This is My Utah: Great Salt Lake

Summer of Salt: An Exploration of Great Salt Lake
A Blog about Two Friends, One Lake, and a Summer of Salt.
Written by: Nicole Anderson

Antelope Island by R Jefre Hicks

If you have ever thought of Great Salt Lake as a dead sea, then this blog is for you. Or, perhaps you know that the Lake is a haven for wildlife with millions of birds from all over the world stopping here to rest and dine on brine shrimp and brine flies, or raise their young before they migrate to warmer climates. The Lake is not just for the birds, bugs and brine shrimp, however.  It is an invaluable resource for people, too.  This is a blog about the places, people, plants, animals, and landscapes of Great Salt Lake. It is the culmination of an idea that germinated sometime earlier this year, when an iconic book prompted my friend,  Heidi Nedreberg to action.

Birds in Bear River Bay

She was some 30,000 feet over the middle of America (probably Nebraska) when she finished reading “Refuge,” a novel about personal tragedy and natural history in Utah. The author, Terry Tempest Williams, had at times inspired, invigorated and moved Heidi, and at other times caused her to turn away from the passenger next to her on the plane in order to hide her tears.

Little did Heidi know I was reading “Refuge” at the same time.  I had been to Great Salt Lake and fallen in love many years before, but Williams has a writing style that brings forth a connection within you to whatever place she is writing about. It was simple to place myself there as she told her story, and I felt a sense of adventure welling up inside me as I read about places in the Great Basin that I hadn’t yet set out to see.

Heidi & I at the Sun Tunnels 

Heidi and I have a lot in common. We grew up camping and hiking in the mountains and Utah’s red rock country and both carry a legacy of Mormon pioneers, converts, and polygamists.  Heidi grew up as a child of the Great Basin collecting white shells from the ancient shores of Lake Bonneville in her mountain home. I, on the other hand, have lived along the shores of Great Salt Lake my entire life-swimming in her waters as a child, watching fireworks at Saltair, finding brine shrimp and viewing birds while picnicking along her beaches.

Now we both make our homes in the city that took its name from Williams’ beloved desert sea. Heidi has worked to preserve Utah’s most important places at an environmental nonprofit for most of her adult life. She knew so many of the names in Williams’ book (although she believed they did not know hers). She admitted to me that she did not know the Lake and asked how she could protect something she didn’t truly know. That is where I came in. Heidi invited me on this exploration of one of the world’s most important places because we both cared about it for so many reasons.

The Team on Fremont Island

Even with our shared interest, Great Salt Lake is a vast place and we knew that we couldn’t write a blog exploring all the places Great Salt Lake has to offer by ourselves. We joined forces and are lucky to have the help of many people from all areas of the Lake in putting our blog together. We are especially glad to have our support team:

•   Photographer Charles Uibel, proprietor of My Great Salt Lake, who is hosting our Summer of Salt blog on his site. His beautiful pictures and technical expertise are proving invaluable on this journey.
•  And our dear friends Cindy Lund and Sarah Middleton who have offered to drive when they can, pack lunches and always be honest about our writing.

We want people to fall in love with the Lake as we have. Our goal is to educate the public and to dispel many of the negative myths that come to mind when thinking of Great Salt Lake.  It brings forth beauty, recreation, economic prosperity, and is rich in history; it contributes to the “Greatest Snow on Earth,” and is home to 5 to 8 million aquatic birds.  Great Salt Lake is one of the most magical places in the state of Utah.

Foam blowing across the Lake

Misconceptions of a stinky place full of bugs have led to the rocky collision between man and nature. Yet, even still, with its bad reputation among many, its shorelines and saline flats welcome all who go there. Whether you seek solitude or adventure, a livelihood or an escape - the Lake has provided for the people on her shores for thousands of years - and is at your fingertips in our own backyard!

This summer, join us as we explore both the nature and people of Great Salt Lake.

For additional information or questions please visit: "Summer of Salt: An Exploration of Great Salt Lake."  Find us on Facebook at: Great Salt Lake 

Contact Nicole Anderson by e-mail nma9999@xmission.com 

Heidi Nedreberg at heidi.nedreberg@gmail.com

 Charles Uibel at cuibel@gmail.com

 or follow our adventures on Twitter @nedr3547.

Organizations listed or linked are for identification purposes only and no endorsement or other involvement by the organization is implied.

The "Salt Sisters" out at the Lake

All photos are property of My Great Salt Lake Photos and Charles Uibel 

as well as © by  mygreatsaltlake.com/summerofsalt  with permission to use them

 as part of this feature article for “This is My Utah.”

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