After we left Golden Spike, we headed southwest toward the Great Salt Lake. We drove down a dirt road for roughly 16 miles turning only twice when prompted by small barely noticeable signs until the lake was visible. Soon thereafter, the road dead-ended into a small parking lot.

Here we could see Spiral Jetty, a piece of art, or earthwork, by Robert Smithson completed in April 1970. The jetty is comprised of six thousand tons of black basalt rock and earth which was collected from the site. The spiral is 1,500 feet long and 15 feet wide.

Spiral Jetty from parking lot

Although the view from the parking lot is sufficient, to get a better view of the jetty, we opted to climb the short but steep trail to the north of the parking lot. From there we could see the jetty and much of the shoreline.

As the lake rises and falls, the jetty remains in flux, at times covered with salty waves and at other times, like our visit, exposed to the elements. We were able to walk out to the jetty and follow its curves until the baking rays of the sun got the best of me.

Tiny spiral jetty