We went to Tally Lake near Whitefish, Montana from August 11-17 this summer with Rob’s parents. Also, we took Michelle’s son Chad Hemsley along with us. Val and Michelle and their other kids Tylissa and Keston also joined us part of the time. It was the first time we had ever gone to Tally Lake, but it had been recommended to us by some friends. It turned out that we loved it and had a great time. We are even wondering if Tally Lake should replace Wasa for the annual Doig family reunion.....those of you who are Doigs and weren’t there yourselves, can look at the pictures and assess the pros and cons. Part of the magic of our trip to Tally Lake was that we had great weather--hot days (except one which is when we went into Kalispell to do our back-to-school shopping), quite a bit of calm water, and only a tiny bit of rain. Also, two of the best campsites happened to be available (you can’t book ahead). We also really enjoyed spending Sunday in Kalispell at Michelle's. We went to their church and she made us Sunday dinner. She and granny also surprised us with an ice cream cake for Alyssa and I for our birthdays.
We were also surprised by how warm the water was. We think it was nearly as warm as Wasa, and much warmer than the reservoirs around here, which in turn were much warmer than Holland Lake last year. We didn’t use any wetsuits at all, and on at least a couple of evenings, there was steam coming off the lake as the sun went down. The one most peculiar thing about Tally lake is that the lake has a dark colour to it. When you look at it from a distance and just see the reflection of the trees and the sky it looks blue/ green. However, when you are actually in the water, it is brown/black. It is almost like swimming in diluted coffee. Supposedly it is one of the purest lakes in Montana in terms of being drinkable water, but it has a mineral in it that gives it that colour. It is also extremely deep—apparently 445 feet. In most parts of the lake, the water is very deep right off the shore which makes it great for cliff jumping.
Cliff jumping was one of the extra fun things about Tally Lake. There are cliffs at several heights for all levels of daring. In this picture I am jumping off the shortest cliff. I was ridiculously apprehensive of jumping. It doesn't look that far down, unless you are up there looking down. I am told the key is to not look down. Anyway, the above picture is proof that I did actually jump.
Alyssa and Tylissa jumping while I ponder the possibility of jumping. The ledge Alyssa jumped from was a few feet higher than where Tylissa and I jumped.
Alyssa thinks she is about to burn out her candles on her birthday cake....
But it turns out they were relighting candles and posed quite a challenge to blow out. I had actually forgotten to bring candles, and was just going to use matches when granny decided to check in the motor home. Grandma Doig, the previous owner of the motor home had left lots of stuff in the motor home and we found this pack of candles....no one knew that they were relighting candles...so we all had a good laugh about it.
Tylissa kneeboarding
Chad skiing. Chad had learned how to kneeboard, wakeboard, ski without the bar in between. He even attempted slolam skiing and was very close to doing it.
Mark had a fun time at Tally Lake. It was nice that our campsite was close to the lake so we could walk him back and forth. In this picture, we are waiting by the dock for the boat to come around to us. Mark liked floating on the tube. Can you almost see the yellowish brown colour of the water.
See the glassy water. This was on the Saturday morning. I went on a hike with Val to Tally Lake lookout while Rob and granny and the kids went on the boat. That's when Austin attempted skiing, granny skiied, Michelle slolamed and Tylissa kneeboarded. The hike was about an hour and a bit up and down. There are also several other trails in the mountains along the lake. Val has hiked them all.
The boys in the dinghy in the swimming area.
This is Mark at the "beach." It is not a sandy beach. There is grass until close to the water then a few feet of very small rocks before the water. Out in the deeper part of the swimming area is a platform that kids can jump off--and push each other off. Tke kids liked swimming out to it and trying to stay on or jump off, etc.
Alyssa and Chad jumping together.
This is granny and grandpa's campsite. It is forest with gravel areas, a picnic table and a fire pit.
Alyssa skiing on glassy water
Alyssa skiing in the evening on water that was as Monte would say, "smooth like unto glass." We loved the morning and evening skiing when the water was calm. In the afternoons, with other boats on the water, it was sometimes a little choppy.
No comments:
Post a Comment