This Is the Place!

We combined the trip to see the Utah lavender fields (see yesterday's post) with a jaunt through the Mt. Nebo area.
Lots of folks had told us the Mt. Nebo loop was a pretty drive so we thought we'd investigate.
There was nice scenery right off the bat.

The guidebooks said nothing about Cow Parades though.


One of the cows told Bernie she knew a really great spot for fishing and she was willing to show him where it was.
Such nice cows we have here in Utah.

Perfect kind of road for a leisurely drive.
Except when we got to where the Mt. Nebo loop officially begins there was a
"Road Closed" sign up.
Perhaps there was road damage from the heavy winter snows this year.
A tad disappointing...but we chose to drive what we could along another fork.

Salt Creek ran alongside the road and B. hopped out of the car ever so often to scout likely fishing holes.
I went about scouting likely eye pleasing scenes.
I think I would of won, had there been a contests going between us.

Mushroom grown along an old plank.
Wonder if I could eat it.
(The mushrooms that is, not the plank...)

Actually I did look about for morels, but kept getting distracted by the views overhead.

Ever wonder why pictures always look great when they include rustic fences?


I'm not sure if this cow was hired just to stand around in case someone came by with a camera.
The bovine kept positioning herself (himself? I didn't check...) smack dab in front of me like a professional model.



Another shot?
Sure, why not...
I'll email you a copy. What's your email address?

moo@gmail.com



There were three campgrounds along Salt Creek.
We drove into Ponderosa Campground to check out their sites.
I liked #8 personally. There was a fence like this one and just a few feet beyond, a waterfall.


On our way out of the campground we mentioned site #8 to the campground host.
He said there really wasn't anything but good sites in Ponderosa.
I think I would tend to agree with him.
There was one space left for the weekend...and had we been loaded up with camping gear we surely would have grabbed it on the spot!

Instead we wandered back out of the area.

Enjoyed the ever changing scenery...

Scenes ranged from heavy forest and streams to desert like sand dunes in less than three miles.

A wild flower ringed reservoir looked fishable...and photographic...


Above us was more gorgeous scenery.

The soft sound of sheep calling Maaaa as they trotted along the pasture added to the beauty.

I enjoyed watching the reservoir overflow chute handling sparkling water.

Blackbirds were calling from the shoreline flora.

This clover looking flower smelled wonderful...and the bush was about two feet high so I don't think it actually was clover though.

OK...I need your help on this one.
The plant growing this fruit was tall, like six feet or so, and had the red turning to black berries and each clump also had the prickly looking berry too.

Any guesses out there?
I like the pink stems...

Another view of the reservoir chute....the granite at the end of the chute looked so worn I had to wonder how long it had been there.

The next day, Saturday, our local humor columnist wrote about how people wind up moving to Utah.
Many originally came for religious reasons, but it didn't take long for people of all religions to come to the area too.
Folks moved for business reasons, for military assignments, for college, for all sorts of reasons.
The columnist wrote that while Brigham Young declared "This is the place" back in 1847, when he himself moved to Utah with his family as a child from Southern California, he said his declarations was "This place sucks!"
He wrote about how most folks are not in Utah by choice...that he had never heard of anyone just deciding to move to the state without some necessary reason.
And that it takes years for folks like himself to finally decide that they like it hear.
Maybe I should call him up and introduce myself.
I can't imagine Bernie and I being the only people who have visited Utah and decided that this IS the place to live just because it is so beautiful.
(In fact I know that several celebrities have homes in the area and they could live anywhere they wanted to.)
Just wanted to share what we saw as we drove around, about an hour and a half from our home, on this past Friday afternoon.
Brigham Young and I differ on a lot of things, but I totally agree with him on one thing:

Northern Utah: This Really Is The Place!

Four Day Weekend Fun

Feel like guessing what we did this weekend?
The picture above...that was Monday afternoon's adventure.
Oh go ahead....guess what it was all about.



We drove to Midway (about a 40 minute drive from home, past Park City) and checked in at this cute little building.
After signing a couple of pages of release forms we were free to get going on our adventure!



The temps were in the 20's....so of course that was even more motivation for us.

The bags were to hold our clothes after we got changed...

Starting to get an idea?



The white dome in the first picture is actually a crater with a hole up on top, and a natural hot spring pool  has formed inside over the eons of time.
The crater opening is a bit hard to see as hot air rises from the surface of natural spring fed pool and collides with the cold air coming down 45 feet from the cater opening above, and that creates a constant fog.
The pool? It goes goes waaaayyyy deep.  Sixty five feet deep to be exact.
So deep that the pool is explored by scuba divers.

After changing into our swim suits and donning a required floation vest, we were ready to get into the steady 90 degree water for a nice soak and paddle about.
I had my hair clipped up and figured I'd keep my head above water so my hair wouldn't freeze coming home.
Well, that plan went out the window right after I missed the lowest rung on the dock ladder and went ker-splash, glasses, hair and all.
Oh well!
Good thing I had packed a nice ski cap just in case I happened to get splashed.

