Island Vacation

We hadn't, yet, taken a family vacation over the summer, so during family council one Sunday evening, we decided to discuss some options for a fun family get-away! We had all kinds of suggestions from our kids (mostly things we could definitely not afford). We didn't have a lot of time, and definitely didn't have much money, but we decided that an "Island" vacation sounded great. The island we chose? This one:

Antelope Island!! I grew up in Utah, and have never been to many of the iconic Utah destinations. I've never been to Moab (sad, eh?)... never been to Zions, Lake Powell, skiing... I'm sure I could come up with a whole lot more "Utah-places-I've-never-been." We decided that we are going to try to go to many of those places over the next couple of years... starting with beautiful, tropical (ahem) Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake! HEHE... Actually, it really is pretty. (See above pics). Of course, when you get to the island, there is mostly sage brush, and not many trees... but the views are awesome :)

We stopped at the visitor's center (which wasn't big, but atleast there were restrooms... and lots and lots of spiders. Seriously, they are huge, and they are everywhere!) Then we ate our picnic lunch at some picnic tables under a pavilion. We could see people walking up from "the beach" in their bathing suits, looking like they had just had the time of their lives. We asked someone (who had a major foreign accent) how the water was, I think he said it was great. So we decided to trek down and see. It was like a long, hot walk across a desert. I didn't mind so much, but I had a few "complainers". The sand was kinda deep, so our flip flops were a little hard to walk in. As we got closer to the water, we could see quite a few people out in it. I've heard legends of the Great Salt Lake, like the ones where the salt is so thick you just float. I saw people trying it out. But as we got closer, we could see a dark cloud of something... what on earth could it be? Right near the edge of the water... some kind of swarming, flying insects! We quickly (and I mean QUICKLY) ran through them to get to the water. We came this far, we couldn't NOT go in atleast for a minute. Once we got in the water, there weren't as many bugs... and our kids were actually very fascinated by all the brine shrimp. They are tiny, but very visible under the surface of the clear water. Hayden ended up falling in and getting completely soaked, but he didn't seem to mind.We only stayed for a few minutes, but we can say we've been in the Great Salt Lake.

Like I said, the views were quite pretty. I loved taking pictures of the sky, water, and island.

The walk back from the lake was longer, hotter, and sandier... atleast it felt that way. And poor wet Hayden fell in the sand, which of course stuck to his clothing. Awesome.

But we made it back up, got rinsed off (and changed one certain child's clothing) then headed out to explore the rest of the island. More gorgeous views (and a really funny seagull).

One thing we really loved, was seeing all the buffalo just roaming freely all over the island.

On one side of the island, there is an old ranch. I believe the brochure said that it's the oldest anglo-built (which we told our kids meant that the pioneers built it, rather than native Utahns) home still on it's original foundation. Over the years, it has been built onto, and it was actually a working ranch until the early '80s, but they have tons of old antique farming equipment. It was actually really fun to wander around and explore.

The kids had a great time "roping" calves.

And it seems like it was the ONLY place on the island with trees. It was quite a pretty little spot.

The kids had to try out the sheep stalls. They had some cool, old shearing equipment.

The coolest thing by far, was seeing this Buffalo. He had a little itch, apparently, so he found this nice spot to use as a scratching post. We got within just a few yards of him (safely inside our van, of course) but it was fun.

So, if you are looking for an "exotic" island get-away... look no further than Utah's own Antelope Island. While it's no tropical paradise, it is interesting and quite an adventure. I wouldn't recommend camping there, however (the camp sites have NO shade and are VERY primitive - yes, it actually says that they are primitive in the brochure) but for a fun day-adventure, this is your place. Will we go back? Maybe not, but we can say that we've been there ;) We stayed in Layton that night, and went to the Hill Air Force Base Museum the next day... that post is coming next!