1990
1990 The year Brooke graduated from high school,
he invited twelve friends on the houseboat. With DeRay, Jeanette, Brent, Ed,
Amy and one dad, Rich Scadden, that was 17 bodies on a little houseboat for
five days. Two of the kids were foreign exchange students: one from Germany, Sabine, and
one from Spain, Maria. They generally slept on the beach.
While all the others slept topside.
It was raining when we left home; snowed on us on
the way down. In fact, the Butchers filled their ice chests with snow at
Capital Reef. It was windy and cold when we set sail; feeling more like January
than June. Brent and Brooke chose Moki Canyon for our first adventure. Alas, no
place to park so we went back to Hall’s Creek Crossing to the sandy beaches. The
kids went on a nice hike up to the arch and sundial. Brent, Ed, Rich Scadden
and I hiked up.
On Saturday, the weather cleared and warmed up;
the wind ceased. We moved to Annie’s Canyon and nearly everyone left on a hike.
Everyone eventually got back, tired and thirsty, except Brooke and Amy Butcher.
Just as Trent was ready to go back with water for them, someone spies our hero,
Brooke, swimming to the boat. He climbs abroad and starts to unhook the dingy
to rush to rescue the damsel in distress. When his dad tells him there are no
oars, he hesitates. “We’ll take the houseboat around,” DeRay decides. Up with the anchors and down around the bend
at the very end of the canyon, we find Amy waiting. We pull her on board amidst
cheers. It was just like out of the Princess Bride. How Brooke dare swim that
for with sheer cliffs on either side, bottomless, no place at all to rest, I
don’t know. Later I tried to go back with a float and fins but didn’t dare get
that far from the houseboat or lose sight of it. They did find the water
someone had left on the trail, but Brooke feared she was too weary to make it
back so he insisted she go down the easier way. It was all so heroic.
DeRay and Mr. Scadden barbecued chicken all
evening. Everything tasted especially good after our adventures and
misadventures.
Leaving Annie’s Canyon, we headed down to Rainbow
Bridge. We arrived at Rainbow Bridge at 3:30; hiked up, sat in the shadow,
visited, took pictures, left at 5.
The kids played games the live-long day—Scrabble, Yahtzee,
Othello, Pit – what else? Hardly stopping to hike to Rainbow Bridge.
Yes, the Last Picnic. I don't know what the label is.
For this picture, I see Brent and Amy in back. Eddy in front of Brooke. Who else?
It was snowing when we went down and 105 degrees
the day we left.
September 19 – 23,
1990
DeRay, Jeanette,
Brent and Cassie, Jeanne, and Ed
Amy and Brooke stayed home. Amy was in school and
participating in a debate meet; Brooke stayed home to practice his horn; just
starting at the U. They went to the symphony while we were gone.
Dad and Ed leave in Blue Tracer; stop at Reams;
Mom, Brent, and Cassie leave in white Tracer. We meet in Provo at Jeanne’s. We
arrive at Bullfrog Marina at 1:30 AM. LAKE POWELL.
Rain the next day. We try to leave slip. The
motors won’t run so we slip back in. rain. We eat while waiting. Fix engines. We finally get out about 4 PM in
dribbling rain, heading straight across the bay to Halls’ Creek Crossing sandy
beaches. The kids go for a walk. Mom & Dad nap at last. Good food all day.
Games before bed. We are beginning to relax. Beautiful country. Water calm and
still and warm. Mom & Dad sleep topside again.
Brent & Cassie
Brent
Jeanette & Cassie
Brent & Cassie at arch
Brent & Cassie
Eddy
Jeanette
Ed
Jeanette
Ed
Ed
Jeanne dreaming of getting married in December.
Brent & Eddy
Eddy
Cowgirl Jeanne
The next morning we were up and off at 7. Packed,
cleaned, loaded and leaving Bullfrog by 10 AM. We wanted to go on the Burr
Trail but it is closed so we drive through Capital Reef and enjoy a picnic
there. We had planned to drive to Boulder but it is rainy, cloudy and foggy. We
turn around head for home, arriving about 6 PM.
Jeanne’s last trip on the houseboat. She was
married in December.
The June 1991 Lake Powell Adventure
DeRay and Jeanette Hugh, Brent,
Brooke, Ed, Amy
Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Bonnie Wight,
Mariana Donoho
June 10-15, 1991
Long, lazy afternoon swimming, napping, playing
games like what never seems to happen at home.
