Lake Powell 1993

 

There was already a post about Lake Powell memories ... featuring 1982 and 1984. This trip was about a decade later. While this year doesn't have a ton of pictures, we do get a peek at Dad's diary and recounting of the trip ...

Before hitting Lake Powell, Dad/Lamar, Mom/Margie and Derek had gone down to Moab to see the arches. Gray and Jen were in Moab for a Blackham Family Reunion, but hooked up for some hiking and then joined the family for Powell play. Wendy and Rick and Shane (who had stayed to finish up some school) met the family in Moab, unfortunately having car trouble along the way.  This did get its own blog post ... Off to the Arches. After the arches ... it was on to Lake Powell!

04 September (Saturday) We got up early, having to leave by 7:00 to make our scheduled rendezvous with Sharon and Kent at the Bullfrog Marina at 10:00. Jen and Grayson joined us around 7:00, and we had been out trying to resolve the problem with Wendy's car. We had Shane and Derek join with Gray and Jen and head out to meet Sharon and Kent. After about half an hour, they walked back to the motel, having had a flat tire. They got it all fixed and we had Wendy's car towed to the Chevron station, where someone would look at it on Monday. Then we took in Wendy and Rick, and we tooled off toward Lake Powell, with two cars jammed full of bags and people. We had called to leave a message at the marina that we would be late, 12:00 instead of 10:00. Then the trip took longer than we had anticipated, and we didn't get there until about 12:15. We couldn't see anyone there, but we left a few notes on the bulletin boards, and read a few notes and tried to locate the Amanns by land. After awhile, they came into the marina and took all us stragglers in on their boat, along with a really full boatload of bags and other equipment. We motored over to the houseboat. Alyson and Brian and their two boys, Brandon and Daniel were there, and my sister Diane and her friend Randy, and Ryan and his friend Jeff Larkin. One group of skiers went out, and did some late afternoon skiing, but a windstorm and thunderstorm came up. Shane and Wendy and Rick and Grayson got to ski. We had a nummy meal of salmon that night, cooked by Kent, who had caught it earlier on his trip to Alaska. We all got situated in our sleeping places, and we had a little rain, but it didn't amount to much, which was a good thing, as most of us were out under the stars without a lot of overhead protection. We had a pretty good night's sleep. 

05 September (Sunday) We played around the houseboat, and on the shore, and took some nice hikes up around the slickrock. We also did some fishing. I had brought one outfit, and we ended up catching four different kinds of fish: carp (about 5), bass (2), catfish (1) and bluegill (about 5). We did a lot of frisbee throwing, and swimming. Kent tried to resolve some of the houseboat problems; one engine in the ater and not startable, the potty full and not working well, some of the pontoons full of water. We tried to pump out the pontoons, but there was apparently as much water coming in as was being pumped out. Then Kent decided to head over to a place closer to the marina, since he'd already made plans for them to pick up the houseboat at 7:30 Monday morning for the necessary repairs. We tooled up on one engine to the potty pumper, and got the potty problems fixed, and then went to an inlet nearby the marina. We had a nice barbequed chicken dinner, and settled down in our new home. We slept pretty soundly again, without the storm threats of the prior night.

06 September (Monday) We got up quite early to get the houseboat over to the boat dock, where it was hoisted up onto the truck and hauled ashore. We unloaded all of the bags and stuff into the cars, and then reloaded the boat with what we needed for the day's water activities. Marge opted to stay with the houseboat in the repair area, while the rest of us went back to where the houseboat had been parked to get in some more boating and waterskiing. Shane, Wendy, Rick and Grayson all had turns up on the skis while Derek and Ryan and Jeff stayed on shore and hiked around and did some beachcombing. Then we went out with the smaller kids and Derek tried the skis, and was able to get up with some help from Wendy in the water. We tooled around the bay twice before Kent dropped him off in front of our swimming hole. Ryan and Jeff rode the kneeboard. We returned to the houseboat where we cleaned up everything. Then we hauled all of the stuff back to the boat ramp and unloaded, and got the stuff into the cars.  Our two cars headed back North about 2:30 with the same crews as to Powell from Moab. We stopped in Price at the Pizza Hut for dinner, and then continued on to good old SLC. We got home about 9:00. Rick's car, parked in our driveway wouldn't start. We jumped it to resolve that problem. We'd had enough car problems for a while!

