Soaring Above the Salty Shores: A Bird’s Eye View of Great Salt Lake
As I soared over the vast expanse of Great Salt Lake, nestled between the Wasatch Mountains to the east and the Traverse Mountains to the west, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer scale of this natural wonder. Straddling the border between California and Colorado, my small Cessna aircraft had taken off from Palm Springs, California, bound for Denver, Colorado. But it was the leg of the journey that crossed over the Great Salt Lake that proved to be a highlight of the trip – a visual feast of salinity, geology, and sheer beauty.
[Image: Aerial shot of Great Salt Lake]
As we flew over the lake’s surface, I marveled at the strange, alien-like landscape. The lake’s waters are a vibrant shade of orange, a result of high concentrations of salt and algae. The surrounding terrain was a mix of rocky cliffs, sandy dunes, and scrubby vegetation, all sculpted by millions of years of wind, water, and geological erosion.
To the north of the lake, the majestic Wasatch Mountains rose like giants, their rugged peaks still capped with a layer of snow even in mid-summer. The Rocky Mountains, too, lay in the distance, a jagged spine stretching south towards New Mexico. Against this backdrop of towering ranges, the lake’s diminutive size was a jarring reminder of the landscape’s sheer scale.
Flying over the lake’s southwestern shore, I spotted small towns and cities, tiny specks of human settlement amidst the vast expanse of wilderness. The metropolis of Salt Lake City, Utah’s capital and largest city, lay spread out before me, a sprawling urban landscape of gray buildings and green parks.
As we continued eastwards, the lake’s eastern shore gave way to a more rugged, rocky landscape, punctuated by jagged outcroppings of rock and sandy valleys. The air grew colder, and the wind whipped up, sending wispy clouds scudding across the sky.
[Image: Aerial shot of the Wasatch Mountains]
Eventually, we left Great Salt Lake behind, winging our way over the rolling hills and plains of eastern Utah and western Colorado. The landscape flattened out, and the air warmed up, as we dipped into the valleys and rivers of the Rocky Mountains’ eastern flank.
As the sun began to set, casting a golden glow across the landscape, I caught a glimpse of the mountains’ snow-capped peaks glowing pink and orange, bathed in the soft, golden light of dusk. It was a moment that left me breathless – a reminder of the jaw-dropping beauty that awaited us at every turn.
In the end, as we touched down at Denver’s Stapleton Airport, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for the 500-mile journey that had taken me over the most spectacular landscapes of the West. The Great Salt Lake, with its eerie colors and otherworldly geology, had been just one highlight of a thrilling aerial adventure – a constant reminder of the awe-inspiring beauty that lies just beyond our reach.