" -- very narrow canyons that can sometimes only be accessed by kayaks, and sometimes even too narrow for that. Labyrinth was about a mile or two long and was really fun.
Fun little holes in the rock
The narrowest parts we paddled through were only about a foot or two wider than the kayak!
Quick break.
How far you can get in the canyon depends on the water level. We got to the end of the water and continued for a little while on foot through winding rock.
Lizard footprints (lizards were everywhere!)
We finally ended up turning around from our hike when we met an owl on the path! With the tight space and the fact he wasn't flying away, I didn't particularly want to get talons in my face. Given his friendly countenance, we dubbed him "judging owl."
Canyon on the way back to the kayak
Rachel having fun
After Labyrinth, we headed back towards our car. We stopped after about 11 miles of paddling for the day to set up camp for the last night.
Sunset from the campsite
Day 4
Though we were sore from the previous days of paddling, we both felt that we were getting burly or something.
The last day, we didn't have a lot of distance left to cover (maybe 4-5 miles). Brian was tired of being stuffed into an opaque dry bag and stored in the kayak. So, instead, we took precautions for Brian to remain safe and dry and ride on the top for the last day.
He enjoyed this and ended up being very secure the whole time.
We finished after a few hours and managed to get the kayak back on top of Eddy.
We are not sure exactly where we camped each night, but here is our best guess for those of you who want a map:
Thanks Keith, Jen, and Eric W. for lending us the gear to help make the trip possible!!
