Summer of Salt | an exploration of Great Salt Lake

Summer of Salt: What’s Next?

October 10, 2011 by Heidi Nedreberg

Well it’s been a whirlwind of a summer. And to say that I’m exhausted would be an understatement.

Nicole and I, along with our friends and family and fellow Summer of Salters Charles Uibel and Cindy Lund, have traveled over 3,000 miles exploring our incredible back yard. And there is still so much we didn’t see. So much we didn’t get a chance to write about. So much more to say.

Which begs the question – what’s next?

For now, 2011, we are done writing. We may still explore and we may write again in the future. But in our latest meeting, Nicole and I agreed that the future of Summer of Salt would not be a topic of discussion until January, 2012. Perhaps that will be enough time to reflect, not only on what we can do in our busy lives, but also what else we want, nay NEED, to say about the Lake.

To be sure, we have barely scratched the surface.

More importantly, we are not the only ones with something to say. And the conversation must keep going, one way or another.

Seasons of Salt.

So tell us your story. Write about the Lake – the places you go, the events you attend, the reasons you are so attached to this salty, smelly Lake we all call home.

Write them. Send them to me by clicking here. Get them published on My Great Salt Lake.

To kick it off, Lynn de Freitas posts on finding solace and replenishment on Antelope Island. Read and be inspired.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Heidi
Great Salt Lake: Sand, Salt, and Memories

October 1, 2011 by Nicole Anderson

- Lake Level: 4197.5 -
- 58 Miles Round-Trip -

The solstice is defined as either the longest or shortest day of the year and signals a change in the seasons. The autumnal equinox marks the beginning of fall and the when the length of our days and nights are nearly the same. It corresponds to the center of the Sun crossing the celestial equator as it moves northward.

The autumnal equinox marks the first day of my favorite season of the year. Autumn. The autumn air is cool and crisp; with a faint scent of campfire wafting through the air. The leaves in the trees slowly turn beautiful shades of orange and red. The geese are slowly returning the Lake and surrounding wetlands after their long migration.

The 21st seemed like the perfect date to have our Summer of Salt and birthday celebration dinner. It was the two days before the equinox, the middle of the week, and right between Heidi’s birthday and mine. We packed up our cars with everything (except the kitchen sink) and left the hustle and bustle of the city behind; we were looking forward to a nice quiet dinner with the ambiance that only the Lake could offer. (more…)
300 Miles of Stark Desolation: A Guest Blog by Chad Harris

September 22, 2011 by Nicole Anderson

- Lake Level: 4197.5′ -

As someone who formerly loved to ride I have a lot of respect for our new friend, Chad. He seems to have found that mountain biking isn’t just a good form of exercise but that it also is a mode of transportation that can take you places you may have never dreamed of going. Chad Harris holds a professional mountain bike racing license and lives, trains and works in Salt Lake City. When the racing season ends the native Utahn enjoys exploring the shores of Great Salt Lake on his bicycle and in his canoe. Chad blogs about racing and thought provoking ideas, you can follow his musings at www.hooptedoodle.typepad.com. – Nicole

Let me make one thing clear from the beginning: The cycling opportunities around Great Salt Lake are terrible. There I said it, but it’s a lie. Great Salt Lake is the last destination in Utah I would recommend for a cycling adventure. For that Utah has Moab, St. George, Vernal and Park City. Those places have buff single track, paved rural roads, ideal weather and communities that cater to cyclists’ needs. Great Salt Lake has none of that. (more…)
Watersheds: A Guest Blog by Bruce Thompson

September 20, 2011 by Heidi Nedreberg

- Lake Level: 4197.5′ -

In my time working in the non-profit world and in environmental education, no single person has impacted me more than Bruce Thompson. Aside from his incredible and detailed work developing education programs and materials that introduce kids and adults to our natural world, Bruce’s passion for and knowledge of everything from birds to bugs to scat is not only intimidating – it’s inspiring. Read on to see why I have become, unabashedly, a member of the Bruce Thompson fan club! – Heidi

Something that most rabid fans of Great Salt Lake have in common seems to be some epiphanic “born again” moment, during which out of the ashes of ignorance this “big, salty, buggy and stinky” entity rises in our minds like an aquatic phoenix to become some epic paragon of unrequited beauty. It happened to me in 1996. (more…)
Summer of Salt: Survival Suitcase

September 15, 2011 by Nicole Anderson

- Lake Level: 4197” -
- Thousands of Miles Round-Trip -

Both Heidi and I have grown up camping and hiking in the desert and along the Wasatch Front. So, when Heidi had the idea for Summer of Salt and to head to out to find adventure and all Great Salt Lake had to offer, we assumed that we had it covered.

