The purpose of this weekly feature is to share some of the places we’ve been. They are places that stay with us for one reason or another. This week we are focusing on Yellowstone Lake.

Almost everyone thinks of Old Faithful when they think of Yellowstone National Park. I’m not one of them. Old Faithful has become a side-show attraction with thousands of people gathered around for the regular eruption. Thousands of people seeing the eruption through their camera lens is not my idea of spending time with the wonders of nature at Yellowstone.

My favorite place at Yellowstone is the lake. Most of this is nostalgia for the old days. At Yellowstone Lake there used to be a fantastic campground called Fishing Bridge. Nearby people could actually fish at Fishing Bridge. My favorite memory here involves my  brother Brian and I, some Cracker Jacks stuffed down in our sleeping bags and a bear.

We had our sleeping bags outside the tent and had planned to eat the Cracker Jacks after everyone else went to bed. We forgot, and at some point a bear came wandering through our campsite. We thought he wanted the Cracker Jack so we threw them at him. This scared him and he ran off. It was very exciting to us and we had a bear paw on one of our sleeping bags as a souvenir. We were lucky, but then back in the 1950′s the bears were more afraid of people than they are today.

Now the campground is gone and fishing is not permitted on the Fishing Bridge. But the lake is still there and still as beautiful as ever. Fishing for cutthroat trout is very good here. They allow some restricted boating as well. There are plenty of places to simply sit by the lake and read or have a picnic lunch. It’s still a favorite place of mine.

It’s that time of year when many people start thinking about lakes. What’s your favorite lake – today or in the past?

**If you’d like to join us in this weekly feature, please do. Post a picture on your blog, go to the comment section here and leave your link. Visit others who share their Favorite Places. Feel free to ‘borrow’ the button.