In the next journal entry back home, Dad mentioned feeling woozy (like he was still on a boat) and that Derek was sick that first night home. Still rocking! Wendy probably has a pretty good write up (I/Jen checked my journal ... I wrote before and after this but didn't get around to writing about the trip. We do have a few pictures from before, in Moab so I'm not sure why I didn't get some pictures at Powell). Wendy did though!

Lake Powell Memories

Dad/Lamar's sister Sharon and her husband Kent were big fans of Lake Powell. They had a houseboat, and a boat for waterskiing, and jet skis. The Westra clan was invited on a few trips to Lake Powell over the years ... Mom/Margie recalled one early trip when Jenny was about three years old; "I remember her missing and I was sooo panicked that she had maybe fallen overboard! Then came to find out she had gone in the speedboat with others to the shore." 

So while this may not be a complete collection of trips and memories ... it's a start!

During the July 1982 trip, baby Derek was just a few months old! Mom/Margie says he slept in a little cardboard box by their bed on the houseboat. Thanks to Wendy's journal, we have a pretty good recap of everything (you can read it here).  There was a lot of water skiing, jet skiing, cliff-jumping and the big log (pictured above) was a lot of fun. Wendy mentions she, Chris and Dad spelled "Westra" with rocks and took a picture (couldn't locate said picture though). She mentions a group picture at the end too. In addition to our family and Amann's, Burgeners had come up (Grandma Lucille, Vic and Karen), Ricky's girlfriend, Alyson's boyfriend, and another girlfriend.

Wendy mentions pulling the tumbleweeds from the water. Jen remembers this too ... little fish had gone in them to hide, and then would flop out as we pulled the big, round branches from the water. After they dried out, they were burned in a big bonfire! There were fireworks and sparklers too. A storm the first night, and lots of gnats!

And then there was the catfish incident, but that was the NEXT trip ...

We went to Lake Powell again a couple years later. Wendy's journal isn't quite as helpful for this trip ... written in retrospect a few months afterward, and mainly focusing on some of the teenage boys that came along with the Amann family (Kent's nephews and an exchange student from Germany).  More cliff-jumping and skiing. Wendy was able to get up on one ski, and cross the wake. 

And the catfish incident. Grandma Lucille recounted the event in her history ...

I went to Lake Powell with my daughter Sharon and family and my son LaMar and family and daughter Diane. Sharon was recuperating from a broken and sprained arm (she had been knocked down while roller skating). The doctor said she could get in the water. While she was out floating, LaMar was fishing and caught a large catfish. He unhooked it and flung it out in the water and the catfish hit Sharon in the thigh and hung on. She was bitten and the ranger took her to the doctor's office for a tetnus shot. Later when she was in Hawaii, she scratched her leg and found a tooth of the catfish.

There were more trips ... exact dates and details weren't quick to appear. 

This can be updated if more information/pictures come up. 

Jen has some additional Lake Powell memories too ...

• I remember we went "hunting" lizards with BB guns (not very humane, I know!)
• Sleeping on top of the houseboat under the stars ... so much brighter than back home.
• Ricky and Randy had bottle rockets, and lit them and aimed them so they went underwater. There would be the whistling as they were in the air, then silence as they hit the water and were submerged, then a muffled "boom" and flash under the water.
• Once Uncle Kent was driving the boat trying to get someone up on water skis... they fell, and Uncle Kent shouted "I'll save you" and jumped out of the boat. One of the older boys got up and took over the driving of the boat ...
• There was a card game we played ... we called it "The Lake Powell game" and I remember it was a lot of fun.
• Gray and I went once after we were married. Grayson remembers Uncle Kent called him "Killer" ;) 

The Homestead

 

The Homestead in Midway Utah ... I don't have distinct recollections of activities at The Homestead, but just a general fond memory of trips with the family there. Looking at my personal history (written in my 20s) I mentioned a memory of a bee sting, while gathering tennis balls in the woods around the courts.  In a 1975 annual recap, Dad had mentioned he and Mom making a trip there alone in July. There was a family trip (sans little Shane) in July 1977  and then another family trip (again, sans Shane) in August 1978. Looking at the photos above,  the top left photo in front of "The Farm House" would be the 1977 trip ... based on Wendy's hair (look close, it's long, in a pony-tail ... even though she DOES seem to have on the same shirt and pictures with short hair) and Scott's height. Then the remaining five pictures from the 1978 trip. Dad kept little Diary Books, and looking back, he found some written memories and tidbits from these two family trips to The Homestead ...

