Yesterday’s adventure began at 7 AM, when I met up with friends to embark on a trip I’ve dreamed about for years—circling the Great Salt Lake. For the longest time, I didn’t know how to go about such a journey or where to begin. But then, just a few days ago, Tawna—the daughter of my childhood friend Marlene Sims Crapo—called and invited me to join a group heading out in two Jeeps to explore the lake. You can imagine how fast I jumped at the chance!
Stop One: Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is just west of Brigham City. This was my third visit this year, and each time I return, I feel more familiar with the seasonal rhythms of the birds that call this place home. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge spans over 80,000 acres and provides a crucial stopover for millions of migratory birds traveling the Pacific Flyway. The highlight of this visit was spotting two majestic white pelicans gliding across the water. I captured a photo of them floating in sync, their oversized beaks calm but commanding. One of my friends commented that pelicans can hold more in their beak than in their stomach—a fun fact I can believe after watching them up close!
Stop Two: Where the Rails Met
Our next stop on this grand adventure around the Great Salt Lake was Promontory Summit—an iconic location in American history. It was here, on May 10, 1869, that the eastward Union Pacific Railroad and the westward Central Pacific Railroad met, and the ceremonial golden spike was driven, completing the first transcontinental railroad.
As we passed by, preparations for a celebration were underway. We saw vibrant Chinese dragon dancers honoring the thousands of Chinese laborers who laid track through the harshest terrain—a vital yet often overlooked part of the railroad’s story. After the dancers finished, attention turned to the two replica steam engines, known as the Jupiter(from the Central Pacific) and No. 119 (from the Union Pacific), facing each other just as they did more than 150 years ago.
Although we wished we could stay longer and take in the entire ceremony, we had a full day ahead and had to move on. Still, passing by such a powerful symbol of unity and progress added depth to our journey—and reminded me how much history surrounds the Great Salt Lake.
Stop Three: The Famous Spiral Jetty
One of Utah’s most iconic land art installations. I’ve heard about the Spiral Jetty for years and have visited it a few times, yet it still amazes me every time I see it. It’s incredible to think that one man created such a striking and enduring sculpture right on the remote shoreline of the Great Salt Lake.
The Spiral Jetty was built in 1970 by artist Robert Smithson, a pioneer in the land art movement. He constructed the massive coil using over 6,000 tons of black basalt rock and earth, forming a 1,500-foot-long spiral that curls into the lake. Depending on the water level, the jetty can be submerged or exposed—on this visit, we were lucky enough to see it stretching out into the salt-crusted lakebed.
Stop Four: A Rolling History Lesson
We drove west for at least ten miles along the very roadbed where the original transcontinental railroad once ran. The tracks have long since been removed, but the path remains, etched into the landscape as a quiet tribute to one of America’s greatest engineering feats.
What fascinated me most was how the terrain still told the story. You could see where workers had cut through the hillsides by hand and blasted rock away so the trains could pass through more easily. The grade hugged the edge of the Great Salt Lake, and I imagined what it must have been like to ride a steam engine along that very route with lake views stretching to the horizon. It was humbling to drive where trains once carried people and goods across the country—proof of how this quiet shoreline once played a vital role in uniting a nation.
Stop Five: Lunch at Kelton—A Forgotten Railroad Town
Our next stop took us to the ghost town of Kelton, Utah, which once served as an important section station for the Central Pacific Railroad from 1869 to 1942. It’s hard to believe that this quiet, empty stretch of desert was once a bustling hub of activity. Kelton was established shortly after the golden spike was driven at Promontory, and it quickly became a vital link for stagecoach routes, mail service, and rail freight moving between California and the rest of the country. During its heyday, the town boasted a hotel, schoolhouse, saloons, and homes—small but mighty, serving the railroad and the growing number of settlers passing through.