Bernie and I bobbed and peeked at the limestone formations of the crater walls 

and watched scuba divers far below us use lights to check out the pool's hour glass shaped depths.

The color of the water was an amazing deep azure blue, and the few underwater spot lights let us catch some of the underwater formations from the surface.

Our skin was soon covered with a light air bubble fizz, and we relaxed and just enjoyed the time together.
It smelled nice too...not one of sulfer type mineral springs, the water had a nice blend of relaxing minerals.

A visit to the Homestead Crater has been on our "go see" list ever since we moved to Salt Lake.
We've still got plenty more adventures on our list.

And if we need a nice warm soak inside a crater after such adventures...we know just the place to go!

When in Salt Lake....get in the salty lake.

Saturday morning dawn over Jeff's fence. We make plans.

We'll head north.

And we'll go visit....

An island in the middle of the Great Salt Sea.

It was a spur of the moment decision. We packed PB&J, some chips, oranges, a change of clothes.

Twenty minutes later on the road I remembered I had forgotten my swim suit.

Who cares? I still have my running bra on under my tee shirt; I'll go for my first swim in the Great Salt Lake in my yoga pants and a running bra.
It will work.

And it did.
A nice lady from Georgia offered to take our picture.
Everyone in the lake seemed united in the joy of experiencing the lake.

And we floated in the water just like they said we would.
19% salinity, baby!
(Some parts of the lake have 25% salinity. I want to try those waters too!)

Bobbing like corks in the deep.

Serious fun...no work at all, I can raise my arms and legs and I am still floating.

I can roll over on my stomach and lift my feet, and still hover just inches into the warm salty water surrounded by pastel colors.

Bernie is taking pictures, floating on his back in the water, one arm lifted with the camera.

I notice something: We both can't stop smiling.

We float together, touching feet.

It is SO good to see Bernie happy. It feels so good to feel connected in this new experience.

Tiny flies rest all over the surface of the lake; we later learn that they are called brine flies. They float on the water, alive for just a few days.

When they die, the brine shrimp eat them.

The bottom of the lake has filled with a black substance with the smooth texture of cold cream.

There is no outlet to the lake; centuries of sediment has covered the ground below.

Bernie suggests reaching down and getting a handful and using the mud to smear our bodies.

This is what he has seen European visitors do when visiting the world's other salt lake, the Dead Sea of Israel. They cover themselves in the black mud, then lounge on the shore until the mud has dried, then dip in the water again to wash themselves clean.

He swears it will be good for our skin.

I lift a handful of goo...it smells...but moments later the scent is gone.

I smear; dry; rinse.

My skin does feel smoother.

I guess this could be considered my very first mud bath.

We float in water the milky color of the sky above. Where does the water stop and the sky begin?

Clouds wisp in.

Feathers floating above in the sky.

Bernie is smiling like I have not seen him smile in a very long time.

It's good to have him back. His years of job related tension has melted away in the briny lake.

We are constantly feeling a soft tickle, as if champagne bubbles are running up our arms and legs.
It is the tiny brine shrimp, the little fluttering shrimps of the great salt lake ecosystem. They are everywhere in the water. Children around us squeal as they catch them. I find myself trying to catch them too.
Parents coach their reluctant teens to get into the water, noting that to have a similar floating experience would require a trip to Israel. The teens still decline the experience, scowling at their bobbing parents.
Younger children are coached to lay back in the water; they are fearful of drowning, of getting water in their eyes; at last they relent and trust-their high pitched voices gleefully calling out invitations to watch them float.

After the swim we hike back across the dried lake shore; the water level is down sixteen feet. The muted pastel colors match the water and the sky. The lake scent is not totally pleasant; a bit of a pond scent and fish and bird smells mix in the warm breezy air.

As we walk our skin begins to dry and show a dusting of salt; salt as fine as my childhood memory's popcorn salt. It itches slightly, and burns where my skin has been reddened by the sun.

Bernie points out that experiences are not always perfect: the sand is hot on the feet, the scent is not totally unpalatable, but not romantic floral or seashore fresh either.

It too is part of the experience.

The long walk through the soft grey sand is hot upon our feet. Bernie coaches me to walk in his foot prints; his steps compress the sand making it easier for me to climb from the lake bed and up the hillside to the showers.

The showers feel incredibly good.

Around the showers bloomed this flower.

And this flower as well, the brightest color in the area.

The second post I ever did was about Jeff's first camping trip to this Island.

Almost two and a half years ago that was.

A seven mile causeway connects the island to the main land.

As we drive back to the main land, we promise each other that swimming in the Salt Lake will be our Labor Day weekend tradition from now on.

It is fun to begin a new tradition!

Back home, Jeff has grilled up some mighty fine grub.

We dined in the patio, with storm clouds dark over head, and lightening flashing in the distance.

It is windy and warm, and we talk and enjoy being together for hours.

What a perfect ending to a perfect day.