Page, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell and good friends.

Let me give you some background here. Tim has known David and Gayle Koons and Roy and Karen Shaw since the mid 80’s, long before I came into the picture. The boys were all racing Hobie Catamarans. I arrived in 1990 and joined the cat racers and met the boys and the girls. Hobie regattas were one big party weekend. Depending on the location of the regatta, people started arriving either Friday night or Saturday morning. We sailed all day Saturday and usually partied and tent camped that night. Sunday was more racing, pack up, awards ceremony and everyone headed home. The regattas were sun showers, nasty port a potties, peeing between the hulls of the cats because the port a potties were so gross, bonfires and lots of stories being told. In all- they were a blast. We made life long friends through Hobie racing.

So here we were, all grown up camping together again. This time in Page, Arizona, just north of the Grand Canyon and next to Lake Powell. The Koons traveled south from their home in Boise, Idaho. Karen and Roy came in from the east – Lake City, Colorado and we were on our way north. We joined up at Page/ Lake Powell Campground within an hour of each other. The Koons and the Shaws both have modified vans for camping and they soon dubbed our rig the Mother Ship. Not only did we provide a lot of shade, we also were able to carry more gear for cooking meals for 6. A lot has changed about our camping styles since we were all together at a Hobie regatta, but the best part is the same. Stories are told and the solid friendships will always continue.

The six of us, plus Maggie and the Shaw’s lab, Keel, loaded ourselves into the minivan David found for us and headed off for three mornings to see what we could see. Our first day took us to Paria Canyon, an area I had backpacked in with my friend, Terri, pre -Tim. The Paria River is a tributary of the Colorado. We stopped at Lees Ferry, the very start of the Grand Canyon and on the Colorado River

The Grand Canyon was a mere 2+ hours away, so the next day we loaded up again and headed south. Pictures just can’t show the majesty of this place. I took a few and then had to stop and just admire. We were pleased that the crowds were too bad when we arrived, but they certainly built as the day wore on.

Next up was a tour around Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam.

After three great days together it was time for all of us to move on. We look forward to meeting up again. Maybe more of our little friends will join the party.

One last item to leave you with. As Tim and I were stocking up for the next leg of our journey, we came across a family doing their own load up. They were loading up with water for their family. Tim asked what the cost was for water- .015 per gallon.

Coming up next- Arches NP, Capital Reef NP and more.