Utah was far greener than I expected. The Wasatch Front gave me a view of new geomorphic features—triangular
facets, flat irons, and a long series of alluvial fans. There were nice to look at, but all of the
mountain ranges had started to run together .
The weather was really different, again. There was a thick haze in the
sky. Basically, the salts from Salt Lake
are in the air and are the perfect particulate matter for air to create haze.
Okay, really, I’m not 100% clear on this process, but I’m getting it.
Later in the day we drove up a mountain to see the Bingham
Canyon—only the largest copper mine in the world! The view was incredible, the wind
was strong enough to knock down a small child, and the one lane mountain road
that twisted and had at least eight hairpin turns that led to the top of the
mountain… well that was just terrifying.
Horrifyingly scary. But once we made it to the top we learned how the
copper mine literally destroyed the town. Poor mining practices caused the
water to become poisoned and it remained that way today. Water is pumped in
from outside the area for the residents that remain.
We finished the day at Salt Lake. I’ve always imagined salt
lake to be like an inland ocean. It’s not. It smells terrible, not the pleasant
saltiness of the sea, but a rancid gagging smell that coats the hain and
clothing for days. Sewage is dumped in the lake because it is nearly useless for
any other living things (except sea monkeys, apparently, but even thay can only
live for a short time).
Again, we set up camp in the dark. It’s become a theme. But
during the night I heard both cows, and waves. Do they raise cattle on the
beach here?
"rancid, gagging smell" understatement of the year.
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