Thelma: Day #11 – Great Salt Lake

• Number of miles driven: 535

• Amount of money spent:  $152.66 ($89.00 motel, $39.57 gas, $18.00 breakfast,$6.09 sundry items)

• Best pic: Salt Lake Flats

• Song of the Day: Dixie Chicks’ Cowboy Take me Away

• Number of times almost drove off road: 2

• Nighttime abode: Elko, NV

• Special Purchase: $289 for 2 western shirts (um, yeah — almost $300 bucks)

How do I say this – I’m not such a huge fan of the Great Salt Lake because:

a) It’s Stinky

b) It’s like walking in cement, with wet grey goo seeping through your toes

c) It’s Stinky

But here’s a little more info anyway: the Great Salt Lake is a remnant of Lake Bonneville which, at its peak surface area, was nearly as large as Lake Michigan and was over 1,000 feet deep.

The salinity of Great Salt Lake depends on the lake’s level, ranging from 5% to 27%. For comparison, the average salinity of the world ocean is 3.5% and a whopping 30.7% in the Dead Sea.

Maybe that’s it – I just went to the Dead Sea earlier this year and had a blast floating in the salty water.  Check it out: Getting Dirty: Dead Sea Style. 

That said, like most adventures, I’m glad I saw the Great Salt Lake, even if it didn’t make My 3 Favorite Lakes.

‘Cause you know, now I know.

____________

Read the next post in this series: Thelma: Day #12 – Reno 911: Mini Meltdown

Read the first post in this series: Thelma without Louise: An American Adventure

Tags: Dead Sea, Great Salt Lake

This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 and is filed under North America.