Sunset at the Salt Flats

Sunset at the Salt Flats

Sitting on the edge of Utah’s western border are the Salt Flats. A mysterious and magnificent spot. The land crusted with hard salt that breaks apart easily under your feet. There is really only one way to make something so unique a little more special. That is to spend a sunset at the Salt Flats.

Flat Earth

The curve of the Earth seems to flatten at the Salt Flats. A thin line of white that is as flat as piece of paper laying on its side. For as far as the eye can see to the east, the land looks as if it has been hand planed. No hills, no bumps, just the occasional lump of salt pushed to the side by wind or a footprint. It is hard to tell the difference between the crusted land with the twilight horizon.

A look to the north has the same flat ground but with a noticeable difference. Like a marble floor leading to a brick chimney, the flats lay at the ground before exploding into a peak stretching for the sky. The jagged rock shadowy and shrouded in the low sun. Like ships passing on the distant sea. The shape discernable, but the details muted.

As the eyes turn to the west the forces of nature seem to combine into a canvas of colors. The white ground dissolves, like, well, salt in water, in the orange glow of the setting sun. The last rays of life illuminating the remnants of the death of a salted sea. The salt glowing a pale purple in protest of the fading light. A line of rock trying to block the final bits of light from drying the cracked ground even more. Simply magnificent.

The Dying Light

Millions of years ago the setting Sun would have showered billions of gallons of water of this massive lake in golden beams of light in this very spot. It seems more fitting now. The dying light of the summers longest day spreading across, and then fading, over the flat salt-filled ground.

To me sunrises represent all of the possibilities that a new day brings. Sunsets are more reflective. I can’t think of a more perfect place to see a sunset then the salt flats. The soft ground just a shadow of its once greatness. Yet, completely mesmerizing in its new form. The loss of a lake led to the resilience of the soil. In a way, mirroring the resilience of each who steps on this place. No matter how bad a day was, how tired, sore, happy, or elated a person was, they were all in mirrored awe seeing this spot. Watching it disappear with the sun.

The sunset hides the secret of the salted soil for another 8 hours or so. Allowing it to fill another with joy in the next moment. The mysteries shielded in darkness once more. The orange glow of the lights last breath absorbed. The warmth held onto and stored in the salt covered dirt. The sunsetting on a place that has already lost one battle with time but was reborn. Reborn with a new beauty, a new awe, and a new wonder. Just like each of us who see the final hours of sun pass us by and lay down in the dark. Full of the stories of the day. Ready to awaken and be reborn with the return of the sun. A blank page in hand. A new story to be written. That is what the sunset at the Salt Flats meant to me. Anticipation of what the next day will bring. And what before unseen wonders this world can possess.

More from The Fatman

If you enjoyed this post you may enjoy more of the posts on my Fatman’s Rambling page. Blogs such as “Screw it, I’m Trying”, “Hiking Alone not Lonely Hiking“, “Winslow, Arizona” and “Lost in the Woods” as well as many others may interest you there. If you have any comments or topics you would like me to cover, feel free to email me at fatmanlittletrails@gmail.com. Or you can keep the conversation going by following me on any of the below social media platforms.