Thursday July 13th 2017

Today started as a calm day in the seventies and climbed to the low nineties. Late this afternoon thunderstorms to the east brought strong winds to the Utah Lake area.

Paddle board camp class in the marina.

Rock break waters shelter the marina.

I spent some time this morning walking around the Utah Lake State Park. I suspect that the Blue Green Algae bloom in the lake is keeping visitors away from the park. The rental slips in the marina were mostly full, but the transient area and the parking lots were mostly empty. A few people were participating in what looked like a paddle board class in the marina. They were playing in the water right beside the warning signs to stay out of the water because of the algae bloom. If they don’t swallow any lake water or have open wounds, I suppose they will be OK. I don’t think I would want to risk sickness to learn how to paddle a board while balanced on top.

Looking back to the south east from one of the breakwaters.

The campground is located on the shore of Utah Lake in this area.

The marina is in an area of the lake sectioned off by big breakwaters. It is located beside where the Provo River empties into the lake. Most of the rental spots in the marina are occupied by sailboats. The 12 mile wide by 24 miles long lake is only 9 feet in depth on average. The size is probably what makes it good for sailboats. Utah Lake is advertised as the third largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi. Interestingly, I’ve been to the two lakes that lead it in size this summer. Flathead lake in Montana near Glacier National Park is the biggest lake west of the Mississippi and Lake Tahoe on the Nevada California line comes in second.

Lots of these diving ducks in the marina. I haven’t seen one close enough to begin the process of identification.

Mom duck and her kids.

The flower of the day.

This afternoon I went in search of groceries. I found a gas station to allow me to wander around the area and a Walmart a couple of exits north on Interstate 15 in the city of Orem. Not really thinking, I bought Ice Cream. To keep it from melting I came straight back to camp from the grocery store. Checking out the area will have to wait until tomorrow.