Utah Archives - Travels With Martin

Salt Lake City, UT to Craters of the Moon – Sept 2021

Dec 13, 2021 Martin 0 Comment

I left the Salt Lake City area pretty early expecting alot of activity for the day. My plan was to get to the Craters of the Moon National Park in Idaho before the end of the day. Beginning to end it wasn’t that far, but I had numerous stops planned and its nice to have a full day to travel. You never know what I might discover.

Riverpark Disc Golf Course

Planned to get a round of disc golf in first thing. I really enjoyed this round. It started raining after I played the first basket so ended up sitting under a tree with a local golfer waiting out the storm. It only rained a few minutes and we played the round together. Nice kid who dreams of one day getting himself a van and traveling around the United States!

Corrine, UT

Corrine, UT is an historic city on the road heading north. It’s a small railroad town that was established as the Union Pacific Railroad and the Central Pacific Railroads neared completion. Corrine is the closest city to where these two lines met and were commemorated with the Golden Spike. I stopped in town at a few memorials and dedicated historic spots.

Golden Spike National Historic Park

In 1869, the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met and the first transcontinental railway was completed. A ceremonial spike was driven to commemorate the completion of this event. I enjoyed learning about the event and these two railway companies. The more they completed, the more they would earn so they built as fast as they could, racing across the country. I stopped at numerous spots along my drive that explained how it was done.

Spiral Jetty

The Spiral Jetty was such an amazing stop that it gets its own post (Spiral Jetty post). The Jetty is located in Corrine, UT, however, you have to drive down a 14 mile long gravel to get there. It was worth it. I walked out to the edge of the Great Salt Lake and watched pink water lap onto the shore.

In my opinion… this is a must for anyone making this trip.

ATK (Northrum & Grumman) Rocket Garden

I was driving on after the Spiral Jetty when I saw this Rocket Garden so I stopped. What a cool little rocket museum. The large rocket is actually a booster for the space shuttle.

Entered Idaho

Lava fields at Craters of the Moon National Park

I made it to Craters of the Moon National Park right around sunset. I watched the sun go down over the lava fields and noticed how I was in such an opposite kind of place from the Bonneville Salt Flats, just a few days earlier. I never knew there were lava fields in the continental United States. It was a beautiful night. I pulled into the Lava Flow Campground and stayed up late thinking about my day and looking at the stars.

Bonneville Salt Flats Tree of Utah To Missoula and Back Utah

Bonneville Salt Flats – Sep 2021

Dec 12, 2021 Martin 0 Comment

Sometimes I find myself on a different planet!

I left early in the day and headed out to see the Bonneville Salt Flats. It was about an hour and a half drive west of Salt Lake City. I figured that I would head out there, drive out onto the flats and then head home. It turns out I spent over three and a half hours there. It was fascinating! I stayed very entertained.

On my way out to the Salt Flats and stopped at the Tree of Utah. The Tree of Utah is an 87 foot tall, mostly concrete structure built along route 80 in the Great Salt Lake Desert. It was constructed by Karl Momen, a Swedish artist, and dedicated in 1986. It is said he had the inspiration for the structure after having a vision of a tree while driving across the Bonneville Salt Flats.

It’s tough to miss the tree as it arrises in the distance as you approach driving down route 80. It’s just sitting there in the middle of nowhere. There is no parking area, one just pulls over to the side of the road. It is bizarre.

“A hymn to our universe, whose glory and dimension is beyond all myth and imagination”

– Karl Momen


	Looking out at me parked on route 80

A few miles further down the road is a rest area. I have learned in my travels that sometimes rest areas are more than just a rest area. They often have historic relevance or fun things to see and learn. Luckily I decided to stop at this one as it was the entrance to the Bonneville Salt Flats. There were no signs stating this on the highway, you just need to know. If you pass it, it will be close to a half hour to make the loop back around. There is no entrance on the eastbound side of the highway.

Experience driving onto the Flats and U-turning back towards the highway.

Then I wanted to see how far across I’d get if I drove a mile out onto the Flats….

I definitely enjoyed myself while hanging out on the Flats. As barren as it is, I found it to be a great place to take some fun pictures. I also played my guitar for a little while and was able to get internet through my phone hotspot!

This is what it looks like if you panorama shot as a car drives by. There was a continuous flow of cars flying by.

Spiral Jetty Corrine To Missoula and Back Utah

Spiral Jetty – Corrine, UT – Sep 2021

Dec 9, 2021 Martin 0 Comment

A few hours north of Salt Lake City and on the north east shore of the Great Salt Lake is the Spiral Jetty. I visited here as a recommendation from a friend and it didn’t disappoint. What a magical place. I felt as if I were on a different planet.

The Spiral Jetty is an earthwork sculpture built in April, 1970 by Robert Smithson. The Jetty is made of mud, salt crystals, and basalt rocks, forming a 1,500-foot-long, 15-foot-wide counterclockwise coil jutting out into the lake. I was there when the water level was low enough to walk out onto it.

