The Lake of Salt

One of our first stops after leaving Colorado was to visit an old friend who now lives in Salt Lake City. Both Dave and I had our own separate friendships with Case in college and this would be the first time we’d been able to spend time with him together, and it was a blast! Neither of us had seen Case for about two years, but it was so easy to pick up our old ways, laughing, going on adventures, and talking about the important things of life. There was so much comfort in seeing an old friend (and fellow Wisconsin license plates) with so many unspoken understandings. Case was an excellent host! We biked all over Salt Lake City and went on a fun rafting trip. Oh, and we swam in the Great Salt Lake, which is probably something you only do once. Read the captions below to find out why.

We enter Utah. This is a surprisingly (to me, at least) beautiful state!

We rode our bicycles all over the downtown, which is impeccably clean and organized. Well done, Mormons! We played around in some cool water fountains after working up a good sweat pedaling furiously up and down Salt Lake's hilly streets.

The LDC temple area was so interesting! As most know, the Church of Latter Day Saints, aka Mormons, have a huge influence on  the city. The temple is in the center of the city is comprised of a gated area with elaborate flower beds, displays, informational videos, restaurants and tours. Every street in the city is named according to it's distance from the Temple. That being said, the city has a lot going on outside of the LDS Church. It's surrounded by beautiful mountains, has great food, a large LGBT community, and a lot of outdoor recreation options. This is a great city!

Cruising on the crunchy beach.

I kept wondering why the city wasn’t built closer to the lake, and I completely understood once we got there. It stinks! The lake smell is reminiscent to a port-a-potty or really, really rotten eggs. What's more--there were dead birds all over the shore along with tons of little bugs that moved in waves when we walked on the shoreline. Yuck! That will be our first--and last--swim in the Great Salt Lake!

The boys didn't let the smell stop them! They actually submerged themselves in the water, which I was unwilling to do! Wading in was enough for me!

I think this is the happiest you'll see any two people in this lake.

Feeling buoyant in the super salty water.

We rinsed off and enjoyed the beach at Echo Reservoir, which was just a wee bit nicer than Salt Lake!

Pure joy on our little rafting adventure along the Weber River.

 

Under the bridge, we go.

The Weber winds through the foothills of the Wasatch range. Don't you just love the word Wasatch?!

We made it! Thanks for having us Case!

On our way out of town we stopped at the Bonneville Salt Flats, where folks try to set land speed records. People have sped up to 622 mph's here!!

The salt crunches beneath your feet and sticks to your shoes.

No caption needed.

We often have to resort to selfies to get shots of both of us these days.

Hills in the distance.