And this time the thing I should of done was one I should have done sooner. I went with some friends out to see the Spiral Jetty, an earthwork sculpture that was built into the Great Salt Lake back in 1970. During much of my time here in Utah the Spiral Jetty was under water. The Great Salt Lake is a big catch basin. Runoff flows in from the mountains, but there is no where that water leaves the lake, besides through evaporation, so rain/drought cycles control the level of the lake. I moved to Utah in '85 after the big flood years, so the lake was very high and the Jetty submerged. After the droughts of recent years, the lake has receded and 2010 was supposed to be a great year to see the jetty.
But I never got up there in 2010 like I wanted to. I meant to, I really did, but never seemed to find anyone who wanted to join me at times I could go. It's a 100 mile drive, and the last bit of road was purported to be pretty dodgy, and I didn't want to find myself stuck in the boonies by my self, so I never made it out there.
On Monday my friends wanted to go, as they heard it may be the last chance to see anything. It turns out the bad road had been redone, so getting there was problem. But the jetty was, for the most part under water, the water was about knee deep over most of the rocks.
It was still beautiful. The water in this part of the lake, which is extra salty, is pink due to all the halophilic (salt loving) bacteria in the water. A nice contrast to the black basalt rocks lining the beach. The vistas from this far north end of the lake are magnificent. Definitely worth the drive and the looksie, even if the jetty was mostly submerged. Next drought cycle though, I'm going back for sure!!!
1 comment:
Thanks for sharing!!! Please count me in next time you go. I had never heard of it but it seems like a really neat place for sure
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