Catching up my blog....
Thanks to Andrew Kennedy for planning the Wednesday JC adventure!
(*JC stands for Jerusalem Center- where I studied abroad with 80 of my best friends.)
A small group of us embarked on the most amazing Wednesday adventure of my life. We drove from Provo to Brigham city, picking up more JC stragglers along the way.
This is the crew: from left. Me, Holly, Matthew (andrew's twin- not a JCer. but always welcome) Andrew, Bethany, Jane and Liz.
This was at the golden spike monument- a place I have never been. well there's not much to see. But still cool.
Then we continued along a very rocky path to the SPIRAL JETTY!
the Spiral Jetty is what we call "Earth Works".
It is a large, man-made, rock jetty. These boulders were brought in by a Robert Smithson in the 70s. It is built in the Great Salt lake.
Here is a better view of the jetty, obviously ripped from the internet.
It's pretty cool.
But the shore of the water does not even come close to the jetty now, which is unfortunate. So now it sits on a dry salt bed.
So, I have been to the Great Salt Lake twice before in my life, Both times at Antelope Island. That was cool, but this area of the lake is seriously out of this world. The water is much saltier here. If you have never experienced floating in salt water, you must do it! It is such an amazing feeling! You CANNOT sink. It is impossible. At one point I was floating flat on top of the water with the salt bed approximately 4-6 inches below me, and I could not get any part of my body besides my hands and feet to touch the bottom.
The beach here is straight from a DREAM. First of all, the whole area is covered in a salt bed, which appears to be
warm snow. Now who doesn't dream of a world full of warm snow? The lake is full of this red algae, so when you are standing on the shore the water is pink for about 15 feet in front of you then it fades into a glorious blue. But when you walk out into the water the Pink color follows you. The angle at which you are looking at the water catches the algae's color. Swiming in a pool of pink water is.... undescribable. Close your eyes and imagine it!
This water is covered in little floating puddles of foam.
The salt crystalizes in cube shapes, so little square crystals float on the surface and intrude very squarely in the foam clouds. We didn't take a camera out this far, but my "paint" skill will describe it like this:
When you reach your hands down you pick up little crystals like these:
They float flat side up, like inverted triangles.
They look incredibly like these pyramids:
(someday I will go here.)
Dodging the crystals was, of course, impossible. But I felt like I was playing a very long game of Ipod touch cube runner:
Ok, so it was a pretty dream-like out of this world experience, but there are some downsides of swiming in bodies of salt water. At the G.S.L. the water is covered in tiny salt crystals that completely cover you. They are super sharp. My fingers have about 100 tiny cuts from touching the bottom of the lake while floating in the water, in addition to the many cuts i have on my feet and knees, and anything that touched the rough salt bed. Also, In the Dead sea, it is like swiming in pins and needles. Especially on your legs where you have shaved! The high concentration of salt is extremely poisionous and slightly burns your skin.
My adventure at the Spiral Jetty was unbelievable. The experience was so similar to swiming in the dead sea, it was only appropraite to come here with JC people. Here is a comparison list that is only semi-comfusing:
THE DEAD SEA ---------THE GREAT SALT LAKE
Overall experience:
Amazing- but not enough time------- Hours of pure (painful) Joy
Boyancy:
Very boyant -----------Just Slightly less boyant
Burning from Salt:
Pretty unbearable -------------Not so Bad
Pain from sharp crystals:
None -----------Pretty terrible.
Scenery:
Well, you are in Israel!But not a ton to see. ------- Amazing pink water!
Small extras:
In the sun you could see geometric patterns glistening on the top of the water. -----Pink water!
Smell
BAD -----------Only bad at parts.
Which I would rather repeat:
Not really ----------- YES
Company:
Lovely JCers ---------Lovely JCers
Stories involving my best JC friend Bethany:
Reading a book while floating in water.------ Ask me in person. But the SL WINS!
The taste you accidentally get on your lips:
DISGUSTING --------- Not too Bad
The accidental splash in the eye:
never experienced it, but people had to spit in each other's eyes.------Had to cry the salt out.
The lasting effects of this trip were salting tasing skin, small cuts and bruises, and fantastic memories. My advice: Go to the Spiral Jetty!
