I touched Great Salt Lake
Today, Monday April 14/14 we drove out to Antelope Island State Park to get a good view of Great Salt Lake.  Antelope Island is the largest island in Great Salt Lake.   Great Salt Lake is currently 75 miles long by 28 miles wide.  It covers 1700 square miles.  Water flows into the lake from four rivers and they carry 2.2 million tons of minerals into the lake each year.  The lake has no outlet so the water can leave only by evaporation.  High concentrations of minerals are therefor left behind.  Most aquatic fish cannot live in the high salt level except for huge quantities of brine shrimp (remember the sea monkeys we had as kids? ), brine flies and algae.  These are the primary food sources for millions of migrating birds.

We drove out to the island on this long causeway that divides two parts of the lake, one side was a lot more saline than the other.  Along the way we saw so many birds, there were tons of avocets,  stilts and gulls.

There were some wild flowers - pretty yellow and small little purple ones.

We really didn't see this big guy until we went around some bushes, and there he was close up and personal. There is a herd of 500 to 700.  There are also antelope, mule deer and bighorn sheep but we did not see any of those.

We climbed up these rocks through a short trail and got a great view along the way.  All the while we were walking along there were hundreds of gulls flying and squawking.  It was neat to see their shadows on the ground as we walked along.  There was a flock of cormorants flying by and also quite a few herons.

That is a heron sitting on the rock in the middle as a matter of fact.

 The spot in the middle is called egg island, thousands of California gulls nest here.

This area was nothing like anything either of us have seen before and we were glad we took the time to drive out here and check it out.  There was a lot of quartz rocks and it was beautiful.  The sand was also really nice.

 I was determined to touch the lake so we walked down and I did just that.  Along the way there were a lot of bird carcases. I googled it when we got home and found out that  more than 15,000 birds died on the lake last fall. Most of the birds were eared grebes.
Testing done at the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin has confirmed that the birds died of avian cholera. Avian cholera is a disease that sweeps through grebes and other birds on the lake almost every year. The dead birds don't pose a threat to humans but it was sad anyway.

 Great Salt Lake is a very important bird area, over 160,000 California gulls live here.  Over 600,000 wilsons phalaropes were counted here in a single day. 250,000 American avocets nest here along with 5 - 18,000 pelicans.  It is also the most important nesting area for white faced ibis.

 Can you see the salt on my fingers?  amazing!

After a wonderful morning of exploring we stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrell.   Then we saw a "ranch" market along the way and decided to go and check it out.  We were definitely in the minority but I love looking at all the different Mexican foods and trying to read the Spanish words.  The sign by the front door said "police parking only" so we didn't stick around too long.  I did get a cucumber and a lovely bunch of radishes for 85 cents tho.
Tomorrow we start heading north.  It will take us about 5 days to get to Estevan where our parents and some of our siblings live.  Then off to Prince Albert once their *()^^%$$#$@ snow melts.

On the road again . . .
We left Mesa on April 2, 2014 and stopped in Parker, Arizona for the first night.  We stayed there last year and really thought it was a pretty place.

We stayed in an RV park right on the Colorado River.  Across the river is California.  While we were there, friends Bob and Gail, who we met in Mesa called and we all decided to go to Lake Havasu together.  We spent 3 nights there and really had a great time.  One day we relaxed, toured the lake and went out for supper followed by a great view of the sunset.  The next day we packed up a picnic lunch and headed out to the state park.  There was a fishing derby/show put on by Bass Pro and other sponsors.  They had a great set up and lots of free things to do.

 Sorta looks like I am doing the bird dance, but we both got to take turns at driving the dune buggies

If I was to spend a winter in Havasu I would definitely be up for renting one of these and doing some driving around the desert.

This was a pontoon party boat.  It was amazing, there was even a sink and a fridge.  Also a bed in the back to lay and soak up the sun.  I took a turn at driving it but honestly, I have never driven a boat and I was a little worried for everyone's safety.  This boat could keep up with the speed boats - I have never gone 50 mph in a boat before.

 We got to try fishing and we won some amazing jewellery.

The picnic lunch was also fantastic as well as the scenery. 

This is from under a huge palo verde tree that was blooming like crazy.  So pretty.  Then we walked along the beach all the way to the London Bridge and stopped at a really neat bar overlooking the action.  There was still a little spring break action going on and lots of people out in boats and enjoying the sun.  After a full day in the sun we went for a swim back at our RV park.  The day we were packing up to go Bob came over and said they decided to come to Vegas too.  We were happy to have company so off we all went to Sam's town Las Vegas.  Gail and I spent the better part of one day shopping at the premium outlets. We ate at the buffet 3 times and that is just too much buffet!  We had planned on going to Valley of Fire but it was booked up and we found it it was spring break in Utah so had to change plans.  We could not get a site anywhere near Zion either which was another disappointment.  We decided to give up on the park idea as we don't really enjoy them when they are too busy.  So we said good bye to Bob and Gail and went to St. George, Utah which is one really pretty little town.

