Salt lake take two

Day two of our stay in the Great Salt Lake takes us to Antelope Island state park. This island makes up 28,022 acres and is the largest island in the area. This island was home to homo sapiens then in 1848, a farmer named Fielding Garr made himself the first permanent resident on the island.

Antelope Island is home to bison, mule deer, and pronghorn antelope that are free to roam where they please. The year 1893 is when up to twelve different species were introduced to the island with bison being the prominent animal on the island. There is a historic ranch that visitors may go and roam on we, unfortunately, were not able to visit it.

Every fall the island rounds up the bison to assess their health and to sell some off to help keep the cycle of life in balance. While visiting we learned that the only creatures that live in the lake are brine shrimp, brine flies, and several different living species of algae.

As you can see it is a windy cold day. Even though it is windy and cold the kids decided they were gonna tough it out and not wear their coats. They figured it was going to be a quick pic op.

My middle daughter remembered from a pink flamingo lesson we had that brine shrimp is what gives the birds their pink coloring. Even though the living creatures in the lake are limited it is a great food source for the migrating population of birds that land there.

Arriving at the causeway to the island we showed our Utah state park pass and paid a two-dollar fee to drive on the road. This fee is a small price to pay compared to the full price of entering the park. Not to mention it helps keep the causeway maintained without overtaxing everyone.

Of course, the first thing is pictures by the park signs and the restroom was the second stop for me. Back in the car, we stopped at “Lady Finger Point Trail” and took a short stroll down the path. The park has multiple boards along the path to teach about the lake and what thrives in it. While strolling we looked out at the lake bed and discovered coyotes running along the water’s edge.

After taking a quick hike were on our way to the visitor’s center. Upon reaching the parking lot we noticed a white bison sculpture we just had to observe up close.

After exploring Antelope Island completed we made our way to have some fun with ice bumper cars.

The kids enjoyed gaining up on me. They surrounded me and just kept bumping into my car. At one point I was going after the youngest and did not realize my son was right behind me pushing the car until I bumped into her a little harder than expected. The poor girl got jostled more than she should have and came up off the seat a little.

After eating lunch we ended the day at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. This place is vast and has an abundance of wild birds to enjoy. We saw peer black ducks, black and white ducks, wood ducks, Canadian geese, snow geese, blue herons, and what looked to be a pelican. There was also a bunch of Californian gulls and a couple of falcons. This ends our second day in salt lake Utah.

Thank you for stopping to read this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it or looking through the pictures. Please feel free to comment, like or comment and like before you go.

I hope you all enjoy the week to come.