As we drove out of the Grand Tetons at early morning light we were knocked out by their beauty.  It’s difficult to describe their stark appearance.  Sharp peaks on blue-gray mountains, the peaks covered in snow.  Snow?  Yes, snow.  We were relieved to find the road out of Jackson, Wyoming open in spite of the snow.  We’re talking high altitude here.  The sides of the road were covered with small brightly colored Alpine flowers.  Just gorgeous.  We drove down out of the pass into Idaho.

I’m not sure what to say about Idaho.  We drove through a lot of really flat land ringed by mountains.  We saw two bald eagle nests on telephone poles.  And we saw potatoes.  Mile after mile of potatoes.  And all the plants were flowering.  It was just amazing.  And then we were in Utah.

When we reached Salt Lake City we rushed to check in at the hotel and head out to see The Great Salt Lake.  John wanted to check out a beach.  I wanted to put my feet in the lake. We drove to the city marina and sails “Where is it?”  Over the dunes.  We walked over the dunes and said “Where is it?”.  A half mile walk away over sand flats.  And it smelled.  Badly.  We thought we must be near the city’s sewer treatment plant.  But as we walked we began noticing many birds.  Many dead birds.  Laying all over the beach and rotting.  Bad bird decisions.  The Great Salt Lake has a salinity several times that of the Atlantic Ocean.  As we walked the sand became mud.  Very smelly mud.  Sucking our shoes into it.  In depressions where others had walked you could see where the water had come up.  There was so much salt in the water that the depressions were the consistency of pudding.  We began looking for a drier place to walk.  We saw ribbons of what looked like dry seaweed so we thought they might be a good bet for a dry path.  A closer inspection showed that these ribbons were actually the bodies of billions of the small insects that had been swarming our heads since we got out of the car.  It was like nothing I’d even seen.  The were experiencing a 7 year drought which had caused the level of the lake to drop.  One of the major islands is no longer an island. But weer were told that just before the drought began they’d had a flood.  14 feet of water had inundated buildings on the edge of the lake.  I guess it’s feast or famine.

Conversations with several locals revealed that they are likewise unimpressed with the lake.  It’s just there.  In summer, it smells.  The call it The Great Stinky Lake.

After our disappointment in the lake we were off to dinner for an especially pleasant evening with family who had recently moved to Salt Lake City. Bill is the son of my best friend in college, Alexandria, who later became my sister-in-law.  Unfortunately, Bill had to work.  But we met his wife, Gina and their two sons, William and Andrew.  We had a great time chatting and catching up.  And the boys who are nearly 5 and nearly 3 stole my heart.  William is bright and inquisitive beyond his years.  And Andrew has a personality that just doesn’t quit.  I was completely charmed.  And I’m so sad that the distance between us will make it impossible to see them again for what will probably be many years.  But soon it was bedtime for the boys and we parted in the parking lot with hugs and kisses.  And we were off for an evening sightseeing tour of the city.

Salt Lake City is laid out in a grid.  The Mormon Temple is ground zero and everything else is numbered in order as it moves away from the Temple.  The Temple complex is huge. And the temple, itself, is mind blowing.  Architecture that would be more at home on a European Cathedral. And we saw the Beehive House.  The home of one of the original leaders of the Mormon faith.

Yesterday morning as we packed the car to leave, we all wrinkled our noses.  Our hotel was about  a 20 minute drive on the interstate from the lake.  But, on a hot, still morning, with no breeze, you could still smell the lake.  Goodbye Great Stinky Lake.