The Skiers

I've got another exciting line-up for you, this time of the skiers. Introducing...

...The G-Pa!

...The Unc!

...The Ashster! (I wasn't ready with my camera when she got up, but she's a skier!)

...The Abster!

...The Skyster!

...The Ringster!

Wake Surfing

I had not even known that "wake surfing" existed. But it does, and some of us gave it a try. The goal is to be able to let go of the rope and surf on the boat wake.

It was easy to get up on the board, but once up, I wasn't even able to get myself on the correct side of the wake (the right side of the wake is the "good" wake), let alone try to actually surf.

Others were much more successful than me, but still no one was able to let go of the rope and surf. It might have helped if we knew how to surf.

But hey, it was fun to try.

The Secret of Youth

Some of us had never ridden a jet ski before. They turned out to be a very popular item.

They are fast, agile (for watercraft), and surprisingly powerful.

One individual was even heard to say that he when he got on the jet ski, he felt like a young man again.

How's that for powerful?

Kayaking

Once upon a time there was a kayak.

Two kayaks, actually,

and lots of people paddled around in them.

Paddle,

paddle,

paddle,

paddle.

Across the lovely, still water.

Until they sank.

The End.

Jumping

Jumping is fun. See the the boys jump.

Jump, jump, jump.

And one dive.

The Defiance House

During our Lake Powell stay we visited an Ancestral Puebloan (also known as Anasazi) ruin called "The Defiance House" which was so named because of the defiant stance of these figures painted on the cliff wall.

What do you think? Family portrait? Welcome sign?

We hiked through a swampy area...

...and up a rocky hill to reach the dwelling.

I liked the attractive stone construction and open floor plan.

It's intriguing to me to think of the people who lived here and what their lives were like. There was a lot more space at the top than it appeared from below, but still, I think that it was less than .15 acres, and we were told that about thirty people had lived here.

Scientists have been stumped by the mystery of why the Ancestral Puebloans all left their cliff dwellings so suddenly to migrate to New Mexico and Arizona. We surmised that it was because they kept losing their babies over the edge and so they chose to leave rather than become extinct.

A park ranger told us that this cellar-type structure was for religious purposes so we should enter it respectfully as though we were entering a church or synagogue.

She also told us gruesome stories of slavery and cannibalism. (Amongst the ancient people, not the park rangers.)

The Ancestral Puebloan people sure had a nice view. How much time do you think they spent enjoying it?

Thanks to them, I enjoyed it.