Trips: Near and Far

Paul is in charge of a Back Country Horseman ride in a couple of weeks and he wanted to find a new place to ride. It is still “winter” for horses and many of the horses in the group still won’t have had shoes put on for the summer yet—so they need to go on a ride which isn't too rocky or difficult for horses that don’t have shoes. In the past they have ridden in Puddle Valley which is out on the west desert between Grantsville and Wendover. There is a long wide valley there, with a large watering hole in the middle of it. There is also a herd of wild horses out there, too. But if possible he hoped to find a new place to ride—out of the west desert still, but closer to Wendover out in the area where the salt flats are. So Sunday afternoon after church we got into the truck and took a drive out to check out the possibilities that might be out there. It was a very pleasant drive—it was a bright, day and not even too cold—Paul and I made it without coats. It’s 120 miles or so to Wendover, so it was a good long drive but we had a nice time. When we got to the place that Paul had in mind we pulled off the freeway and found our way into the Bonneville Salt Flats State Park.

From the exit there was a road that lead to a “commercial center”—consisting of an all-in-one Mexican and American café, convenience store with a sad little display of trashy souvenir type items and the usual compliment of soft drinks, chips and candy and some trucker style showers, laundry room and bathrooms. There is no camping in this area so it was not a big hub or anything—more like a trucker stop. About a half mile or so from the “commercial center” we found a scrubby looking sign in an unimproved, dirt parking area with a couple of dirt and gravel slightly improved but still pretty primitive roads heading out in two directions. Paul and I started off on one of the roads which essentially circle some very ragged, vegetation-less and rocky, low “mountains” and then off the gravel semi-improved road there were a number of dirt tracks, used by ATV’s and jeeps. We took off on one of these dirt tracks and did some serious off road traveling. Paul was looking for a horse trail possibility—but after a couple of miles of this and finally stopping the truck and walking for about twenty or thirty yards, he decided it was too rocky for bare foot horses and besides----while the flats include a variety of micro environments and in some spots the soil is so salty it prevents vegetation growth, it isn’t the “beautiful mountain splendor” kind of ride. I thought it was very unique, but Paul thought a lot of it was really ugly. So, in terms of finding a nice place to ride, it was kind of a wasted trip. But for a Sunday jaunt, it was very interesting. On the way back, I paused to remark on the art piece that is on the stretch of road that is virtually straight and flat for 40 miles across the Utah West Desert. I’m sure you have seen it, but I asked Paul what is was about. It is called The Tree of Utah, sometimes called the Tree of Life, and it is an 87-foot-tall sculpture that was created by the Swedish artist Karl Momen in the 1980s and dedicated in 1986. The sculpture, which is constructed mainly of concrete, consists of a squarish 'trunk' holding up six spheres that are coated with natural rock and minerals native to Utah. There are also several hollow sphere segments on the ground around the base. The sculpture currently has a fence surrounding the base to protect people from falling tiles. Inscribed on the plaque are the words from Ode to Joy by Friedrich Schiller; also used as the chorus of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It has been said that Momen was moved to create the tree after having a vision of a tree while driving across the desolate Bonneville Salt Flats. Following the dedication of this work of art, Momen donated the sculpture to the State of Utah and returned to Sweden. I looked up on the internet to see if I could get some more information about it and I came across a funny review written by the blog: Roadside America. This review is as follows: We give some credit to the State of Utah for at least tolerating experiments with environmental comedy. "Metaphor: The Tree of Utah" can't be serious. Metaphor is an 87-foot tall sculpture poking up out of the white plains of the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Tree was created in the early 1980s by European artist Karl Momen. It is also known as "Metaphor: The Tree of Life." It was dedicated in 1986 as "A hymn to our universe whose glory and dimension is beyond all myth and imagination." Artist Momen doesn't have to look at it; he bought patch of land, built the thing, and went back to Sweden. Near the base of the Tree, there are several fallen "leaves" -- large spherical segments intentionally scattered on the salty ground. It's where your traveling companions would pose if this were a tourist attraction instead of a work of art. Not that they could pose even if they wanted to. Utah doesn't want you to stop, and Momen didn't spring for the cost of an exit ramp. There is no parking lot or pull-off. For years there were "Emergency Parking Only" signs along the highway, although a surprising number of emergencies happened right there, always with vehicles that had people with cameras. In 2008 the "Emergency Parking Only" signs were replaced by a metal, barbed-wire-topped fence that now surrounds the sculpture. We're not sure what kind of a metaphor that is, but it doesn't seem very friendly.

