We had decided to fit in a lake trip Friday after work.
The tricky thing around this area
about planing July/Aug lake trips is juggling around the monsoons.
I had kept my eye on the weather reports and the supposed storms
that were scheduled to arrive at 3pm had moved to 8-9pm.
So we decided to head on out since we would be back home by that time anyway.
We told our friends The Fords to meet us out there.
They've never been out to Lake Pleasant or even boating in Arizona
so we were excited to show them a good time!
Well did we ever show them a memorable time!!
Or should I say Mother Nature did instead.
We got on the lake about 4pm and it was sunny and warm
and just all around perfect lake day.
The kids had a blast kayaking, swimming and tubing.
There was a whole pack of wild donkeys off the shore just having a good ole time!
Usually we see just one or two.
So that was a first for us even!
Moms and our herd of wild donkeys!
Ezra and Laiklyn on their first romantic kayak ride! lol
Dancing in the boat
Moms and little girls on a tube ride
In the distance we could see the dark clouds creeping in on us.
So we played as long as possible until we decided
it was better safe than sorry and headed back towards the dock.
A lot of time the storms will hit the mountains and bypass the lake
but other times it'll come straight for us.
You never know which will happen.
But with a boat full of little kids I wasn't about to chance it!
Tubing on the way back to the dock.
(yes that is the nasty storm lurking behind us!)
The last smiling pic on the water before the storm pounded us!!
Clearly the wind had already hit us by this point!
Well right when I dropped Ryan off to go get the truck/trailer the storm hit!!
The winds were so strong and blowing us around.
White caps were in the cove.
Dust/sand was starting to pelt us.
Ryan was hurrying to back the trailer down and get us off that mess.
A lady was trying to hold her boat at the dock with one measly rope.
Which mean the boat was now sideways blocking the ramp.
I'm trying to line up and pull onto the trailer while being blow all over
and trying to avoid this lady's boat on my left side and the rock mountain on the right side.
Stressful to say the least!!!
Usually Ryan and I are right in sync and get the boat loaded up easy peasy.
Well this time I got close enough to him so he could grab the front end like normal.
But a huge gust of wind blew in and pushed the boat to the right so hard
that it snapped off the trailer guiding pylon!!
As it floated away and we're getting closer to the rocks,
everyone was a bit freaked out!
What we didn't realize (or at least me) is that at the bottom of the pylon was
a metal pole that it attached to.
So now raw jagged metal was exposed and had just scratched the boat
the entire length of the right side!!!! UGH!!
(like scratched down to the fibergalss and ripping off the graphics type scratch)
I kept reassuring Ryan that it's ok we can replace that stuff
all that matters is that we're all safe.
He wasn't as calm about the damaged boat.
But he managed to pull us onto the trailer despite the wind pushing us away.
He quickly tied us on and pulled us out to the top the hill.
At this point the kids are now laying on the floor to dodge the pelting
sandy wind hitting us!
So not only was a typical monsoon hitting but a full on Haboob too! (lol I love that word!!)
Ryan rescued the kids one by one and threw them into the truck.
Tess, Antoine, Ezra, Laiklyn and I hunkered down inside the boat
until we got back to the parking lot.
I had to document their first gorgeous day boating in AZ! lol
As we were pulling out about 10 boats were rushing into the dock to get off the lake.
But they were stuck waiting.
We're SO thankful we got off when we did!!!!
Barely in the nick of time.
Safe back in the parking lot...
well except the sand that was getting stuck in our teeth, eyes, ears as we took this pic! ha
These crazy kiddos were nice and cozy in the big truck as we unloaded the boat
While we were driving out of the lake the dust storm REALLY hit!
This is a huge driveway that leads to 3 tower gates to get out.
Nice visibility huh?!
I've never been in something like this!
Welcome to the Middle East Sandstorms! lol
Finally it calmed down a bit so we could see where we were driving to get out!
At this point the visibility went to zero!!
We turned on our hazards and hoped the Fords didn't run into the back end of the boat trailer!!
It was just insane to be in the middle of this Haboob!
Pics as we got back on the road to head home.
Once we got closer to town the dust settled down.
But the skies were just amazing. Dirty but amazing! lol
We decided to ditch our dinner plans and just go straight home and order pizza.
Ryan was just SICK about the boat damage.
I kept a good attitude knowing how bad it could have been.
However that good attitude might change when I see the repair bill!! gulp
This was definitely our most exciting/scary/eventful Lake trip to date!!
We're so thankful we were all okay and made it home safely.
Sadly we heard later that 12 boats sank in the lake during the storm
while countless others got damaged.
I guess it makes you realize how powerful Mother Nature really is
and how quickly a fun outing can turn dangerous!!
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