Described as white sandy beaches and warm, buoyant water... with no mention of swarms (and I mean swarms) of gnats! We had heard that it was "buggy" but no one was prepared to be attacked by the little buggers! After trekking across what felt like miles of sand in the blistering sun, carrying bags, umbrellas, water bottles, treats, towels, and babies, we reach the "white sandy beach" only to be attacked by clouds of gnats!! Just thinking about it makes me giggle as I imagine what we must have looked like: a large group of women carrying an atrocious amount of equipment plus crying babies and toddlers in tow... looking forward to claiming a nice spot on the sand to set up our relaxation area... just as the gnats descend upon us and send the kids into screaming hysterics! The scene ends with us running around in circles trying to outrun the swarm of gnats so we can at least explain that they are tiny flies that won't hurt you! I can hardly even write this I'm laughing so hard! It was not too funny at the time but now it's hilarious! Even after the crisis had passed, poor Gabe just kept saying in a tearful voice: "I don't LIKE them!!" Well, neither did I - believe me, little guy!!Anyway, after the initial bug welcome, they mostly left us alone. Erin took the kids out into the water and floated around and played for awhile - they say it was really cool to float in the super salty water. I did wade out in it with Gabe but I was too distracted with a very unhappy Nyah to want to go swimming. Needless to say, we didn't feel like staying long so we made our trek back across the wilderness to the cars with all our paraphernalia. Erin described it like the handcart companies of the pioneers - haha!! It's just so funny because we should have gotten a clue when we were passing people coming back that had gone out when we had first arrived! (Thankfully we had decided to have our picnic lunch at a pavilion on the sand by the cars instead of taking the cooler out too!) Well, it is now a cherished memory I will never forget! I may not return until the kids are older, but it sure was a fun adventure to have with my mom and sisters!! :)
5 comments:
That is so so funny! I have never ventured out to the Great Salt Lake for fear that Zed would just throw up all over the place because of the smell (he can hardly do the zoo! lol). I was totally smiling reading your post, it made my night! I promise I will call you soon, I would love to talk and get caught up on things!
I had to read part of that post out loud to Griff... it was too funny! I still need to post about that adventure. My favorite part was when Ben thought you could carry him, too. What a funny memory. Floating was awesome, but I will not miss the gnats either. :)
Did you go to Antelope Island? We were there last summer and my stepmother took our photos and they gnats were horrible! She even had to edit them out of the photos she took! And, the sand was so hard and hurt our feet... but ah yes, those are memories we have of Salt Lake! :)
That was an adventure for sure! I am not sure I want to repeat it, but I'm glad we went. If someone carried ME and got rid of the gnats, I would go again! :)
Yes, that post made me laugh too! It is definitely fun to remember, that's for sure! I would totally go again, just not with kids, and probably not for a few years. ;) I thought it was fun to 'float' in the warm water. :) The hysterical kids were so funny when we first arrived! hehe!
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