Desert Scuba

My son reaches down to touch the nose of the Nurse shark as it saunters up from the bottom of the bay to snatch a fish from Ron, Sea Base’s care taker. The little Mollys swarm a hand or foot left still in the water, and nibble at the surface skin as they swarm. Four-foot Angel fish jump for the food Ron tosses into the water, their powerful bodies quick and strong.
The ocean? Sea World? No, it’s Utah’s desert, nine hundred miles from the nearest ocean. In Grantsville, out past Toole, 40 miles west of Salt Lake City, Bonneville Seabase is a group of salty geothermal springs that have been turned into bays – diving bays. Three pools that drop as deep as 63 feet are stocked by Linda Nelson and her husband George Sanders, with a dozen varieties of tropical fish that technically shouldn’t be able to survive in this water.
This is Utah’s inland diving ocean. With three connecting bays, platforms for divers, a sunken ship called the “Sheer Joy” as well as a water tunnel connecting White Rocks Bay to Habitiat Bay, this unique inland ocean was designed as a dive training site where scuba divers can come and do their deep water dives to complete their certification. My sons and I are here on assignment from Wasatch Woman magazine. For more info tune into the magazine. Keeping it real: visibility was very low. Had we not been there for feeding time I'm not sure i would have believed the fish were really there. I've heard some people feel ripped off after going out and seeing nothing, but others feel like it's the most surreal experience to be seeing tropic fish, including the shark, in the middle of the desert. Some huge fish cruise these waters. The place rents out all your digs and gear.

Kays Creek Parkway: Layton

Family friendly trail! This is a community walkway in what appears to be a nature preserve area.One of many sections that Layton is developing, the path is paved and from the Adam J. Walker trailhead (Center trailhead) you can head either east to the Oak Forest trailhead, or the Canyon View trailhead. There is also a west trailhead that is unnamed (1450 E. access). From the Adam Walker trailhead it is .75 mile to either trailhead. A scout put up nice fauna markers along the trails with detailed descriptions of the animals in the area. My boys jumped off the trail, down into Kays Creek, (small and winding)and spent the afternoon with boy toys: rocks, water, sticks, mud, reeds. The trail is flat heading west and gains 200' heading east to the Oak Forest Access. Bird song was profuse! Dogs allowed on a leash. The greenery is filled in nicely and we had a great afternoon in a nature retreat around Hobbs reservoire which provides Kays Creek irrigation. The area feels secluded but sits right in the middle of a residential area.

Ferguson Canyon: Salt Lake Hike

All I can say is that this has been a great week for groovy new canyon finds! I attended a hiking presentation at REI last week where I bought the book from the presenter. (Will leave book unnamed) With the book I found the trailhead, but after that all his beta was wrong. There is no way the author hiked this trail. Though the book says it's an easy hike it is actually quite challenging. The trail is primarily a boulder path once you pass the 1/2 mile mark, and it climbs and climbs. There is over 1000' of elevation gain in the first mile. The highlights of this hike are the waterfalls!! One after another. The air is cool and fresh and wet. Boulders the size of 20" televisions make up the path, but it follows the stream up this narrow canyon. My GPS says it was about 2 miles to the top where the trail leads up and out of the canyon to the north, then crosses over to a lookout point down into Big Cottonwood Canyon. Phenom views from here as well as great views in the first portion of the trail. Granite bubbles make for well used climbing walls along the route and an interesting granite cave in the first 1/2 mile. Loved the trail! Take a walking stick.

Hiking Neff Canyon

First time ever to Neffs Canyon. Great little trailhead with plenty of parking. Just a small jaunt through a residential area to get to it. Only had 2 hours for the trail. Trailhead sits at 5585', we went for 1.8 miles to the Mt. Olympus Wilderness Boundary at 6650'. Todd and I both loved the canyon. A new find for both of us, the trail was steep in places. The first section has been widened for vehicle access. Very rocky in spots. Narrow canyon and the weather was great, so even though we were truckin' it on snow a bit there was no wind. Great views of Antelope Island and some funky rock formations higher up the canyon walls. This is where Mt. Olympus spring water comes from. Trucks take the water from Neffs canyon to a bottling facility in Salt Lake. This canyon will be beautiful in the summer and more so in the fall when the leaves fill in then change color. Lots of deciduous trees. Dogs are permitted as this is not a watershed canyon. Supposed to be 5.5 miles RT. We'll see. Definitely a canyon to get into again.

Baer Canyon: Kaysville

For Mother's Day I grabbed my friend George and my dog Miss Molly and we went to explore a trail I had not yet hiked. Baer Canyon is not one of Davis County's nicest trails, but it's a pathway into the mountains next to a stream, and that's always something to be appreciated.

Once at the trailhead I found that the new batteries I put in my GPS were really old batteries and so I have no elevation or distance readings, but the weather was perfect for a day on the trail. The trail through Baer Canyon is rocky and prone to erosion. Many parts of the trail are falling into the creek below. There are a couple fire rings available off the trail, all look well used. We hiked for a couple hours and there was still more trail to go, but George needed to head home for a family party. Miss Molly got tired and hot and laid in the creek for a good 5 minutes to cool down. Dogs are allowed on the trail, just make sure to kick the dog doo off the trail or pack it out. We met up with a couple different set of hikers, with their dogs, otherwise the trail was quiet.

To get to the trailhead: from U.S. 89 turn east at 400 North. Trun right again onto Mountain road and follow to East Oaks drive, to 1800 E. Take a left on 1800 East. Follow the road to a deadend then turn sharply right onto a small road that leads up to the parking area.

Adams Canyon Hike: Layton

Adams Canyon is one of Davis County's most popular hikes. It has a spacious parking area that is easily accessed right off U.S. 89. The trail begins in the northeast corner of the parking area. Yesterday I hiked Adams with the Davis County Meetup Group. A wonderful day to be out on the trail. I was reminded how important it is just to get out and sit next to a river, to tune back into nature. I kept wanting to stop and sit on a rock and do a little meditating, but the group was pressing forward and I didn't feel like I could. The hike took 1.5 hours to get to the falls. Its 2.5 miles up for a total day of 5 miles up and back. There were plenty of people on the trail, but there are places one feels much solitude. A couple campsites had warm fires from the night before.

The first .5 mile from the parking area is an uphill(gain between 400-500 ft) trudge over a sandy path. This is my least favorite part, especially on a hot day. But, once you arrive at the top of this foothill you have the view out across all of Davis County, the Great Salt Lake, and Farmington Bay. At the top of this foothill the trail intersects with the Bonneville Shoreline trail. The BST and Adams Canyon trail share the same path into the canyon where the BST then continues over a bridge and south, whereas the Adams Canyon trail heads east and into the canyon. Exposure to the sun declines and you enter the cover of trees while hiking next to Holms Creek and an array of small waterfalls that culminates at the end with a 40 foot waterfall that makes the hike worth every step. The trail is well defined with exception of a few spots where it appears to end and one must look closely for the trail that takes you up and over rock faces or across the rock face. This trail is fun because the terrain is a mix of scramble, wide-path hiking and river crossing. To get to the waterfall at the end you will need to cross the stream, so plan to get your shoes a little wet. Great picnic area, or just a wonderful place to rest and cool off. I love the way this path is deeply covered by the greenery and tree cover. I love hiking next to the creek, and I love having a destination-worthy waterfall at the end.

To get to the trailhead: From U.S. 89 turn east onto the frontage road at an unmarked road just north of Oakhills Drive (Traffic light). Once on the frontage road head south for approximately a half mile and you'll run right into the parking area.