I left Salt Lake City in the following morning and wanted to catch an early-ish train so I decided to go for the 10 am and just grab a bagel from the hotel. In my rush to catch the train apparently I knocked my dead portable charger off the side table because it was left behind unfortunately. I was able to call the hotel upon arriving at Ogden and they just mailed it to me, but it still did kinda suck because now if my phone died on a hike there was no hope for it. (My phone running out of battery from taking photos was a common problem that plagued me during the trip.)
The Salt Lake Central Station was much easier to traverse than Ogden’s. There are signs up everywhere so finding the Frontrunner track and the machine to buy the ticket was no big deal. You don’t even have to talk to anyone. The train was delayed by 15 minutes but somehow we managed to get to Ogden early so not sure how that works but I’m not mad. Becky had been out paddle boarding that morning so I waited on a bench by the bus stops and listened to some music. Apparently I looked like I knew what I was doing because a man actually came up to me and asked if I knew how the buses worked! Obviously I had to tell him no but that was in a way a nice complement. At least I didn’t look nervous to be traveling alone.
Well Becky managed to find me and we headed off after picking up a salad and a sandwich at a shop on the way. The plan for today was to go to the Spiral Jetty on our way back to Ogden. The Jetty is a giant sculpture by the Salt Lake. I knew what it was prior to going, but I really had no idea just how big it was or where it really was for that matter.
It’s huge! The rocks are around backpack size with some bigger and some a little smaller but huge nonetheless. There is a plaque giving a date and artist for the piece: 1970 Robert Smithson. That is all. You drive through the middle of nowhere passing The Golden Spike at the connecting of the railroads and then just keep driving until you hit a viewing point. We even passed by some wild horses! They were right by the road when we went by the first time but when we left they were all the way in the distance.. whoops. It really doesn’t seem man-made in a weird way. There are so many crazy land formations around Utah it kinda fits in?
We had fun walking the Jetty and taking some photos. That first one in the previous section is through my sunglasses because the filters in the glass made the pinks in the lake stand out so much more to your eye. The last few are of the hill side behind the Jetty, which is steep and covered with grass and huge rocks. We found a few remaining cicadas from the swarm that happened this year chirping away in the grass. It was sooo hot there too. The sun was relentless and we really didn’t have much water so it’s a good thing Becky didn’t bring Kaya like she wanted (Kaya is her pup).
And of course I had to go in the lake are you kidding!? It’s actually pretty warm which was nuts because I was expecting what a lake in PA would feel like in early summer–still pretty cold. But the water was practically hot in places. There were little ponds with pink salt on the bottom that must absorb a ton of heat from the sun because man they almost burned you foot. It was neat walking in the Salt Lake. It really doesn’t feel any different from regular water. There isn’t enough salt for you to be buoyant or anything, though I didn’t try and swim. My feet and hands were dry and coated with salt when we got out though so there is definitely some salt in the Salt Lake. It got caked on my shoes too so we had to take a shower and scrape them when we got home lol. Honestly I think there might still be some salt despite having washed them since!
Oops finger in the shot..
It is just soo flat though. I could not believe how shallow the water was, and clear too. The Lake was in pretty far because of all the rain they had been getting but still, I walked for a good while and the water never passed my ankles! That also makes these pictures absolutely stunning. The pinks in the water and the distant shore and island with the clouds in the sky is gorgeous. I could not have asked for a better day for pictures at the Salt Lake.
That’s me!
My grandmother likes to jokingly call this photo “Walking on Water” because of how far out I am, but that really is just how shallow the Lake is.
Coddiwomple With A Canvas 