Fall was starting in Seattle and after a long Covid year 2 it had been a while since I (Katie) had done a weekend rendezvous with friends. One of my best friends, Kelly, travels for work (normally) and had finally scheduled her first trip back on the road. Since she is normally on the East coast we always try to link up when we are a closer flight from each other and this time was no different. We both needed a dose of normalcy and a weekend of friendship so we decided to meet in Salt Lake City.
Kelly has always been interested in the Nancy Holt Sun Tunnels (more info here). As a child in D.C., she visited an exhibit by the artist and watched a video detailing their build. While not very close to SLC, the tunnels were the reason for the destination since we could day trip out to see it. I insisted we add in the Salt Flats since I have seen so many gorgeous photos taken there and have been enamored with the place for some time now. We were ready for an adventure and while not the typical kind for me, this one surely did not disappoint!
Utah is a strange but beautiful state – actually one of my favorites, if not my #1 favorite.
I have explored Utah on numerous occasions but never really spent much time in Salt Lake City. After landing and getting settled in SLC, we walked around, saw the Mormon Tabernacle and surrounding buildings and enjoyed a beautiful sunset hike above the capitol building.
The next day we headed off on a sunflower-laden route to the salt flats. When you look up how to get to the salt flats it doesn’t pull up as much of a destination. Just a “truck stop” on the side of the road, which surprised us. Regardless, it did not disappoint! The salt flats indeed did taste salty and they made for some fun photos. For more info on how to plan a trip to the Salt Flats, check out this article.
Let me just pause to say,
if you are going to go on an adventure to the flats or the Nancy Holt Sun Tunnels or both like we did – BRING SNACKS AND BEVERAGES!! There is really not much along the way aside from one or two gas stations and a taco truck that is cash only. (It did look like it would pump out some great tacos though!) Luckily we had some snacks and stopped at the gas station for a few additional treats. We fully intended to get tacos but we were completely without cash – always carry cash!
From the salt flats, we continued our adventure across what felt like endless miles on dirt backroads to the sun tunnels. I highly recommend abstaining from watching any type of horror/abduction movies such as “The Hills Have Eyes” remotely close to the time you embark on this journey. Otherwise you will be a bit creeped out the entire drive. You are pretty much in the middle of nowhere for most of the journey.
Alas, we finally made it to our destination!
It was such a unique spot and something I would never go see on my own, so I was grateful to get to experience it with Kelly. We were pleased with ourselves for surviving the car ride without incident and for experiencing something off the beaten path.
