Summer Vaca in So. Utah

Lake Mead:

     Boating on the lake included episodes of wake boarding, wake surfing, knee boarding, air chairing, tubing, and even a little actual skiing. We packed both days with fun for all the sizes, although the boat finds it easier to pull the smaller people right up. This was my first experience with the wake surfing and knee boarding. Both of these I rather enjoyed. Wake surfing entails a bootless wake board, a short handle rope,  and the biggest wake your boat can manage. Reportedly the rider is to "surf" the perpetual wave created by the wake, without holding onto the handle. It turns out it is a bit more difficult than it appears.  All in all the lake was a success. My favourite part came from the blasting work at the bottom of the lake. At random times throughout the day a blast would go off that sent shockwaves through the water and rattled the current rider, most frequently the middle sister. The middle sister did not take to noises and bubbles from beneath. 

Zions:

    Look but don't touch. I used to think that this rule only applied to glass shops, apparently this is one of those rare times when my thinker is off. IT turns out that this rule also applies to the emerald pools at Zion National Park. Basically this rule seems to apply to all of the water sources, as they were all reserved for ankle dipping. This is one of those moments when you wish to have lived 20 years ago when people were still apart of nature rather than a force against nature. But maybe one day we'll make a return. 

Rafting:

    For our river rafting activity we brought along the nearest grandparents, and had a great time. The river proved mostly calm with a couple of spots exciting enough for even our hardened eagle scout. The guide proved more interesting than we had bargined for. His three favorite topics? Politics, Religion, and the River, in that order. Everyone took an interest to the river, and the rock formations along the ride, but the rest of the time we got a monologue on all things wrong in the world. In the end we were all wet and not too traumatized by the crazy man.

ATVs:

Nearly everyone's favorite activity took us around the Grand Staircase, the largest national monument in the United States. Although this trip included its share of religion and politics, mostly on the evils of not being allowed to ride ATVs in national monuments, mostly we enjoyed the wind, dust, and beauty of God's great earth. While some people enjoy the high speeds of a single horse, the rest of us sought all the horse power we could get racing along dirt roads. 

Favorite Moment: 

The look of confusion on the face of the waitress that had recently been asked just which soup had made the middle-of-nowhere restaurant so famous.

For the most part everyone enjoyed the trip, or at least some parts of it, and whoever permenantly borrowed our cooler ejoyed our travels through their town as well.