Bonneville Salt Falts

There are many places on my travel bucket list. There are places across the world. For example; Greece, the inverted tower in Portugal, Egypt(!), the pink lake in Australia- just to name a few. There are also a ton right here in Utah that I am dying to see. Right here in my backyard. 

Like this one! The Bonneville Salt Flats. The salt flats are out of this world. Like I swear they are literally from out of this world. Nick and I have meant to get out to the Salt Flats basically from the time he took a real interest in photography. It was an incredible experience.

I warn you that it is not a short drive. I mean it is relatively short in the grand scheme of things but not with children. It took us about 2 hours to get out there and about 2 hours home. For those who are local- you are ten minutes east of Wendover. You just hop on I-80 West and go. They aren't hard to find. You drive until you see a totally alien landscape and then stop. There is a rest stop with picnic tables on the north side of the freeway- that is one place you can stop but you can also just pull off the side of the freeway and check them out. I would definitely recommend the rest stop because it seems the safer option. I wish we had taken pictures of it but we didn't! Now onto the pictures. I am warning you- this is a picture heavy post. They really speak for themselves.

Nicco is taking after his daddy!

I am running in this picture! RUNNING! Just thought you oughta know. hehe You can also drive right out onto the flats. You can drive all the way to those mountains on the other side if you fancy doing that.

 

We must have spotted 4-6 other groups but it is so vast and so massive that you still feel totally isolated. It is a humbling experience. The strangest part to me was how quiet it was. Anyone know why it is so crazy quiet out there? I assume that the salt muffles the sound but even the sound from the freeway was gone. It is a place that you can definitely here yourself think. 

I kid you not this is the best group picture we got. 

The landscape was breathtaking. 

UGH! SO beautiful.

A couple words of advice if you go out there. If you take kids with you then you need to take things to entertain them! It is a totally rad place but my kids were bored with it pretty quick. Stay and see the stars because woah. Wear shoes that you don't care about. The salt is almost moist so your shoes will be caked in it. And it is crazy windy out there so be prepared for that. Take water and snacks- this is always my advice! 

What places are on your bucket list? I found this article listing some great places in Utah to visit. Goblin Valley is definitely going to be a place we visit soon!

Hidden Falls Hike

I mentioned a while back that my family made a goal to hike weekly. It has been fun adventuring a bit. The kids LOVE it! Being in the mountains and in nature seems to put them in awesome moods. Like woah! That is something I can really get behind. 

Here is one of our latest adventures. Hidden Falls! Now to say this is a hike would be a little bit of a fib. But dang it is pretty and totally worth doing. That being said it is more like a nature walk. Which I am totally down with. Hidden Falls is found up in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It is a little bit hard to find. Anyone who has driven Big Cottonwood canyon is aware of that super tight S curve about 4 miles in. Right at the beginning of that curve is a little parking lot. Park there or along the road. You have to really watch for it or you will miss it! You can hear the falls from the road.

If you parked in the parking lot you will see these stairs. Go up those stairs and through the wooded area and then across the road. Yeah across the road! Needless to say you need to be extremely careful crossing that bit of road because the cars are going very fast down that patch. So be so careful. We ran across even though we didn't see any cars just in case. From that point it is pretty self explanatory. Follow the sounds of running water! 

My little adventurers at the beginning of the walk.

Nick climbing up and not being able to get down some rocks. HA!

This was their first glimpse at the falls.

It was a great little waterfall. And freezing cold! This is melted snowpack so it is very cold. So be prepared for that.

Facing the falls is a little rock face that my kids couldn't help but climb. Especially Lola. We lovingly refer to her as our little mountain goat. She just bounds up rock faces and mountains like a baby mountain goat.

To get to the falls you may have to get a little wet because you are walking up the creek to reach the falls. I was able to get up through to the falls without getting my feet wet but Nick and the kids all stepped in the creek. Make sure you wear shoes that you are okay getting wet! Be prepared for stepping in freezing cold water too. 

Getting to the falls is a little tricky. You will see these stairs to your right. Don't take them! Follow the path down to the creek. But really we want to go back and take those stairs. That path takes you to two different vista points. Maybe next time.

Of course on the way down we had to stop and enjoy the views. So beautiful! Nicco was in love with this canyon. It will be one we visit often because his reaction was awesome! He talked about how amazing it was and how he liked it so much. How it was the most beautiful place he has ever seen. It may sound weird but when he was talking about it it made my heart swell. It seemed to skip a beat. He is a tender boy and he sees the world in a different way. I will never forget his reaction. 

All in all a fun little adventure spot. It would be a great walk to do to wind down your day or get it started up the canyon. It was a great respite from the heat down in the valley! Have you been on any hikes lately? Were they family friendly? We are always on the lookout for fun family hikes!