So if you have ever wondered about this sculpture as you have driven by on your way to Salt Lake City—now you know. The costs of building the tree, reportedly over a million dollars, were provided entirely by Mr. Momen. The tree now belongs to the State of Utah. We left home at about 1:00 and didn’t get home until about 6:30. It was over two hundred miles that we covered, but became familiar with a little corner of Utah that we didn’t know before. In other family news: This week Philip turns 33 and K.C. turns 30 with their birthdays coming on Tuesday and Friday. We won’t be celebrating either birthday with them, but Paul and I are starting to plan our trip to Boston and the Atlantic States now that we don’t have to be thinking about a wedding anymore. We will be there from the 1st till the 8th. We are really looking forward to this trip. Speaking of trips: Erika and Jono left on their honeymoon trip to Mexico on Friday night. We haven’t talked to them, but Erika texted that they had arrived safely and all their connections worked out just fine. Later Jono texted that the resort condo where they are staying is wonderful and big and was everything that was expected and hoped for. So they sound like they are happy and enjoying their time there so far. We are happy for them. And Peter and Kortney are happy as can be because they will be going to Puerto Rico on a trip to celebrate their graduations. They want to visit the Bioluminescent Bay which Kortney did a report on way back when she was in Elementary School and has always wanted to go there. Until now, I had never even heard of them and looked them up to see what it was about. Here is the information: Bioluminescent Bay Puerto Rico Bioluminescent Bays are Puerto Rico’s one-of-a-kind ecosystems situated in three locations – Fajardo, island of Vieques and Lajas. Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo and Mosquito bay in Vieques, Puerto Rico are the best-kept bioluminescent bays in the Western Hemisphere, conveniently reachable from San Juan by car, ferry or a short plane flight, with plenty of tours offered by kayak and electric boat operators. Marine microorganizms that glow at night, when water is disturbed, make visiting bio lagoons a unique experience. Bioluminescence is truly a special representation of rare and fragile environment. Even though the luminescence appears all over the planet, only few places are categorized as a biobays. There are only five of them in the world. Three actively glowing bays are luckily located in Puerto Rico. Jamaica’s Luminous Lagoon in Falmouth is in risk of eradication because of heavy construction development and absence of environmental control. Bioluminescent Bay (often called Bio Bay) is Puerto Rico’s key tourist destinations. The water luminescence is triggered by dinoflagellates, oceanic plankton which is able to generate an emerald green and ultramarine illumination when water is physically disturbed. Dinoflagellates are incredibly delicate microorganisms and are very sensible to the environment conditions such as balance of salt in the water, local climate, deepness of lagoon, air and water pollution, etc. Each one of these the aspects make bio bay a one of a kind, vulnerable ecosystem.

Unique light is an ordinary chemical response forced by tiny creatures which typically respond by giving off the light collected in the daytime. As a result, the best possible view of bio-luminescence comes after a sunny day. The ideal time frame to encounter the luminous bio bay water phenomenon, also referred to as phosphorescence of the sea, is at night. Having said that, the conditions might be affected by moonlight and extreme surrounding lights. Despite the fact that kayaking with a full moon is a memorable experience, it is not the most desirable period to explore the glow of bioluminescent bay. Plan in advance look at the moon calendar. Moonlight is usually too bright for the first 6 days prior to a full moon. Normally, the darker sky, the more desirable watching conditions are. The intense neon illumination happens to be more noticeable with least light pollution.