2:30am and my alarm is blaring. I peel my eyes open, and face only darkness in my room. I cannot believe I am awake right now. On many occasions I have gone to bed at this hour, and now here I am, forcing myself to not only wake up, but to get out of bed and drive two and a half hours to Bonneville, and for what? An Instagram photo?
"There is no reason anyone should be out of bed out of bed at this hour." I grumble to Abbey. She doesn't respond as she has already fallen back asleep.
I drag myself out of bed and make a quick breakfast for the road. I blend my smoothie extra loud, using the noise to wake Abbey up.
The next two and a half hours a driving are kind of a blur. We talked, we sang, we caffeinated. Stan, my trusty puppy sidekick, slept in the back. Finally, at 5:00am we arrived at our destination, Bonneville Salt Flats. We were greeted with a line of cars waiting to take the ramp onto the flats, and if I am being honest, a pretty underwhelming view. We had arrived too early. The area was still pretty dark, but not dark enough to see the stars. It mostly just looked ominous and other-worldly. "Had I really gotten up at 2:30 in the morning for this? It's just a great big nothing" I thought.
Because patience is not my strongest skill, and I drive a pretty hefty SUV, I decided to opt out of the ramp onto the flats, and drove Abbey, Stan, and I into the Great Big Nothing.
We drove for what seemed like forever. The nothing seemed to be endless. The salt stretched for miles, fenced in only by the mountains. Finally, we had decided we had gone far enough. I parked the car, and we waited for the sun to rise.
Sunrises are magically. No matter where you are, there is something so uniquely beautiful about seeing the sun wake up. It is energizing, and relaxing all at once. The sunrise at the Bonneville Salt Flats, however, was unreal.
The reflection of the sunbeams over the flat, completely uninterrupted, and unstoppable was breath taking. The feeling of the salt between my toes was incredibly grounding, and the colors were unlike anything I had ever seen. It felt like I was in a painting.
As we drove back out of the flats, however, the painting I was living in got a lot messier. As we attempted to get back onto the road, my car got stuck in a pit of mud, that seemed to be about a mile thick. Remember that part about me driving a pretty hefty SUV? Turns out that doesn't save you from a swimming pool of sludge.
After 10 minutes of pushing, and shoving, and hoping, my car finally made it out. My car was filthy. As we drove, my car shook and wobbled, thrown off balance by the weight of the dirt. There was so much filth in the wheel well that I literally had to scrape it out with my hands. It took four carwashes and a pressure wash to finally get all of Bonneville off of my car.
Butt crack of dawn wake up time, and vehicular mud bath aside though, the Bonneville Salt Flats were well worth it. I have never seen a more perfect sunrise, and I felt so recharged and invigorated by entire experience. I would 100% recommend this experience.
Pro Tips:
Camping overnight allows you to see incredible, unpolluted stars, and prevents you from having to wake up and drive to the flats
Enter and exit the flats on the ramp to avoid any mud related hazards, even if you have to wait in a line of cars
Take your shoes off in the flats. It is awesome to feel the salt between your toes
If you are traveling with a dog, be sure to bring a wet towel and water to wipe their paws off. The salt can irritate them.
Carwashes give you judgmental looks if you go back for seconds and thirds.
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