We stopped here for lunch, enjoying not only the food but the chance to reflect on what life might have been like in such an isolated place. With the wind whispering across the sagebrush and the silence broken only by the occasional birdcall, it was easy to imagine the sound of train whistles and the busy hum of a frontier town full of promise and grit. Today, the only visible remnant of Kelton is a small graveyard, a quiet and solemn reminder of the lives once rooted here.
Stop Six: Sheep and Salt on the West Shore
From Kelton, we turned south and began descending the west side of the Great Salt Lake. In the distance, we could still see the shimmering blue of the water, but as we got closer to the lakebed, the landscape turned stark and white. What we were seeing wasn’t snow—it was salt. A wide crust of it stretched across the dry shoreline, glinting in the sunlight like a frozen sea.
This part of the journey held a special place in my heart. My grandfather, Jared Richins, was a sheepman in Coalville, Utah. As a child, I loved visiting the sheep pens to watch the lambs being born and then sheared. Because the winters in Coalville were so harsh, Grandpa would take his flock to the desert during the colder months. In the spring, he’d guide them back up into the high mountain pastures where they could graze on fresh green grass and regain their strength. As we paused at one quiet spot along the route, I saw sheep grazing in the distance, just as they would have when Grandpa was running his herds across this very desert.
Stop Seven: West Desert Pumping Station
Our next stop brought us to the West Desert Pumping Station—a massive and costly engineering project born out of crisis. In the early 1980s, Utah experienced unprecedented flooding. The Great Salt Lake rose to a record high of 4,211.85 feet in 1986, threatening infrastructure, homes, and even the Salt Lake International Airport. To mitigate the disaster, the state constructed a $60 million pumping system in 1987. These three enormous pumps near Hogup Ridge were designed to lift up to 1.5 million gallons of water per minute from the lake and channel it 20 feet uphill into a 320,000-acre evaporation basin in the West Desert. The pumps operated from April 1987 until June 1989, removing approximately 2.73 million acre-feet of water and lowering the lake by nearly six feet. Though they haven’t been used since, the pumps are still maintained today, standing as a reminder of Utah’s battle with nature and the lengths we go to protect our communities
Stop Eight: Crossing the Causeway
Salt, Tracks, and Trains From Lucin, we headed east and found ourselves riding along a narrow road that parallels the Union Pacific causeway—an engineering marvel that cuts straight through the heart of the Great Salt Lake. Originally built in the early 1900s as part of the Lucin Cutoff, this route is still used today to carry trains westward to Nevada and California. With the lake stretching out on both sides, it felt like we were driving through the middle of a shallow inland sea. What caught our eye immediately was the contrast in color on either side of the causeway.
One section of the lake appeared white and chalky—a sign of high salinity and salt beds left behind by evaporation—while another was a striking blue, holding deeper water. The lake, divided by man-made barriers, looked like a patchwork quilt stitched together by nature and industry. This area is a hub for salt harvesting. Companies like Morton Salt and at least two others work year-round extracting salt from these divided evaporation ponds. As we climbed a small knoll to get a better look, we saw a freight train rolling west along the tracks, its cars stretching toward the distant desert, headed for Nevada and on to California. It was a perfect moment—industry, nature, and history all converging before our eyes.
Final Stop: Sunset Over the Salt and Sky
As our 14-hour adventure drew to a close, we turned south to meet up with I-80. The desert stretched out before us, bathed in the warm glow of a setting sun. Along the way, roadside signs marked this remote expanse as part of a U.S. Air Force testing range—used historically as a bombing and gunnery range. It was sobering to think of this quiet land once echoing with the sound of test detonations. With the sun dipping low over the western horizon, the sky exploded in color—a perfect ending to our unforgettable journey. After covering nearly 300 miles around the Great Salt Lake, I found myself wondering how I had lived so many years without ever making this full-circle trip. It was a day filled with history, discovery, and beauty—each stop unfolding a new layer of the lake’s story. I’ll never forget this remarkable experience. It was educational, moving, and truly a delight from start to finish.