This is what it looks like around the town.  Houses are built right on the side of the rocks and it is just so pretty.  They have tons and tons of palm trees as they usually only have 1 or 2 slight freezing days a year.  They had a 100 year record cold winter with lots of snow and many days of freezing temperatures.  Many trees and plants did not survive but I sure hope a lot of these palms will come back. We basically relaxed and enjoyed a pretty park walk there, I even finished my book.  I had one day by the pool but did not enjoy all the screaming kids.  So I figured, I would let them enjoy their spring break and I would enjoy my peace and quiet reading by my motorhome.  We then decided to go to Salt Lake City and spend a few days checking out the city.
Yesterday we went downtown on the rail transit.  We first looked at the City Creek Centre which is an upscale area with restaurants and shopping.  We weren't really needing to do any shopping but the centre is definately worth checking out.

 There are a number of fountains, as well as a little stream and a waterfall all through this huge complex.

This is a view from the second story overlooking the street and the Mormon temple.  The window was etched with beautiful leaves falling off a tree in the corner.  We spent a good while enjoying our walk and then headed over to the Temple Square. 

 This is just such a small little sample of the amazing gardens there.  It was absolutely beautiful.  All the spring flowers and trees were blooming like crazy.  The whole square is 35 acres.

Another picture of the temple with the Tabernacle to the left.  We saw a few bride and grooms getting pictures taken on the grounds.  What an amazing place for wedding pictures!  Everywhere we went in temple square there was a LDS (mormon's are  really called Latter Day Saints or LDS, and they prefer now to add The church of Jesus Christ in front of the LDS)  One of the elders explained that was because people did not think they were Christian so they are starting to add that.  There were many volunteers available to help with questions and take visitors on tours of the grounds.  You could even go in the genealogy centre and learn about your ancestors and how to research them.  I was very impressed with how willingly and energetically they explained their religion and the complex itself.  This day was a Saturday and we were told that there would be 60 weddings that day.  There are 13 rooms for weddings in the temple and on a "busy" summer day there could be 120 weddings.

This is the Joseph Smith memorial building.  It used to be called the Hotel Utah. It opened for business on  June 9, 1911, While the LDS Church was the primary stockholder, many Mormon and non-Mormon community and business leaders also purchased stock in the effort to provide the city with a first-class hotel.

This building is absolutely beautiful and has been restored and maintained to be as close to original as possible.

This is the tabernacle, home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  We did get to hear someone playing the organ in here and it was pretty awesome.

These 4 pictures are from the inside of the conference centre which is an amazing building.  It can seat 21,000 people.  There are no pillars in it and there is not a bad seat in the house.  If you look in the picture just above this one you will see a round gold circle at the top of the organ pipes.  Apparently that is ground level although it did not really seem that we were going underground when we went in.  They have conferences here twice a year for the LDS and it is full, with some waiting in the outer area hoping to get in.  They also rent it out for other "appropriate" functions.  People come from all over the world to these conferences.

In the centre there is a beautiful water feature and above it a skylight that looks like a kaleidoscope

 But the very coolest thing, is this garden which is on the roof of the building.  Our tour guide said it is about 6 stories up.  The little pyramid to the right is one of the skylights.

 There is even a water feature on the roof.  Water is pumped up from underground to the roof and then runs down the side of the building.  The trees are planted in shale with nutrients added and they are all native to the hills in the area.

 Like the inside of the building, the floor of the roof is all made out of granite.  This mural is made of marble and the images are sandblasted right into it.

.This is still on the roof, and this area apparently has over 100 kinds of wild flowers.  I saw some crocuses!

Today we went out to Liberty Park to see the Tracy Aviary.  It was a cold day and we both needed a fleece with a windbreaker.  I could have used me some mini mitts too!  The temperature wasn't even that bad but the wind was really cold.  It was well worth every shiver!

 There is really nothing cuter than little yellow goslings!

Salt Lake is home to 18,000 breeding pelicans. Although the weird little growth on the beak looks strange to us it is apparently something that breeding adults get and it falls off after breeding.
All of the birds in this aviary have been rescued from the wild due to some sort of injury or issue that it could not survive in the wild.

I have never been this close to these amazing raptors without a cage in between.

There was even a California Condor.  This is something I never expected to see close up.  Did you know their heads are bald so they don't get dirty when eating?

This was an exciting tree to see.  It is a teacup magnolia.  The blossoms are the size of teacups and they littered the ground with pretty pink petals.  I had no idea what it was, but I knew if I sent the picture by email to my sister Tami she would know!  Who needs google??

Man, this little bird was so darn cute!  They had an area with south american birds.  This one is called a green magpie.

These 2 sandhill cranes sure were fun to watch. I did not know that they use their bills to cover themselves with red mud to paint themselves in the mating season.

 Scarlet Ibis

I could watch these birds all day long!  It takes 2 years for them to turn the pink color from eating shrimp.

 A scrunched up red legged seriema

 Southern lapwing.

Red crested cardinal  - we even saw a pair on a nest.

 American Avocet pair.

This swan was busy tidying up her nest, she had 3 beautiful white eggs.

Well its off to bed, I have stayed up too late and tomorrow we are going to see Salt Lake!