near the beginning of summer, casey and i needed a break from grown-up-life. one morning, we dropped everything we were supposed to do that day and headed out on an adventure. neither of us had been to the spiral jetty (an art piece from the 70's made of rock, salt, and mud in the great salt lake)- so we decided to make that our destination. we slowly made our way north, blasting music and caring less how long it took us. we stopped to check for asparagus along the road in corinne and ordered the largest burger at golden spike burgers. we then headed out past the golden spike itself where we stopped along the road to take pictures of an owl waiting for us on a fence post (didn't turn out.. bummer). after a few hours in the car, we finally saw the sign "spiral jetty 1 mile" and turned around... the gas light was on!! i wanted to cry; it was over 20 miles back to the gas station. long story short >> our car died pulling into the gas station, we filled up gas, grabbed energy drinks, and an hour later- we were back to the sign.
the spiral jetty was breathtaking but not what i thought it would be. it was strange, but wonderful. out of place, but right where it should be. we had the place pretty much to ourselves, but we watched this older couple sun bath on the rocks above. it was rather hot and as we walked around contemplating what robert smithson must have been thinking- the salt burned my feet. we took turns carrying june so her paws wouldn't burn raw. we walked around the spiral and then headed out to touch the lake water (sometimes the jetty is under water).
while i washed june's feet off to get into the car, casey was trying to hide a rock in his pocket and secretly taking pictures of the man and the woman. we were convinced he was a geologist probably going to yell at us for trying to take a rock. as we were getting in the car to leave, they stopped us, but only to invite us over for coffee that they were brewing on a portable stove. this began one of the most fascinating conversations i have ever had.
she> a traveling nurse living out east, and him> a carpenter and radio host in california. they had traveled all over and we were just another stop along the way home from a three week long road-trip. we found common ground having both lived for a short time in alaska, loved to travel, and enjoyed the simple things in life. we sipped instant coffee out of mugs and pots, ate pretzels, and talked for almost an hour. although they had no set plans for their trip, they had some fascinating stories. like photographing the night sky in arches or stopping to drive a train in eli, nevada- just because he loved trains. or their story of hiking to delicate arch at midnight, getting lost because there was no moon, and deciding to sleep among the rocks on the trail instead of getting "more lost." we hardly asked the typical first-meet questions like how long have you been married or what do you do for a living. it was as if we were old-time friends meeting up and didn't even have to first get to know one-another. we came to understand and know them through their stories. it was neat to experience. they were staying at a motel in brigham city and this was the last "big thing" before heading home.
before parting ways, casey helped him get ready for sunset. he had built a 50 foot stand for his camera and needed to assemble it to catch the spiral jetty at sunset. they had carried it the entire road-trip to catch an hour of pictures on film. it was beautiful.
i will never forget those two. casey and i talked the entire way home how we dream of being full of stories as they were. it was just the experience i needed to put my soul back in place and my life headed in the right direction.
i almost didn't post several of these pictures, but there is just something about that place.
happy trails.
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