The Salt Flats west of Salt Lake City.
So when you’re driving west of Salt Lake, and it’s hot, like maybe 96′ hot, and even the water in your water bottle is hot, and you have to keep the windows open rather than use the air so the dog won’t puke, you stop whenever you have an opportunity, even if it’s just to park on a cement slab beneath a cement awning because you want shade.
So we stopped to look at the Salt Flats. Now, the Salt Flats have been around a long long time. You’ve probably seen them in movies like Independence Day and Warlock, and even Pirates of the Caribbean- At World’s End.
But they’ve been around longer than that. I know… I lived in Utah twice- in both Salt Lake City and Logan. The Salt Flats have a long and glorious history. They, along with the Great Salt Lake, are the remnants of the nearly forgotten Pleistocene Lake Bonneville (think Bonneville Salt Flats). Lake Bonneville once covered much of the Great Basin, which includes parts of Utah, Idaho and Nevada.
It’s like… really old.
So I’m standing there taking a photo while my son is off washing the salt from his dog’s feet and this lady says to me…
“This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”
And I say, “You’re kidding, right? It’s just salt.”
“Yes,” she says, “But who put it here? Who hauled in all this salt and put it here? Don’t you think this is an amazing feat?”
And I’m like… speechless.
And she says, “Do you think it’s dangerous? To breathe, I mean? Is it toxic? Do you think the people who put it here died from inhaling it?”
And I’m like… speechless.
I start to ask- “What planet are you from?” But instead I say, “Nobody put it here.”
And she looks at me like I’m crazy.
So I explain. ”Nobody put this salt here. Nobody hauled it in. It wasn’t built by man. This is what’s left of a great primordial inner sea - Lake Bonneville - hence the Bonneville Salt Flats.” Her mouth drops open. It was as if I had descended from Mount Sinai carrying the two tablets upon which were etched the Ten Commandments.
“Harry,” she yells. ”Get over here. You’ll never believe what this lady just told me! And you didn’t even want to get out of the car!”
So I have to tell the entire story of Lake Bonneville to Harry too. Like, provide him with nearly 33,000 years worth of history.
Harry walks out onto the salty crust and stomps around a bit.
“Oh my gosh,” she says to me. “My friends back home will never believe me.”
“Maybe you can buy them some brine shrimp,” I says.
“Brine shrimp?”
“Yeah. It’s harvested from the Great Salt Lake. People feed it to their pet fish. Remember Sea Monkeys? Those are brine shrimp.”
“I’m gonna buy some,” she says. Then she shakes her head. ”I just can’t believe it. Nobody put this here. It’s all natural. Well, you learn something new everyday.”
Yes ma’am, you do indeed. And I got a really nice laugh out of it.
These people just seem to find you, don’t they? I’ve missed your posts.
Always, Stephanie! Tee-hee!
Thanks, Julia. I need that huge, long laugh. And loud too. It is hard to believe there are people like that here. But I know it is true. So sad…but funny.
I wonder what she would say if she saw the Pyramids?
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”- Winston Churchill
Come on……Sea monkeys are teeny tiny shrimp?????? No fuckin way!!!! I had em before and they looked like teeny tiny monkeys! And they are Mormon teeny tiny shrimp????? I got some salt lakes in Florida I can sell you. (With teeny tiny little aligators but I cal em sea pups.)
I’ll bet you didn’t expect to give a history lesson while traveling!
Yes, they find you.
Did the lady think it was iodized salt? Did she fill her salt shakers?
Think of her as a character in your next book. She’ll add a special touch of local color.
Safe travels and happy trails!
Oh God, I’m laughing so hard, I just spewed coffee all over the keyboard!
Oh yeah. Nobody put it here.
-OR-
Honest, officer, I have no idea how that got there.
SNORT!
Tim, I think you are reminiscing…
It was pretty funny, AD. Sort of your mouth falls open and you can’t believe your own ears kind of funny!
Marylin - my first thought was to ask where she was from. But I didn’t get around to it, what with explaining the history of the salt flats to Harry and all that. But seriously, what state did she live in that she had no idea what this was? No idea whatsoever.
Yes they do, Amber. I must look friendly.
Either that or harmless.
Yes Ray, they are Mormon sea monkeys. Deal with it.
Well, Roberta, at least if she saw the pyramids she’d be partially correct. People did put them there.
There are an enormous number of people who never leave their own little domain. Ever. And never learn anything about the world outside their domain. Tough to imagine in this day and age of TV, but I’ve met them. My friend used to call it willful ignorance. Sad…
Totally interesting, Anny. Hard to imagine.