Before leaving Utah and moving to North Carolina, I expressed interest to my parents a longing that I wished to see the Spiral Jetty. As an Art History Major in college, I had first heard about the Spiral Jetty in a museum in Europe. There was an installation in this modern museum (of which I cannot remember) devoted to the construction and engineering of the Spiral Jetty, by Robert Smithson. At the time, I was unaware that this earthwork sculpture was housed in Utah - a mere hour and a half away from my house!
So with my interest and desire to go, my parents, Lily, & I jumped in to the car and headed to an arcane, obscure, remote coastal area along the Great Salt Lake. Smithson decided to chose this spot for his massive sculpture because he had visited Promontory Point (where the East & West railroad met up in the middle) which is located nearby. He loved that the coastal area was tinted red due to local algae and bacteria, located only in the Great Salt due to the high salinity of the water.
Once I got here I was elated and the spiral jetty received a euphoric welcome from me. Being in a place, and learning about a place are two totally different things. Learning about a place gives you a greater sense of understanding and meaning, being there gives you emotion to tie to what you learned. And I was in such a jovial mood to be able to cross this item off of my bucket list.
Going out to the Jetty was H.O.T. And, being the eccentric person that I am - my mom and I decided to walk the whole spiral to the center and back - all 1,500 feet (one direction). It wasn't such a brilliant idea because it was just so hot, and I wasn't dressed for the occasion (notice the long sleeve shirt and lack of good walking shoes). Nevertheless, we did it. And we took pictures to prove it.
Here we are standing dead center (and this is the best picture where you can see how pink the surrounding area is).
In this picture you can see how far away the truck is parked. It doesn't look like this spiral is very big, but you can hardly see the truck in the background of the photo. However, they do say that if you are flying over the jetty, you can see it from the plane (clouds permitting). I have yet to ever have seen it when I take off from the Salt Lake Airport.
Can you spot me below? I'm on one side of the Jetty and my mom (taking the photo) is on the exact opposite side.
Over the years, the salt has turned this earthwork sculpture mostly white with lots of sand. In fact, I researched and found out that the jetty was constructed in 1970 (construction took 6 days), and not long after it was built the water levels of the Great Salt Lake rose and covered the Jetty until 2002. In 2002 you could see the Jetty for almost a year before it was submerged again. Since then it has fluctuated each year and has either been under water or above. I was lucky that when I wanted to go it was above water, but there were some parts which were mucky and muddy.
After all the walking, I looked beat. I'm pretty sure that had the picture been any lower you'd see pit-stains on my nice shirt. HA! At least Lily looks happy!
And oddly enough, as I was flipping through the guest book, this drawing caught my eye. As I began turning the page - I noticed that I knew an individual who had come out here the prior month (located above the drawing). Such a small world!
Anyway, if you ever get the opportunity to visit the Spiral Jetty and cross it off your bucket list - DO IT! But make sure to take some time to see Promontory Point as you journey out there - that way you can kill two birds with one stone!