Elizabeth, Brent, & DeRay (driving)
Elizabeth, Brooke & French horn
DeRay, Elizabeth, Brent
Brent, Brooke, Liz and Mariana took off in the
dingy to the end of a canyon for a 4-mile (each way) hike. They took sandwiches
and water. Later in the evening as we were floating around we look up to the
end of the canyon and see two people in what appeared to be our dingy. With a
float for security, I swam all the way up there and asked the nitwits what they
were doing. “Fishing.” “Is that your dingy?” “No.” “Well, it’s ours and I don’t
appreciate your using it without permission.” I asked them to put it back where
they got it or our kids wouldn’t be able to get back to the houseboat. We waited for our hikers to come back to
enjoy the bonfire and wiener roast. We had gathered lots of wood. Bonnie and
Amy finally cooked hot dogs over the burner, ate them and went to bed. Ed went
to bed. There were still bursts of gale winds—enough to make me nervous. 9:30.
No kids. 10 PM. No kids. It was pitch dark by now and we didn’t want everyone
to go to bed and leave us to worry alone. Our neighbors were kind enough to
take one of their small boats up to check on them and to make sure the dingy
was there. About an hour later, here they come puttering back. “DeRay?” I call.
You’d think he’d immediately assure me everything is OK. “No”, he answers. “What?” One of the men on
the boat is kind enough to call out, “They’re coming.” It’s 11:15. We’ve been
concerned for over two hours. Soon we hear this loud drunken like at-the-top-of-their-lungs
singing and hysterical laughter—here they come, rowing the dingy down moonlight
bay. I could hear Brooke leading the singing then the others would repeat.
Question: Did the dingy make them dingy or visa versa? Nevertheless, they were
as dingy as a dingy as they paddled along in the dingy through the nearly
full-moonlight night singing at the top of their lungs! I have never seen any
of them so silly, so giddy, or so loud. We were already embarrassed for having
to solicit the help of our neighbors at so late an hour. Just before they get
to the houseboat, Brooke jumps out, calling, “I’ll save you!” He thought he was
impressively romantic. Then Liz and Mariana jump in; laughing and singing and shouting.
Brent gets on his suit and jumps in to cool off from their six-hour hike. They
swallowed down their food through squalls of hilarity and clamority. I find
DeRay sitting on the back bed. “I thought without an audience, they’d settle
down,” he explained. He had already shut all the windows and doors so as not to
disturb our poor neighbors. Amy and Bonnie kept pounding on the floor for them
to hush. They pounded back on the ceiling in hysterics.
Bonnie, Amy, Mariana
Tuesday – This morning when we swung around to
tell our neighbors THANKS again, they suggested we should roll the creeps out
of bed to help deport.
Jeanette & DeRay
Brooke did one more dumb thing this trip. He
pulled the motorhome around, putting the keys in his pocket, then he Brent and
Liz drove off for home in the White Tracer. No sweat. DeRay said he could
cross-wire. When DeRay realized he couldn’t cross-wire, I asked him where our
other set of keys were. “Haven’t seen them for two years,” he said. “Could they
be in the camper somewhere?” “No,” he said. Amy and I looked in the silverware
drawer AND THERE THEY WERE. Miracle of miracles.
JUNE 13-19, 1992
Carol Murphy, Cai, Suzanne Nielsen, Jason, and
friend David, Lisa; Brent, Jan, Ed, Amy, DeRay, Jeanette.
Arrived at Bullfrog at 12:30 after Devin
Galloway’s missionary farewell in Hyrum. After unpacking and eating, we got to
bed at 4 AM. But we’re having such a grand time. It was so windy, we wrapped up
in blankets to pack the stuff from the cars to the boat. We found a wonderful
secluded spot in Iceberg Canyon – hiking, swimming, singing around the
campfire.
After breakfast we went to the “Hole-in-the-Rock”.
It was cool and shady – a perfect day for a hike to the top. After a quick
swim, we moved onto Cottonwood Canyon. This was Houseboat City and we enjoyed
the friendly interchange of water balloons, shouting and fireworks until long
after midnight.
Jeanette, Jan, & Suzanne. Carol in shadow.
Jan, Amy, Suzanne, Brent, Jeanette
Amy
Amy
Jeanette, Suzanne, Ed, Brent at arch
Brent & Jan kissing!
Balancing Brent
Brent, Jan, Suzanne
Brent, Amy
Jeanette, Jan, Amy, Brent, Eddy
Cai & DeRay tending the boat
Carol
Carol
Find Carol
Jan, Brent, Ed, Suzanne
Jeanette
Fun on the floats.
Jeanette & Carol
Jeanette
Miner's Stairs - Suzanne, Carol, Amy
DeRay became extremely worried about us before we
got back and was waiting at the bottom with water (which we desperately needed)
when we finally found a way down the Rincon.