Trip to The Homestead (11-13 July 1977) 

We dropped off Shane at Burgeners, we were in Room 17, two nights, room cost, $34.48 plus $2 sleeping bag charge. We had a dinner charge the first night, on the bill, $13.09. The second day, we went to the Hub Cafe, $10.68 Bank Americard. I have the bills in my little book. We had extra costs, Horses $1.50, Miniature Golf, $1.50, Pool, $0.50. I even have the score card for Miniature Golf, for Scott, Chris, and myself.  We had lunch on 13 July, $14.40 BankAmericard.

Trip to The Homestead (22-24 August 1978) 

I took three days of vacation. We had earlier reserved two nights at The Homestead. 

Tuesday morning, Marge and I took the little car down to Cottonwood Motors for a 50,000 mile checkup. Then Scott and I took our old lawnmower in for repairs.  We got the car packed, left Shane at Burgeners, and headed to the Homestead about 10:30. The drive was short, and the room wasn’t ready when we arrived. We drove to Heber, got slurpees at the 7-11, and then went back to the Homestead, where we unpacked and moved into the Guest House.  We played tennis, went swimming, and played shuffleboard. The water in the outside pool was very cold, so we spent most of the swimming time indoors.  We had a snacky lunch before playing and we all went out for pizza that night at the Pizza Hut in Heber. 

Wednesday, we did a bit of swimming and tennis. There was a mix up in our room reservations, so we had to move out of the Guest House and into The Barn, which was a much more roomy place, and a little more fancy.  Marge and I and Wendy had a nice breakfast Wed morning, while the rest snacked cold cereal in the Guest House.  We went in to Heber City for lunch – hamburgers and malts at the Dairy Keen.  Marge and I went to a nice dinner in the dinner room – roast beef. 

Thursday, Chris and I got up early and went fishing. We drove near the Chalet, which we had investigated the first day, and we hiked along the railroad tracks around the west side of Deer Creek Reservoir. We fished for about 2 hours and I caught one nice rainbow trout, about 14” on a daredevil. The water was quite murky and green with algae.  We returned, packed, checked out, and had snacky meals. We also did a little swimming and tennis before check out time of 12 noon. We had an ice cream and bought candy bar snacks for our trip home. 

We got back in plenty of time Thursday afternoon to get ready and go to our Thursday eve 6:00 class, after stopping by Normans, and picking up Shane at Burgeners. We stopped on the way home and picked up rocks for the rock garden.

Yellowstone

 

Scanning old photos, these two appeared. Dad/Lamar delved into his diary books and was able to add a date and location, and a few other details (although not pages of notes like in some of his "diary book" entries). So ... this was July 16-20, 1974. A trip to Yellowstone with  the boys and Burgeners. The girls (Wendy and Jenny) were left to be tended by the Norman side.  Here's what Dad had written down: 

1974 – 16-20 July.  Trip to Yellowstone, Take girls to Normans, Idaho Falls, Burgeners, Macks Inn, Idaho, Paddle Boats, Yellowstone, Fishing Bridge, Campfire Lodge, Grand Teton, Jackson, pick up girls. 

So, not a lot of memories or photos, but just enough to document a family trip. 

Those paddleboats look fun!

California Summer 1969

Back in 1969 ...  Dad/Lamar's CSC job needed some employees to develop software at the main computer science corporation headquarters in El Segundo. So from July 19 - September 25, 1969, Mom and Dad had a Los Angeles summer.

• The Flight: The company split up the families heading out onto different planes ... "just in case" something happened (if there was a crash, they didn't want to lose everyone). Not a comforting thought for Mom/Margie on her first flight! Mom recalls Scottie  being very excited, and saying, "When are we going to blast-off?"
• The House: It was hard to find somewhere to rent for only three months. They spent a week in a hotel while they tried to find a place. Mom had a cousin (Diana Brady Coleman) who lived nearby and there was a house close to her for rent. Mom was so disappointed when someone got to it first.  Here's more memories ...

