Adventure 31: Spiral Jetty

This adventure is brought to you by two people. First, my friend Amanda Watson, who suggested it, and second, my friend Garrett who drove, helped me take pictures, and basically made it happen. I love having fellow adventurers in my life!

Our goal to set off early was delayed, and we found ourselves hungry for lunch by the time we were passing Brigham City, so we stopped at this charming little diner, Jim's. As good as a greasy spoon can be.

It's always a good omen we I happen upon a spider. This beautiful jumping spider had patches of orange fur on her top, so striking! She was in the middle of lunch when we happened upon her, so she had little patience for my close face trying to get a better look.

I have a confession to make that will embarrass all of my Utah friends. I thought the Spiral Jetty was an act of nature, one of those amazing things that took place over thousands of years of erosion, and change of water patterns... I mean, that sounds science-y doesn't it?

Well, for my one friend out there who may not know this fact, it is not naturally occurring. It is an 'earthwork' sculpture, by Robert Smithson that was completed in 1970.

When he originally made the sculpture, his idea was to have the contrast of the white salt crystals against the red water, as this particular part of the Great Salt Lake has water of a pink-hue caused by a bacteria. Forces of nature and man have caused the rocks to change. They are mostly a black and grey in color, though the rocks at the center are closer to a powdery-white.

There are still rocks with salt clinging to them though.

We walked the whole spiral, which was fantastic...

... but what I found even more fascinating was the thick layer of salt crystals from the jetty to the water line, which we could walk onto. 

From some angles, the residue from the previous years when the water was higher, shows the negative space of the spiral is actually white now. I wonder if Smithson would have found this wonderfully ironic to watch his piece of art change, or if he would feel disappointed. Something tells me he left this art here for nature to do with what she will.

Brine flies get a death of being surrounded by thick salt sparkling in the sun.

The water is very low this year, but you can still see the pinkish hue in the water. That beautiful bacteria!

That is all salt. Thick, layers of salt. I know this is cliche, but I just kept wondering where all this salt comes from. It is amazing.

From the center of the spiral... this is bound to happen when two people who each have a camera can't stop taking pictures.

Time spent on adventure: 7 hours

Money spent: $0 (thanks to Garrett)

Recommendation: 9.5 out of 10 adventure points!