After dumping, we went to the sandy beaches and
enjoyed swimming and playing games for the rest of the day. In the evening,
Brent, Jan, Ed, Amy, Suzanne and I hiked up to the arch. We had another
campfire tonight and roasted marshmallows. It’s so beautiful.
1993
After Brooke’s missionary homecoming and feeding
at least 75 people, we left for Lake Powell on June 27. DeRay, Jeanette,
Brooke, Eddy, Brent, Jan, Amy; Clare, Matt, Mike, and Scott Thompson.
On Monday we moseyed along to Slick Rock Canyon on
one engine as the starter was out on the other one and Dad didn’t feel like
installing a new one in the sun while we waited in the hot slip . . .windy .
gales . hot . miserable . exciting . beautiful . fun. Swimming, games,
adjusting, settling in. Brent, Brooke and Jan visited until 4 AM. Jeanette,
DeRay, Clare and Amy played Pinochle. Everybody with any sense went to bed.
Tuesday we moved over to Cottonwood Canyon with
great plans for a Wednesday hike. We swam around the bend to watch Matt cliff
jump. Brooke practiced his horn, calling us back “home” with mournful sounds of
his French horn even when we were snorkeling and couldn’t tell which direction
we were going.
Brent, Brooke and Matt hiked from Cottonwood to
the Rincon again. We waited and waited
and waited and waited. Finally, just as Jan and Dad were getting water and
supplies to go search, we saw a lone body stagger around the bend. It was
around 5:30 PM – 5 ½ hours after they projected they would be back. “It’s Brent.”
We called, “Where are the other two?” On closer observation, we determined it
was Matt. “He’s staggering,” Clare said in dismay. A little later, Brent and Brooke crested,
raising arms in victory and euphoria. They had extended their hike. We were all
a little sore at them for keeping us waiting so long in the hot sun, slimy
water, and worrying endlessly while they just nonchalantly extended their hike.
They felt rejected but it didn’t dampen their jubilation--they both jumped in
the lake in glee and triumph. Matt just wanted to eat.
Brent and Brooke aren’t so chipper today. Matt’s
dead, so to speak. I asked Brent and Brooke if they talked to Matt at all. “Oh
yes, we said, ‘How are you, Matt?’ and he said ‘Auuughhh’.”
Eddy is our resident poet. “Mike liked that hike,”
I said unawares. “Mom, you rhymed!” Eddy exclaimed. “Did you like that hikey,
Mikey?” Expanding to. “Mike took his bike on a hike. “Matt, where’s you hat.” “Brent,
get your tent.” “Jan get the frying pan.” We got Eddy though. He sat on the bed
in his wet swimming suit and as he got up, we shouted, “Ed wet the bed.”
Campfire, songs accompanied by the melodious
mellow mournful sounds of the French horn in the cool dark night air.
Marshmallows; swim. A wonderful time was had by all.
Cleaning, packing, unpacking, traveling.
Brent, Jan
and Brooke took off for Moab to meet a German couple Brooke had met on the
plane. They paid for their dinner and they visited until midnight. Afterwards,
the kids drove onto Price where they
went out into the hills, laid down their sleeping bags on BLM land and caught
20 winks.
DeRay and I hike to the arch while the kids sleep.
Omelet breakfast. Brent, Cassie and Jeanette on 4-mile hike nearly to top of
white mountains. The ski-does drive the rest of them crazy so we move up to the
end of Halls Bay to a private cove. Calm, relaxing. Waves from ski-does knock
Brent’s fin in. Great swim in evening after dinner. Games. Brent, Cassie and
Eddy decide to join us topside. Brent and Cassie move down when it starts to
rain. We three stick it out. Brent and Cassie are on KP today.
Jeanette and Ed start the day out by going for a
nice walk. We climbed to the top of the closest rock mountain and take pictures
of each other. “Boat, sweet boat,” Eddy hums as we get close. Jeanne fixed
French toast. DeRay miraculously finds Brent’s fin. The tanks are full so guess
we have to leave Halls’ Crossing to tank and gas. We found an ever greater cove
on an island where we gathered firewood. Wonderful swim until after dark. Brent
and Cassie sat by the fire until midnight. We all slept topside except Jeanne.
Hot. Windy. Great.
The next morning we were up and off at 7. Packed,
cleaned, loaded and leaving Bullfrog by 10 AM. We wanted to go on the Burr
Trail but it is closed so we drive through Capital Reef and enjoy a picnic
there. We had planned to drive to Boulder but it is rainy, cloudy and foggy. We
turn around head for home, arriving about 6 PM.
1 comment:
my mom still talks about your adventures from that trip!! I can't believe how long ago it was!!
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