(14) Salt Lake City, Great Salt Lake (Desert), Utah

From Glen Canyon on the southern border of Utah we took road 89 up north and then Highway 15, which leads straight to Salt Lake City. So, covering the distance of over 620 kilometers we drove through two thirds of Utah territory. The name of the state comes from the Ute Indian language and means, according to Wikipedia, "people of the mountains". (S):

Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah and, with the population of over 180 thousand, it is the most populous city. However, Salt Lake City belongs to a larger urban area, called the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which is inhabited by over a million people. The city was founded by Mormons in the 1840s. Earlier, the area had been inhabited by Native American tribes of Shoshone, Ute and Paiute. The picture below shows the main street in Salt Lake City, called State Street, which leads to the Utah Capitol State building, visible here on the right at the end. (S)

Below is the picture of the Utah State Capitol, which is a house of the state legislature and the governor's office. The building is impressive: 123 m long, 73 m wide and 87 m high, its name and architecture resembling the US Capitol in Washington DC. It is situated on Capitol Hill, which is a vantage point from which the panorama of Salt Lake City can be admired. (S)

The Pioneer Memorial Museum contains memorabilia from the time of the first settlers. (S)

Despite the fact that it is a state capital, Salt Lake City looks very quiet. Its residential districts are full of greenery, and the bustle of the city does not disturb its citizens (S):

The beautiful and quaint houses look as if they remembered the first settlers. (S):

Utah's capital is situated on the shore of Great Salt Lake, visible immediately after one leaves the city and takes route 80 westward. Great Salt Lake is a closed basin, which means that the water does not flow out of it to rivers or oceans; it is also the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, with the average area of about 4.5 thousand square km. The lake is very shallow, so its size changes depending on the amount of snow and rain. (S)

Great Salt Lake lies in the area that is very dry - Great Salt Lake Desert. Unfriendly to prospective settlers, the area is very scantily populated, with only snakes and scorpions thriving here. (S):

Great Salt Lake can sometimes cover 8.5 thousand square km, so when the water evaporates, huge areas covered with salt invite car drivers to test their vehicles' performance, which was the main reason why we traveled to Great Salt Lake. (S)

Visible below is the Great Salt Lake that we wanted to visit - Bonneville salt flats (S):

However, our destination was located further west, close to Utah's border with Nevada, so we had to drive along the straight road cutting through the desert - one may feel desolate in this landscape. (S)

Every now and then, however, a lonely traveler can stop and contemplate works of art on the desert - quite surreal, I must say;):

An interesting phenomenon is caught in the picture below: the dry bottom of Great Salt Lake looks as if it was covered with water - it's just a mirage, but I could swear I did see the sheet of water. Another bright conclusion of mine: "the desert is unbelievably deceptive";)

Finally, we've reached our destination: Bonneville Speedway - the area on which land speed records are set and broken. Click on it to learn more (S):

We're not the only visitors to the place: there seem to be quite a few amateurs of speedy driving (S):

And here's our vehicle standing on the speedway (about 16 km long): On your marks! Get set! Go! (S)
However, I prefer admiring the salt sparkling in the afternoon sun. You could swear it's snow (S):

(13) Glen Canyon and Antelope Canyon, Arizona

From Zion Np we took route 89 down to Page, which is situated in a beautiful area in northern Arizona, on the shore of Lake Powell. The lake was named after Civil War veteran John Powell, a one-armed adventurer, who explored the Colorado River here in 1869. Lake Powell is the second biggest man-made water reservoir in America.

Below is a picture of the canyon that the Colorado River has created. What I found striking was the contrast between the green color of the water and the reddish colors of the rocks:

Glen Canyon is the effect of the River's activity. Note especially how arid the area appears:

Lake Powell was created by the flooding of Glen Canyon by the Glen Canyon Dam, which was constructed in the 1960s to generate electricity in the nearby power-plant, which supplies energy to Arizona, Nevada and California. As if by the way, Lake Powell has become a popular tourist destination. (S):

South of lake Powell and Glen Canyon is Navajo Indian Reservation, which prides itself on fabulous natural formations. One of those amazing places is Antelope Canyon. The picture below was taken on the way to Upper Antelope Canyon, which is one of the most frequently photographed wonders of the American West. (S)

Antelope Canyon is carved in limestone and sandstone rock - geological material typical of the Colorado Plateau.

If you want to visit Antelope Canyon, you have to buy a rather expensive ticket (don't worry, you later conclude that you get good value for your money;) and wait for a truck and a guide who will lead you into the twisting corridors of the Canyon. Our guide, Vernon, is standing at the entrance:

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon, which has been created by water rushing through the rock (the Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is "the place where water runs through rocks"). It can be as deep as 30 meters and so narrow that one can stretch the arms and touch both walls of the canyon. (S)




Elder Navajo people pause before entering the Canyon to be in the right frame of mind - it does feel like entering a sanctuary. (S):

It is dangerous to enter the Canyon without listening to the weather forecast and making sure that no rainfall is expected on the day of the trip. Antelope Canyon is still reshaped by flush floods: rapid currents of water flushing through its corridors, filling them to the brim, one might say, and carrying sediment which sculpts the walls. Because rainwater cannot soak into the ground (there are rocks all around), it looks for channels to flow to the lower situated areas. A flush flood lasts a few hours: if it happens in the morning, it is still possible to visit the Canyon in the afternoon. (S)

Entering Antelope Canyon is also a spiritual experience: getting inside this natural cathedral makes you ponder on the creative power of Mother Nature and stand in awe and admiration of something so much greater than yourself. (S):

The changing light in the slot canyon creates wonderful shapes - it's enough to free your imagination and then you can see the most bizarre patterns (or an almost realistic portrait of President Lincoln, for that matter;). Click on this one (S):

(12) Zion NP, Utah

From Las Vegas we traveled to Zion NP through Hurricane and Rockville - beautifully situated picturesque little towns, in which even the roads are red.
The most characteristic shape in Zion, which is practically a desert, is "mesa" - a Spanish word used for steep cliffs with a flat top like a table. Mesa is the most typical landform in the whole of the US Southwest.
Zion became a National Park in 1919, which means that it is the oldest park in Utah. The Park covers the area of about 600 km2. The picture below was taken in the town of Springdale, which is the south-western gateway to Zion:

Water plays the most important role in the creation of Zion's landscape, the major river being the Virgin, which has created steep cliffs and a canyon. It is along the River's North Fork that we took a scenic drive.

Apart from the shapes, the range of the red colors was for me the most spectacular feature of Zion's cliffs. I'm quoting from my diary: "a divine palette of reds";)

Situated in the western part of the Colorado Plateau, Zion NP is built of reddish Navajo Sandstone, which, being very soft, yields to the water flowing down the cliffs like clay to a sculptor's hands:

In Hebrew "Zion" means a "sanctuary" or a "place of refuge". The person who named the area Zion was a Mormon leader who found refuge from persecution in this place in 1863. He echoed the Bible as follows: "The Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord." I find this a very accurate description;) (S)

A glimpse at a marvelous hill whose shape invites you to take a short walk (I did;) (S):

We are out of the 2-km-long Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel, where I could not take pictures for obvious reasons;) (S):

The view on the left is very typical of the Colorado Plateau and promises even more spectacular vistas - to come next in Glen Canyon and Antelope Canyon, Arizona.