Antelope Island

Just seven miles across a causeway in the Great Salt Lake and you're a million miles away from Route 15 and hectic Salt Lake City and its suburbs.  We dry camped a couple of days there and would have stayed three but our generator is not charging our batteries for some reason. (A problem to solve during our next long lay over.) This is where we camped:

The campground is nestled right under that far hill, overlooking Bridger Bay.

Antelope Island is a beautiful Utah State Park. It is minimally developed, with just a visitor's center, a campground with no hookups, some trails, and a ranch. The causeway is a great place to bird watch for shore birds. We saw avocets, long-billed curlews, Wilson's phalarope, black-necked stilts, California gulls, and a couple of glossy ibis I think. Great fun.

Avocets

The Great Salt Lake itself is better viewed from afar. The water level is low, and the shore line is pretty gunked up with dead brine shrimp, flies and algae. It's pretty stinky as well. Not inviting for swimming, though it was hot enough while we were there, so we stuck to the land.

The textures of Antelope Island
(clockwise from upper left:brine flies, broken salt pan, brine shrimp,
buffalo chip, grasses, sunflowers, buffalo hoof prints, avocet)

The old historic Fielding Garr Ranch was purchased by the state and is now home to over 700 bison, antelope, deer, long horn sheep, coyote, some smaller mammals and about 13 horses for hire through R&G Horse and Wagon. A guide will take you almost anywhere you want to go on the southern end of the island. Sounded good to me!

Here's my excellent guide,  Jessica.

Here' s my view of the lake 

           from up high on the island 

                                   (and the saddle):

                                 

Guess who, wrangling her horse out on the salt flats.