30 August 2013 - Sunset on the Great Salt Lake

I've had a busy schedule. Lots of travel in August, this last week saw a whirlwind trip to Maine for a meeting. One of the best meetings I've had in a while. The office is in Waterville and sits right on the Kennebec River. The views from the office are wonderful. I can't imagine having a bad day at work when you can look out at a view like this and be calm. 

  I was feeling like I'd been tied to the house for a while so decided to drive out to the Great Salt Lake and watch the sun set. I took the long way, driving the two lane access road instead of using the freeway. This of course, resulted in stops to look at interesting things. 

My first stop was at the International Center. It is a magnet for migratory birds, so I thought I'd give it a quick look. Didn't see anything out of the ordinary. 

Found this feather floating on a pond. 

The edges of the pond were full of damselflies mating and laying eggs. I was hard put to find a single damselfly as they were flying in tamdem. 

I thought it was interesting that blues were mating with greens. I don't know much about damselflies--guess I thought males and females came in the same colors.

 

I was also bemused to see just where they are connected. Not where I would have expected, but I don't know much about their anatomy either. 

There are several really large ponds on the International Center's campus, mostly to make up for building on a wetlands area. 

 I particularly like this sculpture. The world is about three feet in diameter.

 










 


The other sculpture I liked was a natural phenomenon.  I can only image the process as this now tiny bamboo grows, splits the rock and the rock degrades tiny pieces. 














As I was leaving I turned around and looked back over the valley to the east. It was a gorgeous view. 

I continued down the road to my sunset destination. The world is changing into its fall attire. 

 
I found more fun on my way. But-- because of the dusky light, the pictures aren't the best, but you'll get the idea. 

First I watched this guy come in for a landing. He was sitting in what looked like a large version of a kid's trike, with a big fan behind him. 

Almost makes me want to try it.  Almost. 

Next I stumbled on a couple of photo shoots. 

The first one involved four models in black dresses. The results will probably be stunning with the background of the lake's shining white sand. I pulled over to watch for a minute. They were so far away, the camera could hardly focus on them. 

This next one made me laugh. Why is suddenly de rigueur to shoot models jumping in the air. She was having a hard time getting very high.

Further down the beach there was a photographer getting pictures of a bride and groom. 

It wasn't the most spectacular of GSL sunsets, but I had a wonderful time. It was good to get out and do nothing, more or less.