Autumn Splendor at the cabin.

The Great Salt Lake

I will have to say that I really DID think it would be hard to let go of the van.  You know, it is full of memories.  We have had it since 2004.  Ten years in one vehicle is a lot.  I might have shed a tear but then I got into the Yukon with all five of my kids and my hot honey and the thought of getting in the van again quickly faded.  We are so happy to have this new ride.  Even Emry is happy she just doesn't know it yet.

I couldn't let Labor day weekend go by without some kind of fun family adventure.  I had been thinking for a while now that we live in the Salt Lake Valley and we have never even stepped foot into the Great Salt Lake.  I remember as a kid that I went out there and floated.  I figured this would be a fun adventure and if not at least we can cross it off the list of things to do in Utah.

 I will have to say the views are spectacular.  It really is a very beautiful place.  That is if you can get past that horrid smell, and the bugs, and the brine shirmp, oh, and the salt.  Other than those things  It is definitely a wonder to behold.  At first the kids were a bit skittish about going in.  I really couldn't blame them seeing that it smelled so awful.  The water was extremely warm which was a nice change from Pineview.  They started to dip their toes and then walk out a bit farther.  What I found to be extremely interesting is that Ellie got right in.  She won't step foot in Pineview or any lake for that matter.

 Who is this girl?  She wasn't scared at all.  It was refreshing.  Poor Elsie though.  She must have had a UTI or something because the water stung her so bad down there that she couldn't get back in.  Jeron had to take her and wash her off.  I felt bad for her.  She is my mini me and I know she would have loved to feel herself float and play with her siblings.  Emry on the other hand wasn't to sure about it all.  She hung back and stayed in the shallow end.

 Once you got in there far enough the smell dissipated and the bugs were left on shore.  That made it easier to get in.  I will have to say that the brine shrimp did give me the willey's.  

Then it was time to test it out.  Do you really float?  YES!  You really float.  I am still in awe about this.  It is crazy.  You literally feel the water push you up.  There is no effort at all to stay up.  This is a cool feeling that everyone, especially us in Utah should experience.

 There was actually a lot of people there.  The one thing that I noticed though is that they didn't speak english.  I think there was some German and French that I heard.  This made me realize that other people outside of our country think this is a place to go.  A must see...  I am glad that I finally took advantage of a must see that is literally in my backyard.  On top of that we had a great time.

 While we all played Emry fell asleep.  Elsie ate lunch.  Jeron stood by and watched.  The four of us played for a while.  JJ caught a ton of brine shrimp.  Emma and Ellie just played in the water.  It was a wonderful family day.  When you get out of the Great Salt Lake your body is covered in salt.  It is insane.  I probably should have rubbed it off and used it to cook with. Thank goodness the marina has fresh water spouts you can hose of at instead.  We got all rinsed off and headed home.  It was a great way to spend labor day weekend. 

After we cleaned up we headed over to the Hughes for a barbeque.  It was fun to spend time with them and get to know the kids a bit more.