antelope island with some fave friends.

we have been extra excited about our time in salt lake city, because we had coordinated with a fellow fulltime traveling family to meet up for a day. we met them in florida on our “trial run” and then ran into them again, in january, also in florida. we follow each others adventures and check in now and then, so when we realized we would be sort of crossing paths, they booked a spot at antelope island state park in the great salt lake, and we drove out to visit them.

i wish i had taken more pictures on the way in. the sign to the park. the dozen or so bison we saw. views from different spots on the way in. but i didn’t. because i assumed i could always do it on the way out. but then we stayed until after dark. lesson: don’t procrastinate. once we got to their site, i snapped a few pics. the great salt lake in the distance.

these flowers that are everywhere.

it also happened to be one of the kiddo’s birthdays (one day belated). so, they fed us hotdogs and chips and candy and then we had a mini-celebration.

cake eating festivities.

here’s taylor, opening our gift. spoiler. it was art supplies.

after the cake, it was time to test the waters of the great salt lake. it took a lot of work to get everyone in bathing suits and sunblocked up. anna found herself a little cake faced buddy who was waiting for her swimsuit to arrive.

we drove down to the beach and hopped out for the LONG walk to the water.

everyone was in excellent spirits on the way to the water.

before we got there, we had to pass over a pile of dead bugs and tiny sea creatures that had washed up like driftwood. and smelled horrible. after that, you travel through a gauntlet of tiny gnat like bugs that hover over the ground near the water. they fly off as you approach, but they still land on you and are pretty gross. the water was filled with the aforementioned tiny swimming creatures. some alive. some dead and floating. with all that, the kids still piled in.

they loved it.

it was very shallow so the little folks were big fans too.

the water was soooo salty. you were aware of any cuts or scrapes. or new tattoos.

even if it smelled terrible and was really gross, it was still pretty.

weirdo hazel.

the kids splashed around like crazy. learning about how salt lake water is different from ocean water. (it’s way worse).

i didn’t go far enough in to get my shorts wet (i didn’t bring a suit), so i mostly only have pics of the tiny people.

finally, we had had enough. surprisingly, anna was the first kid to complain. she thought it was gross. it took a bit of convincing to get all of the kids to join us on the gnat filled, stinky beach.

ike loves their oldest son, marcus.

the walk across the beach was much more miserable on the way out. the sand was crusty and hard. and there were several little people being carried. and the salt water residue was gross. we decided to break into our laundry quarters to take some 4 minute showers at the bath house to rinse off. by the time we got there, all of the kids faces were coated with a salty, white crust.

we rolled back over to our friends campsite, so say goodbye and make sure we had everything. we were greeted with a pretty great sunset, which i guess is a good consolation prize for not getting any pictures of the bison earlier.

i did remember to take a picture of this flower patch behind their site.

and then, just before we left, we rounded up the masses for a commemorative photo of the day.

then, we made the long and bittersweet drive back to camp. once again, i have loved the people we have met along the way, but it’s sad to have to say goodbye so often. these are folks that we are sure to see again. i know it.