Adventure in Geezerland Lewis Lake

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Late August trip to Yellowstone found us at Lewis Lake Campground with our kayaks. Slight morning breeze kept us cool as we began paddling around the south end lakeshore. Deer and eagles were viewed near the shore as we approached the fumarole meadow on the west side. We stopped to play in the warm water along the beach where the hot streams enter the lake, with rocks creating a nice spa.
We then continued north past the inlet bay for the channel which flows from YNP's second largest lake, Shoshone Lake (where we had camped on a previous trip). We watched the park ranger gals canoe through the bay on their way up to Shoshone for the week's work as backcountry rangers. At that point we decided it would be fun to paddle the entire twelve and three-quarter mile shoreline of the Lewis Lake. However, the typical afternoon winds brought about some challenges for these two landlubbers. (to be contd)

 

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As we rounded the corner to the north end of Lewis Lake, the south to north winds were producing whitecaps and waves splashing us and making for difficult paddling. We pulled onto the long beautiful north beach covered with fine dark gravel and with a pristine meadow through the narrow grove of trees, where we watched some spunky jumping sandhill cranes. Kayak paddling was out of the question, so we waded out into the surf and tugged our vessels along near the shore for almost two miles. We arrived at the northeast beach where the shore meets the highway just in time for our lunch and a nice rest.
Then we hiked two and one half miles in our Teva sandals back to the boat dock to retrieve the vehicle and drive back to load the kayaks, which we had stashed under the bushes.

We concluded that the adventurous day was a success as no gear nor lives were lost and we both got a full-body workout, complete with sore feet. The view of the Grand Tetons across the lake from the north end was spectacular. Wind did not subside all afternoon, but wouldn't you know it, the lake was serenely calm when we walked back down to the dock from our campsite in the evening to watch the sun set.

We are truly blessed to be able to experience and enjoy the grandeur of our national parks ... and the relatively inexpensive adventures in Geezerland with our Golden Age Passports!