From Dad: 5951 INTERCEPTOR, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90045. We lived in this home while we were on a temporary assignment in Los Angeles, working at the main Computer Science Corporation building in El Segundo, 2 miles away.  We rented a small house and moved in on 25 July. The house had two small bedrooms, and a garage. It was located almost in the middle of the Los Angeles International Airport. It was quite noisy when certain runways were being used. At first, Scott would run outside excitedly every time a plane flew close over the house, but soon we became oblivious to the noise. Most of the area was bought out by the airport for demolition, but we rented from one of the hold-outs, We rented for $225 per month, paid for by CSC, plus rental furniture. We took the bare minimum of clothes and household items, so housekeeping didn’t take up much time, even with 3 little kids.

From Mom: We finally found this old house on the L.A. airport property, that was going to be razed to make more runway. At first the noise was so loud every time a plane took off because we were so close. Scott (age 5 1/2) loved it and would run outside to see the airplane. Dad said he could identify all the types of airplanes. After awhile, we didn't even notice the sound. The coat closet in the house, we never opened. It stunk so bad if we did---like something dead in there! With minimal belongings, there was not much to do as far as housework. So it was very boring and hard for me to just tend 3 preshoolers all day with no friends or much in the way of toys while Dad worked. I read every Agatha Christie book there was in the library closest to our place, but it was even hard to read and watch the kids closely at the same time. The ward was really excited to have us--then when they found we were only there for 3 months, they didn't go out of their way much to get acquainted or invite us over or anything.

Visiting Mom's cousins in Cali ... summer 1969

Karen and Lisa Coleman, daughters of Mom's cousin Diana Brady Coleman 

Diana was Mom's same age. Daughter of Bertha Howell and Lloyd Brady

But, while in California, might as well take advantage of area attractions! There was a trip to Knott's Berry Farm (pictures below). Then the family flew to Sacramento for a side trip in late August, then a trip to Disneyland (pictures at top). Wendy was just 18 months, so the folks left her with Mom's cousin. Chris had just turned three ... if they'd gone before his birthday he would have been free. There was also mention in the Dropbox memories/calendar of a trip to Universal Studios, but no pictures ... pictures of Knottsberry but no mention of it on the calendar. Maybe it replaced the planned Universal Studios trip?

Then it was back home to Washington and the house on Saint Street, September 26, 1969. 

Scott was a little late starting kindergarten at Spaulding Elementary.

1950-ish Family Fun

Embarking on this Family History journey, some new photos have been discovered and scanned. Chris was able to get an album and other items from Aunt Sharon (Dad/LaMar's sister). Adding those to some already in our Dropbox folders, it seems the young Westra family did some traveling, having family fun back in the 1950s!

In addition to the priceless pictures, having Grandma Lucille's handwriting on the back of the photos is a treasure too. The top left (family fishing) had been marked as Davis's Ranch at Uintah River. Top left is labeled in Dropbox as LaMar at Fishlake. The "Navahoe Lake" goes with the picture at the bottom left, and "Zion's Park" matches the photo above it.  1950s family fun!

Not in 1950, but in the surrounding years (before and after) there were additional adventures ...

The top left is little LaMar and his cousin Jerry (son of Grandpa Joe's older brother John) in Seattle in 1948.  The top left is a trip to Idaho in 1949. Then Seattle again in 1952 ... cousins again (and fish) and a windmill! Perhaps foreshadowing the future for Dad/Lamar's mission just a few years down the road (Windmills, Polders and Dutch History). The bottom right was labeled "Princess Margaret" the ship that ferried the family to Victoria, Canada in 1954. When emailing and asking for memories, Aunt Diane wrote "I remember getting gum on my dress. Mom wasn’t happy."

This one was labeled Brighton ~ July 1949

Dad/LaMar isn't in this picture ... but Grandpa Joe is. Maybe 12-year old LaMar was taking the picture? That would foreshadow the future for sure! We weren't able to find out who the other people in the picture are. Family or friends. Label your photos for the future!