July 10th, 2021
We had a crazy weekend planned. We were staying at a friend's property in Florence the Fleetwood Flair in Island Park, Idaho, and we wanted to go boating in the national parks close by. We had the primary lake in Yellowstone National Park planned for Saturday, Yellowstone Lake. That meant a hefty drive for some quality lake time.
We found the marina and boat ramp easily, after going through a lot of traffic through the park and at the campground next to the marina. Which is why we were so surprised to be the only ones in the marina parking lot. It seemed that no one used the lake.
After buying the correct permits to put the boat in the water, we were off. We were watching Mollie, Toni and Sue's dog and Lacey's half sister. Sue and Toni had to leave Idaho for a bit, but they were coming back in a week. So, Mollie was at summer camp, and Lacey could not have been happier. They really enjoy each other's company, and they both enjoyed the boat.
Yellowstone Lake is huge. Sometimes, you can't see the other side. It's also very deep and very chilly, so they never recommend swimming in this lake or even getting in it briefly as a water-skier. We had no intention of getting in it, so that was fine. We took a 360-degree video of just a part of our trip to see about half of the lake, so use your mouse to click and drag your view or move your cell phone to look around. Watch at about 21:30 minutes in to see something funny, Mollie giving up and pooping in the boat.
There weren't many islands on the lake, but we found a small outcropping of land and rocks with a tree on it. We stopped there to let the dogs run around, and they loved it. After relaxing there for a bit, we moved on.
We were on the water for a long time, and we still barely saw any of it. When we were in the West Thumb bay, we figured you could fit about four Chatfield Reservoirs into it -- and that was just one bay on the huge lake. You could live out on that water.
One of the coolest moments of our trip to Idaho was when we were moving along the shoreline, looking at the lines of people going to see geysers. It was the West Thumb Geyser Basin, and we had front-row seats. We inched the boat closer to the rocky, colorful shoreline, feeling the water around us go from cold to warm to hot. We couldn't get up against the shore as it was too hot, but we got close enough to marvel at all of the colors where the thermal spring waters came down into the lake. Check it out, about an hour and 40 minutes into the video, above. It was a fabulous experience.
We toured around most of the West Thumb bay, but then decided to head back. It was a long drive back to the motorhome, and we realized we didn't have nearly enough time to see all of Yellowstone Lake. When we got back, we still had the boat ramp and parking lot to ourselves. It was quick work to get the boat out of the lake, dogs in the car, and headed back.
We took a tour through the campground there at the Bridge Bay Marina area, and it was really nice. It seemed a bit crowded and busy, but still nice. There were a few moose loose in the sites, and we got to be fairly close to them in the car. After the excitement of the day, both dogs slept through it.
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