The Blasted River Trip

Each year we LOVE taking the boats out on Lake Mohave. We've gone with many boats, with one boat, when we had a boat, when we didn't. We've blown tires, run out of gas, had leaks, messed up props, gotten blown off the water, you name it... Regardless, we always enjoy ourselves. This trip was no exception.

Taking just one boat and our own little fam and our Imbach fam, we headed out to Laughlin knowing full well that the desert was expecting a storm. We crossed our fingers for good weather and after a delicious dinner at Vinces in the 909 we headed up for the late drive. There were flash flood warning signs once in AZ but we were fortunate enough not to get caught in any. We were however surprised by a larger than expected left over puddle as we came over the hills making out way into Laughlin. Sure did cover the whole truck and boat in mud then unfortunately my sister's car too. We shook it off.

Arriving at 3am, we'd lost our reserved non smoking rooms and were given smoking rooms that had been "deodorized". Saturday after a breakfast at the Pioneer, we launched our muddy boat with ease. Thank goodness for my brother-in-law because backing the boat up give me personal anxiety.  We could see the storm over the mountains but there was sun above us and water below us with makes for a perfect day at Lake Mohave. We never set up camp because the perfect beach was impossible to find. The downside, we rode around with an easy up, chairs and a cooler all day. Upside, we were all together all day. We stopped a few times just to let the boat float and go for a swim. The kids tubed and my nephew wake boarded. It was rad.

Suddenly, literally, all of a sudden, the wind blew up, the sky got dark and up came the white caps. We were 11 miles up the river at Cottonwood Cove and we knew immediately that we needed to get the kids out of the water and head back to the dock. An hour later, all soaking wet from the crazy ride back, we got to Katherine's Landing. Everyone else seemed to have the same plan to get out of the water because boats were in every slip, whether or not it was theirs. We kindly asked some people to move out of our space and they happily obliged since they were just waiting for their trailers. Other people were not so polite... We sat and watched a full on fight between a houseboat and a boat full of "ladies". Lesson learned by our boys: F-bomb only make you look stupid.

Tired from our day, we ate dinner at the Salt Grass in the Golden Nugget. I left my phone on the table and didn't realize it until back at the hotel. Even though we used the Find My iPhone app, my phone had mysteriously disappeared and not been found by anyone in the restaurant. Even though we'd been sitting in a back and separate dining area with only 3 other parties, my phone wasn't seen by the waitstaff or the bussers. We returned to the restaurant the following morning, still nothing. So my lack of pictures on this post is due to the fact that I never got my phone back. Expensive error.

We decided to eat brunch at the Harrahs and while we were waiting for our table, Mr. B sat down for a hand of blackjack. After a delicious breakfast we walked back to our car with the intention of leaving Laughlin before we pushed our seemingly bad luck too far. No keys. Mr. B went back into the casino and luckily found our (one and only) truck key near the tables. That was it, we had to go.

Looking for the keys made us 30 minutes late to the the dock to pick up the boat. Yup, our boat was chained to the dock. I'm not even kidding. It was $20 more than the cost of renting the slip for another night to have someone unlock it. With the kids in their bathing suits, we decided to get the Heck out of dodge before we lost a child! We paid the fine, pulled the boat out, wiped her down and left. Crossing the first bump over the Colorado river going from Arizona to Nevada the trailer starts to fishtail. We figured we blew a tire and we pulled over. Nope, didn't blow a tire. In our hurry to leave, we over looked double checking the locks. The trailer came off the tow hitch and slammed into the back of our truck. Dented bed, no damage to the boat. uh, little yay?

It was a quiet ride home and in the end we agreed, no one was seriously hurt, we got quality time with our family Saturday on the water, phones can be replaced and dents can be repaired. It is what it is and if we get mad about it then it will still be what it is and we'll be mad too. As a couple and as individuals, we try to take the "roll with it" approach. Stuff will not go our way, we can either get upset about it or we can just keep going forward.

Needless to say, our next river trip is bound to be better than this one was.