day 07.
LAST FULL DAY, and I can’t lie, at this moment in the trip I’m halfway ready to go home. The day before was incredibly a lot, but I was ready to shake it off, cause this was actually the day I was most excited for, while planning my trip. I had planned to be at my first destination at sunrise, but the snow storm changed all that. Woke up to half a foot of snow, at least. It was beautiful, but I wasn’t sure if I could even make it to the hotsprings on a freshly snowed on unpaved road. I laid around for a couple hours this morning, questioning if I was going to attempt to go at all. After about 830 am, I decided to try and see. If I got to a point I didn’t feel good about it would just turn around. Low and behold, I arrived, and the roads were just plowed. God knew I had to see these hot springs. I actually passed the plow man on my way in, and he told me to stay where he plowed, and warned me that someone else had gotten stuck and a tow had to come get them.
I pulled up as close at the camper and road would allow me to go, threw on a suit, and prepared to venture out these hot springs, that I couldn’t even see from the van. By the time I got fully ready, the tow person had come back to where we were parked and pointed me in the direction of the springs. There were some fresh footprints, and I followed those all the way in.
I COULDN’T BELIEVE MY EYES.
It was the most amazing sight. A cave pool, in the middle of miles of snow, with warm clear water.
A D R E A M, REALLY.
I could’ve stayed all morning. Music, vape, camera, solitude. I stayed until I pruned and forced myself to get out eventually. Before I left, a cow came over to say hi. There must be some ancient words about cows coming up to you right? I need to look that up lol.
Anyway, on my way out, I saw a couple driving in. I gave them the reassurance I am always seeking driving up to these unknown masterpieces. This was the one place I was really wishing I wasn’t alone, cause it was that lovely.
Once I got back to the campground, I was pressed for a hot shower. And it was perfect. I was able to get cute-ish for my last stop of my trip, the Bonneville Salt Flats.
It was a few hours back up towards Salt Lake City, and I barely caught the salt flats before the sun set. Myself and others were rushing to capture this rarity before nightfall. I thought it was interesting that these salt flats also double as a speedway. It was just miles of salty ground. I wonder what the fastest time recorded there is? Speaking of, that was one thing I loved about Utah highways. 80 mph speed limits, whew.
Got me a couple cute flicks, and ran back to the van. It was brick!
From there, about an hour and a half back to SLC, and you pass the Great Salt Lake along the way. My last pivot of the trip was where I had planned to stay that night. I started double checking my routes and plans the night before, and came to the conclusion that the (free) BLM lands I had planned to stay at on this night just wasn’t going to be a thing. Last case scenario, I had planned to sleep in front of Connor’s house with the van, but he ended up suggesting some places for me in SLC, close to his spot instead.
I ended up sleeping in a University of Utah building parking lot. It wasn’t the most peacefully, probably because I couldn’t fully be comfortable due to it being a parking lot, and there was consistent plowers coming throughout the night that kept me up. It was all good though, because I was out of there the next day!
