Salt Lake

This was one of the most disappointing things I have done. It could have actually been filmed as one of those B-rated movies from the sixties. And, I could only stay long enough to get one picture.

I pull up to the lake, and think, beautiful! It smells like I'm at the beach! So, I find myself a nice parking spot, backed in, thinking I can sit and enjoy the sun, and people and bird watching, listen to the sound of the waves, etc. You know, a really nice relaxing afternoon. 

After about one minute, I notice these little gnatty bugs all around me. They are starting to get on my clothes, and one flew in my ear. They starting swarming the truck. Everywhere you looked, there were more than one bug, everywhere you looked! Ok, enough of that shit!

So, I walk over closer to the water cause I have to at least feel of it (and it was cold). Of course, the bugs are still all around. The salt content if between 10 and 19%, therefore, there is only one kind of fish that can live in there, and it is called brine shrimp. The biggest they get is 1/2 inch long. They have approx 300 eggs every 4 days. The eggs are so small, you can't see them, but they  look like a red cloud floating in the water. Even though these shrimp are very small, there are so many of them, you can see them, and they are THICK! I have never seen such a concentration of fish. It was disgusting! There is no way you could swim in that water without coming out with every little hiding place filled with these translucent, rubbery shrimp. Can I say the word disgusting often enough?

There are two things this lake is good for, for humans anyway. Sailing (but you better hope you do not have to get in the water), and bird-watching. As far as commercial operations, Morton Salt seems to do really good here (picture below, and yes, that is salt.) and fish farms harvest the shrimp eggs to feed their fish.

I keep thinking about the Mormons. When they came over the mountains from the east, and saw this beautiful enormous lake down below, they must have really thought God had guided them there. Then, to get down to the water level, and find that it is not drinkable must have seemed like Satan was involved. They stayed anyway. It must have either been because they were to tired to keep moving, or to stubborn to admit the location wasn't as good as it seemed at first.