Antelope Island

We spent a couple of fun days at Antelope Island State Park. It's close to Salt Lake City, but miles away from traffic, noise, crowds, etc. Instead, it has great views, peace and quiet, salt, spiders, a few mosquitoes, and more salt :)

Our first evening came with a beautiful sunset, so we put the back door of Howie down to cool off the trailer and bring in the rays.


A view toward Fremont Island to the north:


From the top of Howie, a photo of our wonderful, calm campground:


It almost looks like the sun is going down inside the trailer:



The next morning we inflated our "Sunny" canoe and set off on an adventure to Fremont Island. We paddled across the bay, watched sea birds (who seemed to be curious about us too), and marveled at the buildup of salt on everything. Paddles, gloves, clothes, fingers, the boat, our faces... all very salty. I guess that's why we didn't see any other boats (motorized or otherwise) on the water all morning.

It took almost 2 hours, but we made it to the island and pulled up for a snack. The seagulls gave us a wide berth. I would have taken photos, but I was afraid to pull out the camera from its hiding place in the dry bag! Paddling back took almost as long, and it was enjoyable until the end when brine flies got in the way. Then we portaged across a sandbar (aiming for the shower house) and realized it was coated in seagull poop. Then the gear-lugging up the beach wasn't too much fun. I was a bit whiny but John was patient with me. The highlight was getting out of the boat to float in the salty water along with the tourists and discover what it felt like to be more buoyant. Even John floated (and without a PFD on)!

We were very excited about the outdoor showers where we could rinse everything off. We were salty! Then as we were schlepping our stuff back toward the campground we caught a ride with some park employees - very nice of them.

I made a boo boo - forgot to put sunscreen on my feet before wearing sandals in a boat for 4 hours!


Luckily they only hurt that afternoon and didn't bother me on subsequent hikes... but they still look pretty funny even now!

That afternoon we took a bike ride around the island, partly on the trail and partly on roads. Here's a view of the causeway connecting the island to the mainland:


Don't feed the animals!


One reason we didn't stay on the trail the whole way (John was a gentleman and led the way):


We made it to the ranch where we could look around, although we didn't stay long when we started to hear thunder. The ranch was pretty and had some interesting things to look at:


Like this "Dr Seuss" machine:


And this one I decided was designed by Da Vinci:


An amazing old tractor:


A herd of buffalo hanging out down by the water - cool!


Pronghorn antelope - I love the way they hop/run:


The following morning we hiked up toward the highpoint of the island, Frary Peak:


Pretty monarch:


We had awesome views of the Great Salt Lake in all directions:


What a very nice way to spend a couple of days. Antelope Island is made for adventure racing, or at least training for it!

Rockets and trains

On our drive around the north end of the Great Salt Lake, we were surprised to come upon a rocket display, so we had to stop and check it out:




Spy boots?


Continuing on, we found the Golden Spike monument where the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. The displays in the Visitor Center are quite interesting - imagine working on something so historic, yet so difficult. They also have a couple of engine replicas. Here's Jupiter, looking new and colorful:


The spot where the final pieces were laid and connected with a Golden Spike:


The old-style track:


Whatcha doin', John?


Only 18 more to go (I've also been to a couple others, but I look forward to seeing them again with John)!


Thank you, Mr Mather!


A pretty tabernacle in Brigham City, on our way to Antelope Island:

Salty!

From Salt Lake, we drove west to see the Salt Flats. On the map it doesn't look like much more than a long, flat road out there, but it was actually an interesting drive. We watched the Salt Lake, the salt processing operations (including one with a Morton's sign on it), sea gulls, and an occasional patch of green amid everything white.

A glimpse of the salt flats from the road:


Just before we hit the Nevada border we turned right toward the salt flats. Looking across the white plain, it seemed like there was water in the distance, but it was just some heat shimmer.


Not part of the Speedway (no speed records here!):


Howie at the Salt Flats - and no, we didn't drive Howie onto the salt. Didn't feel the need to have to wash it all off later.


Harvery on the Salt Flats (with a bit of a hand deformity going on):


John racing out toward the Speedway:


He eventually came back:


It was windy that afternoon! (Maybe stuff like this explains the hand problem):


We parked overnight at a casino in West Wendover, NV - cool! Our first free night in a casino parking lot:


The state line:


The next morning was clear and calm, so we went for a run. Here's me, coming back to the truck:



Nice run, John! I had watched him take off and eventually disappear over the horizon. You could run for miles and miles out there, and the scenery hardly changes at all.


Quite an experience! It was worth the drive over there. And the coating of salt...

Wasatch run

Last week I wasn't sure where we were heading after our Salt Lake City exploration. Well, I figured it out finally - and it meant a week without internet. So I'll be catching up on the blog posts for the next couple of days :)

Anyone following our tracks might have thought we were trying to get out of Utah - we ended up (briefly) in two other states, and close to a third today...

But first - a quick workout in Little Cottonwood canyon above the Snowbird ski area. It was a nice loop on a pretty day.

Starting the hike:


Interesting rock colors across the valley:



Pretty little Cecret Lake:


Wildflowers were blooming:



Nice place to rest:


Waiting for winter:


NOT waiting for winter - hi John!


More photos coming soon!