To get to the Jetty, it’s necessary to get off of the main road and travel along 14 miles of gravel road. The road was ‘ribbed’ and I found that if I traveled too slowly, the car would bounce up and down along each rib. There were two options to deal with this. The first was to drive very slowly, which would then take me hours to get to my destination, while the second was to travel very fast and just go over the ribs. It was an interesting journey traveling 40+ mph along this gravel road in the middle of nowhere. Even though it was in the middle of nowhere and a desert, I found it to be beautiful. I stopped frequently just to enjoy the sights and to take a break from the stress of the drive.

If you enlarge, you can see the ribs.

Upon arriving at the Jetty parking lot, I opted to hike up the rocky hillside to get a view first. It was a short 1/4 mile hike to the top.

Looking up at the parking area
and the hillside hike.

Taking a moment at the pedestal
looking out onto the Jetty.

I walked back down and onto the Jetty. I walked the Spiral very slowly and meditated along with it. Then I set out towards the lake. I had been told about the water here and wanted to see it for myself.

On the Spiral.	On the Jetty looking out towards the lake.
	Like being on a different planet.

Places like this make me realize why I love getting out on the road and exploring. There are so many unique places throughout the United States. There are places that are magical and so different from our every day lives. At the Jetty, the water was pink. Amazing!

How Google saw me on my trip to the Spiral Jetty. (It even caught my meditative spiraling walk.)
Dark blue is driving. Light blue is walking.

Bonneville Salt Flats Salt Lake City To Missoula and Back Utah Food

Visiting Salt Lake City – Sep 2021

Dec 9, 2021 Martin 0 Comment

I spent about a week in Salt Lake City with an old work friend. We hadn’t seen each other since he left Boston a few years ago and it was really great catching up. Although most of my week was inside his condo working, I did get out and do some exploring.

My friend, Lyle, had a very comfortable condo with a beautiful view.

Tree of Utah

I took a trip out to see the Bonneville Salt Flats and stopped at the Tree of Utah on my way. The Tree of Utah is an 87 foot tall, mostly concrete structure built along route 80 in the Great Salt Lake Desert. It was constructed by Karl Momen, a Swedish artist, and dedicated in 1986. It is said he had the inspiration for the structure after having a vision of a tree while driving across the Bonneville Salt Flats. It is a bizarre thing to be driving along the desert and seeing it in the distance. A strange looking structure in the middle of nowhere.


“A hymn to our universe, whose glory and dimension is beyond all myth and imagination” – Karl Momen

Bonneville Salt Flats

I thought I’d drive out here, drive across the flatness and go home. I ended up spending over 3 and a half hours here. What an amazing place. This deserves it’s own blog post (Bonneville Salt Flats blog post). As barren as this magical place is, I took alot of pictures.

There are no signs on the highway for The Bonneville Salt Flats. There are signs for a rest area which is how you get onto the flats. If you didn’t know this ahead of time and missed this rest area, you would have to drive miles to get to the next exit, turn around, head back past the Salt Flats to the next exit and then turn around again, driving back to the rest area. I did not know, but luckily decided to check out the rest area.

Wendover, UT and West Wendover, NV

I explored these two adjacent cities which is more like one city divided by the state line. There is some history here as it was a place where the Lincoln Highway passed. It also has a memorial to the Victory Highway which was a memorial to those who fought in WWI. I bought some tacos for lunch in Utah and ate them in Nevada overlooking the desert.

Temple Square & The Capitol Building

I walked around the capitol building and Temple Square. Unfortunately, Temple Square and some of the buildings in the square are being renovated and were closed. I was approached multiple times by young Mormon’s asking if I had any questions about the square. They were very friendly folk.

I also learned from the beehive sculpture at the capitol building why Utah is known as the beehive state. I was curious about this as there seemed to be beehive motifs all over the state and their highway route signs have beehives on them. The beehive symbolizes the Utah community as each person in Utah works together to support and help one another and to create a successful industry, as do bees in a hive.

The Viking Farmer’s Farm

My friend Lyle left MaidPro and Boston to work his father’s farm just outside of Salt Lake City. His primary crop is hay and he is selling it on Amazon as The Viking Farmer. He has a great reputation and has recently been approached by a top pet food supplier to promote his products on their website. While visiting, we went down to see his farm and I helped him fix the door on his tractor. It was a great first hand experience and I really enjoyed seeing the farm and sitting in the tractor! I can be such a kid sometimes.

The Armory

I’m not a gun person. I’ve never owned a gun and probably never will. Lyle, however, does have a collection. I enjoyed listening to him talk about his collection. He owns many old weapons and weapons from other countries. He very much likes the history and to talk about the history of what he has. He also talks with a ton of knowledge of how the guns are built and operate as a machine. Since this was all new to me, he took me to his local gun range to try some out. I had never done this before so thought I would try it. I like trying new things, especially on my travels. I did enjoy it.


	Left to right: with the scope, handgun, AK47

Draper Historic Park

I met Byron, our MaidPro Sandy owner, for coffee one morning next to the Draper Historic Park. I arrived early so spent some time walking around the park and learning some history of the area.

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