The gods (in the form of benevolent relatives) have gifted us with the (nearly) unlimited and (fairly) free use of a (super fun) speed boat (which we have named the Bethabelle Elizabeth).
At the moment, it is parked an hour from our front door and a mile from a vast lake marina: a hop skip and a jump to instant vacation.
For this our inaugural trip, we met our benefactors for an extensive hands-on tutorial, then deposited them at the dock and sped off into the sunset.
Traveling down lake, we headed off into a side canyon and found ourselves a spot near the end, away from the local cows. We called it Bird Beach and watched an osprey fish, mud daubers fight off buzzards, canyon wrens hop between stones, hummingbirds investigate our colorful water toys, and a heron stalk its dinner across the channel.
We swam until lunch (with a quick break to sleep overnight), then motored down a little farther to another, longer canyon. We scored an awesome location with a cozy sandy parking spot, a wide beach for shore camping, and a rocky drop just below the waterline for diving and cannon-balling and fishing. The girls caught three at Fish Cove, put them in a bucket and pet them for an hour or so, then returned them to their home.
Before lunch our last day, we packed our gear, drove halfway up the main channel, and had lunch bobbing over the deep waters.
Back at the marina, I only had to attempt backing up twice before we loaded the Bethabelle Elizabeth on her trailer, snuggled her in her jammies, and said farewell until next time.
Hey, we’re boat folks!
Magrilless 
That canyon looked B.A. I hope you and Bill got in a run on the tube as well. Theres nothing like water spitting in your face and the anxious feeling of when the driver might whip you right off!
You sure are! All those years at Lake Powell are paying off!
Oh wow! What a delightful surprise! Such a great way to be outdoors, and just a jump away to cool off in the water. When’s your next outing on the Bethabelle Elizabeth?