(more…)
US Magnesium: Light Metals, Heavy Subject

September 14, 2011 by Nicole Anderson

- Lake Level: 4198.2 ‘ -
- 32 Miles Round-Trip -

As I write this I am sitting on a blanket on the hood of my car in the boat launch area at Ogden Bay. It is three o’clock in the afternoon and the sun is glaring down on me, warming my skin. Other than the click-clack of the train cars rolling by in the not too far off distance, it is quiet.

Dragonflies by the dozen flutter overhead, with the occasional butterfly flitting around the sunflowers that grow wild along the dirt road. The phragmites seem taller than usual and are choking out other plants and taking over empty playa. The runners from these plants spread like spider webs along the dried Lake bed. The Lake and the surrounding marshlands always seem to change; it never ceases to amaze me at just how quickly this happens. (more…)
Flying Over Great Salt Lake: A Bird’s-Eye View

September 8, 2011 by Heidi Nedreberg

- Lake Level: 4197.6′ -
- 7.2 Miles Round-Trip -
- About 265 miles flown –

I remember when I started to see birds.

It was not long after I started at The Nature Conservancy, when taking over our 4^th grade education program forced me to become an amateur naturalist. I began to see them, to hear their calls, to listen to the beat of their wings, to know where they were most likely to be found – first at the Preserve, and then…everywhere.

They gave a new depth to the world I inhabited but never quite saw.

Seeing birds, I saw my childhood home with new eyes.

Exploring the Lake this summer has done much the same thing. It has given me a sense of place in the very place where I should have had it all along – my home. (more…)
Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge: Finding Refuge in Change

August 30, 2011 by Nicole Anderson

- Lake Level: 4198.0′ -
- 138 Miles Round-Trip -

A couple of weeks ago I relaxed on-board the Avalon after a cool dip in the Lake with friends. She made her way back and forth toward the harbor in the cool night breeze gently blowing through my hair and filling the sails. The seasons have begun to change and summer is coming to a close. As the stars slowly appeared in the night sky I reflected on my life. From where I sat on the boat I looked up at the millions of stars poking through the black abyss of the universe. I was awestruck by their magnitude and comforted by knowing they are always there.

This summer has been a whirlwind of outings, gatherings, hiking, boating adventures and writing. I have met new people and traveled new places. I love it here. Here at the Lake. I feel at peace. On average I think I have been out on the Lake or in the marsh between two and three times a week. All summer long. The marsh has continued to call to me and I have slowly learned to love the millions of birds that come here to nest and forage each year. (more…)
The Bonneville Salt Flats: Making a Mark

August 25, 2011 by Heidi Nedreberg

- Lake Level: 4197.9′ -
- 256 Miles Round-Trip -

From the vantage of I-80, the Bonneville Salt Flats look like nothing more than an empty landscape. The horizon is blurred by heat waves that make the mountains float. The flatness of the salt allows one to see the curvature of the Earth.

Such a harsh and empty expanse may put some people off – who would want to make the drive through that nothingness, let alone stop for longer than a few minutes? But for others, it is an opportunity. Rocks in the desert spell out names, marriage proposals, poetry. Tire tracks skew off the freeway and into the mud or salt – a place where a weary traveler couldn’t take anymore unbroken landscape and had to test its limits. A piece of art in the shape of a tree is one artist’s attempt to end the monotony.

It’s a canvas. A place to make a mark.

When Sarah, Disa and I drove out on Sunday, August 14th, people from all over the world were gathered to make their mark on the salt flats – the kind of mark that could go down in history.

Bonneville Speed Week, 2011.

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Kayaking (and Swimming in) the Jordan River: Lost and Found

August 23, 2011 by Heidi Nedreberg

- Lake Level: 4197.9′ -
- 28.8 Miles Round-Trip -
- 3.5 miles Kayaked –

I’ve never much liked Russian olives. Now, however, I have even more reasons to wish them gone from the wetlands, meadows and riverbanks they’ve invaded. In fact, I might even go so far as to make the following statement: I hate Russian olives.

This time it’s personal.

On Friday August 12th, it wasn’t the rushing river, or my lack of kayaking skills (I’ve been several times, thank you very much) that pitched me right into the Jordan River – it was a big, thorny, Russian olive. I have the scratches to prove it.

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