Floating the Yellowstone

It was a perfect day to be on the river - warm temperatures and no wind. We met at Dee Dee and Ursula's place at noon, then drove down the Paradise Valley to Mallards Rest fishing access to put-in. Holly and Rosemary each had a kayak; Dee Dee and Ursula paddled their SOAR inflatable canoe, and Val and I shared my inflatable Sea Eagle PaddleSki - a combination kayak/catamaran.

The mild rapids and balmy air made for leisurely paddling. We saw several osprey and a bald eagle and also sighted a now-empty 'rookery' - several trees with multiple nests for raising avian families.

We stopped to eat lunch on a gravel bar and, as we were sitting there, we saw Velma rowing down the river in her oar boat with a few other women. We all know Velma, so Ursula said, "Let's moon them!" So we did... six women in our 50's and 60's dropped our pants and bent over and smiled. The women in the oar boat cheered us, then lifted their shirts and flashed us as they floated by.

Just before take-out, we had to negotiate a narrow chute at the end of a shallow dam. We had checked it out before and it looked pretty easy - however, it's hard to see the narrow passage until you're right up on it. Ursula was able to stand in the canoe to get a better look and she and Dee Dee slipped through easily; Rosemary and Holly made it OK too. Val and I had hung back so as not to crowd the kayaks and when we started through, I saw that we were too far to the left and one pontoon floated up over a barely-submerged cement ledge and caused us to flip.

I popped up at the back of the overturned boat and Val immediately surfaced, laughing at the same time. We pulled onto a gravel bar to upright the boat and were pleased that we didn't lose any gear. Later we learned that Rosemary had tried to duck some over-hanging brush and tipped her kayak. Holly-the-fish swam out to help her get to shore.

We hung our wet gear and clothes all over Ursula and Dee Dee's fence to dry, then opened the beer and wine and enjoyed a delicious BBQ meal. Val is a cattle rancher and had brought some grass-fed beef steaks for the meat eaters, and Jake-the-dog used every shred of willpower not to jump on the table and nab a prize.

Dee Dee and Ursula just returned from backpacking in Wyoming and they found a spinning reel and rod that someone had left behind. When I mentioned that I had just bought a fishing license, they gave me the found gear. Cool!