Start: Yellowstone National Park, Madison Campground
Destination: Antelope Island State Park, UT
Odometer: 104,477 (start)  104,996 (end)   519 miles
Date:  Wednesday, September 7th,  2011

(Coming to you from Safeway in Estes Park, CO - Rocky Mountains)

Again, we had an early start on the day thanks to the weather.  This time, instead of wind, it was the cold.  Dad and I were up around 3:30 as usual, but it was rather cold and we had no interest in trying to go back to sleep in it.  So, we broke camp and were on the road, before the sun, at 4:40.  It was a good thing, because we had a long driving day ahead of us and could use the time.

The first stop was Craters of the Moon in Arco, Idaho.  The drive to and through Idaho was rather uneventful, aside from getting two state welcome signs, seeing some nice hills, and searching for available and inexpensive 87-octane gas along the rural highways of Idaho (what's with the 85 octane gas out West?).   We arrived around 9am and I made use of their very nice bathroom facilities to change clothes and clean up a bit.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2122.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-210" title="100_2122" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2122-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2125.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-211" title="100_2125" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2125-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2128.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-212" title="100_2128" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2128-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
We were off to an interesting start when we went to pay our entrance fee, and were told to pay at the entrance gate, but there may not be anyone there yet, so just drive in and please pay on the way out.

Craters of the Moon, as we learned, is the remains of a 2,000 year eruption and the ensuing lava bed.  Usually, when these places say recent, they mean in the past few hundred thousand, if not millions of years, so this is a very recent geological event.  The remains of this eruption are wavy lava flows, i.e. cascades, sparkling lava cinders, lava “bombs,” colored rock formations, mountains/hills of pumice rock, and an ecosystem of flora and fauna that make their homes in this seemingly uninhabitable landscape.  Highlights of the stop were looking into and sticking my hand into various holes left from the erupting volcanic cones, learning that Aa (ah-ah) is a word for rough, jagged lava (though it apparently is not valid for scrabble or boggle, which spell it with an apostrophe: A’a). and asking a lot of question of the park ranger on duty who was happy to have someone genuinely interested and amazed by the park.  We stayed a bit longer than expected, but were on the road to the Great Salt Lake a little after 11.

<object width="400" height="267" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5653543364681763169%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" /><param name="pluginspage" value="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /><embed width="400" height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5653543364681763169%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /></object>

The drive to the Salt Lake was great.  There was a nice mountain range to our left for most of the ride south and traffic wasn’t a problem.  We stopped for our first restaurant meal of the trip at a Subway in Tremonton, UT for lunch, where my Dad for the first time enjoyed the sandwich he got at a Subway.  I was able to check my email on the road and learned that I received a contract  to build a bill tracking and reporting system for a lobbying firm I interviewed during my dissertation research.  My Dad and I had some good discussions on the way, and the time went by quickly.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2217.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-215" title="100_2217" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2217-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2219.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-216" title="100_2219" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2219-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

We arrived to the gate of Antelope Island State Park around 4 and after paying our entry fee of $3, had a scenic ride on a 7-mile causeway through the Great Salt Lake to the island.  I was disappointed to learn that, somewhat like the opposite of The Prisoner, you can leave The Island whenever you want, but can’t get back in after sunset/8:30.  My cell phone had lost power and wasn’t charging, so I was hoping to stop at a cell phone place that evening, but this curfew put the kibosh on that plan.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2223.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-217" title="100_2223" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2223-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

After getting on the island, a few wrong turns, and a stop at the visitor center, we arrived at the island’s campground.  At first, we were concerned by the dozens of teenagers gallivanting about.  Honestly, I thought we were going to be camping next to a Mormon-teen camping retreat or something, but it turned out to be kids hired for summer labor to trim the outgrowth of sunflowers around the campground.  They were gone by the time we returned that evening.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2227.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-219" title="100_2227" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2227-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

We had been looking forward to relaxing in the Salt Lake all day, and so we speedily setup the tent, though with some difficulty due to the gravel base which the tent stakes had to pierce, and prepared to head to the beach.  This campground had vault toilets, i.e. no flush, just a toilet cover to a hole of sewage, and no showers, so rather than going down the path to the beach by the campsite, we drove a bit down the road to the main tourist spot which had flush toilets and showers.

Until this point, my image of the Great Salt Lake mainly consisted of seeing it on maps of the country and my experience at the Dead Sea in Israel.  I actually didn’t know that the Great Salt Lake also had the salinity to create the forced-floating effect most associated with the Dead Sea; however, even the ranger at the visitor center admitted the lake was not up to the salinity of the Dead Sea.  Nonetheless, once its floating capacity was realized, our excitement for getting in the water increased further.

We arrived at the beachhead and were glad to see that there were only a few other people at the beach within site.  We carried our chairs and towels to an isolated spot, put on our suntan lotion, and ventured forth.

