February 7, 2010
Yesterday Simon and I went with a good friend of ours , Andrew Weiss, to the Sulton Sea in California. We Packed up and headed to his place on Friday night after Simon got off work at 9:30, and then headed out the following morning at 7:00 am. The morning was pretty cold for phoenix and the three of us were exhausted and uncomfortable. With Andrew driving, we headed out of town for the 4 hour drive.
The Sultan Sea is the largest lake in California and is saltier than sea water. It is also below sea level and has 3 rivers flowing unto it but no outflow, making it constantly changing. These things make for a very unique place. At first look you notice the thousands of shells that make up the ground, all from the same barnacle type animals, long dead. The next most common site would be birds or dead fish but their smell hits you first. At first glance a place of destitute and death with the pelicans as its vultures. However, even with the evident air of decay, there is a lot of life. Plants start growing a ways off from the sea and go on for miles. The birds feast on the many fish still surviving in the salty lake, and there is fungi on the sloppy shores. With so many new visions in front of us, we took up our cameras and started shooting.
Andrew is the photographer of the bunch. It was his idea to go his second time for the sole purpose of taking photos. Since I am in Digital photography this semester, Simon and I were able to tag along. He was even nice enough to let me use his old camera so Simon could use ours. Not too long after arriving, it started to rain on and off, but all three of us still got some amazing shots. Even with forgetting appropriate shoes, I slopped around in the mud to get the best angles. Im not sure my yellow flats will ever recover and I still have a little piece of shell stuck in my foot, but I got a picture of them so my teacher will appreciate it. :)
All of us were covered in mud and sweat by the time we left for the long ride back. I am sure the car would have smelled horrific to anyone else, but to us, it was a haven from the fish rot.
Once finally home we were able to look at our pictures and i even started to edit a few. I am presenting them as my art pieces for yesterday and today. I know I still owe you one for the 5th, but I don't have it photographed yet, so I'll post it with tomorrows. As for the sea, I do recommend for any one who likes the outdoors, unique experiences, and are not afraid of bad smells or getting dirty, to visit the Sulton Sea. The place is one of a kind and incredibly interesting. Thank you as always for reading and I hope you like the pictures! If you want to see more from the trip check out my gallery at foundmyself.com/gallery/nikkiandsimon .See you tomorrow!
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