Swimming in Great Salt Lake sounds like a fun idea...especially if you're not from that area. The reality, not so much. Before we'd left town, I had perused the internet and the travel guides I'd received in the mail. Antelope Island seemed to be the best place to visit the lake. You pay a small fee ($9) and drive across the causeway to the island. There's a small marina, places to swim, campgrounds, a ranch, wildlife...in other words, lots to do.
View of the marsh while waiting to cross the causeway
Our first clue that this might not be an idyllic outing was the sign at the ranger station that warned "the biting gnats are really bad".
Our next clue, the horrible stench as we drove across the causeway.
Another clue was when we stopped at a lookout for Pat to use the bathroom and I snapped this picture...there were what I would call deer flies that were biting. We soldiered on to Bridger Bay to go into the water. I had bug spray so we doused ourselves before heading into the bathroom to change into our swimsuits. The water looked a long way off and we'd been warned about the hot sand. I thought, "Come on, we're from the beach. Hot sand is nothing to us.". Foolish me.
Ga-Ga and Malone not even halfway there. We started out from the little building up on top of the sand dune.
I was beginning to realize what an ordeal this was going to be when starting down the sand dune, carrying
B-saurus, being bitten by flies, was already not easy. I shrugged it off and trudged on.
B-saurus, being bitten by flies, was already not easy. I shrugged it off and trudged on.
Pat and Kakes still not there
Gasping for air as I walk down to the water
We FINALLY arrive at the water's edge and there are masses of brine flies that swarm your lower extremities. We ran to the water, B-saurus screaming loudly the whole time.
Not my picture, I pulled it off the web.
Further out, but still shallow, the brine flies weren't bad but there were fly carcasses floating in the water.
Pat and Kakes
B-saurus crying "Take me home!"
Ga-ga and the little girls
Me and B
Looking towards part of the shore line from the water
B-saurus okay with the water
Malone skipping a stone
Pat and Kakes found lots of flat stones and started skipping them across the water. Malone even got into the action and managed to get 3 skips. The adults had had enough so we headed back on our long trek up to the car. Of course, the little girls had to be carried and what felt like a long walk down to water was 1,000 times worse going uphill. I collapsed on a bench just short of the bathrooms to catch my breath. All the while being attacked by deer flies. Side note: I thought Ocracoke Island was bad with it's biting horse flies. OI has nothing on Antelope Island!
We didn't waste any time changing or even brushing sand off. We rushed into the minivan, turned the a/c on high, and started guzzling water. Ga-ga and I were laughing it was so bad. Malone was whining, "Stop laughing! It's not funny! This place is HORRIBLE!". Antelope Island did redeem itself but I'll save that for my next post.
White Rock Bay
Sand dried in Malone's hair
4 comments:
Oh my...the pictures are great and I bet you all will look back on this and laugh (loudly) in years to come, but yeah, one of those "it sounded good in theory" holiday stops...poor you...yikes with the flies...it's like a horror movie or something--and I'm in Australia where in December, outdoor activities that involve food turn into said horror scenarios...imagine holding a sandwich in your hand at a picnic and it's got 20 flies on it...yup, 'nuff said...
Got your message! We are expecting you tomorrow. Just give us a call at some point along the way and give us an estimate so that we're sure to be around. Meridian is near Boise, so we'll expect your gang in the afternoon sometime (Boise was about a 6 hour drive for us recently).
If you drive through McCall - a cute little lake and ski town between Boise and Moscow - check it out - our plan is to head back down there for some lake cabin time later in the week (when the kids can STAND to be back in a vehicle).
Tell them: NO BITING BUGS IN IDAHO!
and I forgot to tell you that this story also made me laugh out loud! The only thing I can remember from our visit to the great salt lake was, well, the stench and the horrid biting bugs.
since you're in Meridian, you have two choices for driving tomorrow... state highway 55 through McCall is prettier than hooking up w/ US95 via I84, and just as fast.
either way, Riggins is a good stopping point along the Salmon River. if it's lunch time, try the Back Eddy (on your left toward the end of the commercial strip as you head out of town).
we'll head back down to McCall later this week for river, lake, and hot springs fun.
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