The first thing that puzzled us was the structure of the beach.  Back on the east coast, and most beaches we’ve been to, there’s just the sand and then the ocean/sea/lake. Here, there is a lengthy beachhead of sand with many rocks within it.  This leads to a pool of water a few hundred feet out that leads to a sandbar island.  Then, beyond the sandbar is the whole Salt Lake.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2237.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-220" title="100_2237" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2237-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

We were also both rather naive/uneducated about how to enjoy the Great Salt Lake.  In our minds, this spot would be like a beach.  And like at a beach, one can, and usually would, walk to and into the water in one’s bare feet, and so that’s what we did.  With each successive step however, we regretted and experienced the pain resulting from our naivety.  In short: the floor of both the pool, the sandbar, and the lake, is covered by rocks that are either large, sharp, or both.  We kept thinking this would be a temporary condition, so we continued forward, not wanting to have to return to the beach for my sandals or the campsite for Dad’s shoes.  Aside from the pain on our feet, there was also the related issue of stability and falling, so we each leaned and held onto each other as we walked on the rocky floor.  In addition to the rocks, there were the bugs.  We think they are called Brine Flies, but regardless, they are incredibly small, but travel in swarms of what must be thousands on the edges where the water and sand meet.  They did not bite, but we had to step and tolerate their swarms as we advanced towards our goal of enjoying the Great Salt Lake that we had been looking forward to.

[caption id="attachment_221" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Caution: Rocks Lie Beneath"]<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2233.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-221" title="100_2233" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2233-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

&nbsp;

[caption id="attachment_222" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The bugs are the little black dots (they&#39;re hard to capture in a still image)"]<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2234.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-222" title="100_2234" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2234-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

After what seemed like an hour, if not an eternity, we crossed the pool, passed the sandbar, and were in the Great Salt Lake. Again, our expectation of the lake was incorrect.  The pool by the beach was shallow, but that didn’t seem unusual.  When we first entered the lake, it was also shallow, which was not unusual.  However, when one has walked out nearly 100’ into the lake, and the water is barely at one’s knees, that is unusual.  We weren’t sure if we were in the right spot, if we could float here, or what we should be doing.    So we took our next cue from a couple a few hundred feet to the right of us.  The husband was floating in the water and seemingly having a good time.  So we walked back to the rocky sand, and walked barefoot again to where they were to ask for some guidance.

First, we were told what we had already learned by painful example:  you’re expected to wear shoes (the guy offered to sell us his for $300).  Second, the water is not deep and it wasn’t just our section.  Third, despite the shallowness, one can and is expected to do the salt-water float in that limited depth.  Fourth, there were fewer rocks in his section of the lake about 20’ into the water.

Newly wiser, we again walked into the water leaning on each other for support and finally arrived at a minimally rocky part of the lake and attempted to finally enjoy the water.

As I mentioned in the post about our stop in Thermopolis, my Dad is not a water person.  He dislikes getting wet and losing control of his body to the waves and the salt.  However, he was excited to be in the Lake.  I don’t share this aversion, so I tested out the water for us.  Sure enough, despite the water being maybe a foot or so deep, I could lean back, my legs were pushed up by buoyancy, and it was like I was in the Dead Sea again.  Seeing it could be done, the next challenge was getting my Dad as close to floating as possible.  We crafted a support system where he felt comfortable leaning back while he could hold on to me, and a few seconds later, he felt the effect and was laughing with joy.  Despite the hardship of getting out here, it paid off and we had a very enjoyable and memorable few minutes in the Great Salt Lake together.  This helped mitigate the pain we had to endure as we again walked the distance back to the beach.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2236.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-223" title="100_2236" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2236-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

When we returned to the car, I kept thinking that we had gone to the wrong part of the island, and that there was a nicer, more typical, beach-like area.  The map didn’t indicate that there were any other areas for swimming, but I was undeterred and also intrigued to see the rest of the the island.  We dried off a bit and started to drive.

The island is <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Antelope_Island_State_Park_Map.jpg">long and narrow</a>, and offers many great views of the lake, some nicely colored salt beds, wild flowers, some wild animals (including of course, what any island in the middle of a salt lake would be expected to have:  buffalo), hills, and rock formations.  We drove for an hour or so, but had to turn back early, since several sections of the road are gated at dusk and we did not want to be locked in.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2245.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-224" title="100_2245" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2245-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2264.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-225" title="100_2264" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2264-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2248.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-226" title="100_2248" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2248-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

And so, we drove back to the beach head to shower and prepare for bed.  Being back and the Lake, I couldn’t resist though returning to the waters one last time, being better prepared.  While my Dad organized his things and took the first shower (at a cost of $1/4-minutes), I walked back to the water.  I must admit that the Lake is quite enjoyable once one has the proper footwear.  I could quickly walk through the pool, over the sandbar, and into the Lake.  I walked several hundred feet out, floated, dunked myself a few time and enjoyed the stink of the water in my eyes, and appreciated the landscape around me and the experience of the island.  This time, I also brought my camera and was able to capture the beautiful sunset, which aside from having very nice shades of purple, occurred very quickly, as if the sun was dropped and free falling into the abyss.

<a href="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2276.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-227" title="100_2276" src="http://www.richgoldman.info/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/100_2276-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

I returned to the beach, had a nice warm shower, and we returned to the campsite after dark to have a late dinner.  We went to bed exhausted after a full, fun day in four different states, and looking forward to having sanctuary for three days in Zion National Park.

<object width="400" height="267" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="src" value="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" /><param name="flashvars" value="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5653544061799398081%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" /><param name="pluginspage" value="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /><embed width="400" height="267" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&amp;noautoplay=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;feat=flashalbum&amp;RGB=0x000000&amp;feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F107638235733347757198%2Falbumid%2F5653544061799398081%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /></object>