Stacey and I have been coming to Yellowstone National Park since 1992, when we first visited with the Zollinger's, Kiah was 4 months old. Since then we have visited half a dozen times. 2000 looks like it was the last of Yellowstone Zollinger trips. In 2001 the park stopped letting you take trout from Yellowstone Lake and hence killed the main reason Clair Zollinger likes to go. Each year the Zollingers would drag their boat to the lake and spend a week camping at the lake, catching fish and eating them.

We always stayed at Bridge Bay campground since it was close to the Marina. Around 1994 Clair spent an afternoon driving through the campgrounds and located the best campsite in Loop G.

Sites 282 and 283 are by far the best. 284 has a pull through and you can only stay there if you have a camper. 285 is not a great campsite, but if you have 282 and 282, its a place to park the extra cars and everyone can hang out in 282 and 283.

The campgrounds look out over a beautiful meadow down to the lake.

There is plenty of open space to set up tents with lots of privacy. Clair always brings the springbar tents, the one to the left was the food tent.

The weather was phenomenal this year, but don't be fooled it can get very cold. In 1999 when we were there it snowed in July.

Our tent had a beautiful view of the lake from the window

Sofi was almost a year old and such a cutie.

Much of the time we sat around the fire jawing or listening to Julie play the guitar.

Rod relaxing

Clair supplied all the food each year. Here he is getting ready to sample his famous orange-lemonade.

From left to right, Shari, Rod, Natali leaning in, Stacey holding Sofi, and Holli.

From left to right, Clair in the hat, Holli, Shari holding Sofi, Jen Nuttal and Rod

Clair's breakfasts were yummy, and with huckleberry syrup you could get some interesting color combinations.

Sofi liked to get into everything and Rod did his best to preserve his pensive reputation.

One afternoon the most amazing weather phenomenon appeared in the sky. There was no rain and hardly a cloud in the sky, but a wisp of clouds were colored with the spectrum of a rainbow. Must have been the reflection of the sun off the lakes surface.


Click for a bigger picture.

Bruce and Julie posed in front of it in the meadow.

As did Kiah, holding Dad's knife she was whittling with.

Of course we spent a lot of time out on the lake fishing. Clair never failed to become giddy like a kid when anyone caught a "keeper", which was a cut throat trout under 13 inches.

We went out on opening day and I caught the very first fish of the millennium season from Yellowstone Lake.

Kiah caught a huge chubby one that we had to throw back.

She also dragged in another big one, you can see Lake Hotel in the background. (That is not Yellowstone Lodge).

The kids had a great time playing at the campground, for you Phish phans here is a photo of Kiah that resembles the album cover for Billy Breathes

Kiah, Karissa and Shari loved Sofi to death.

Sofi even let Rod hold her.

She really liked it when he threw her in the air.

Its kinda sad now to think that the Yellowstone summer trips seem to have come to an end for now. I still have a plan in the back of my mind to travel once again up across Lewis Lake and up into Lake Shoshonee. Here is one last look at the lake.