Being the only American on the panel, Danny felt it was only appropriate that she answer our next reader’s question.
Dear ASS Gurus,
I am beginning to finalize my plans to attend Sewing Summit in the fall, however I am concerned by the water situation. The city is called “Salt Lake City”, which, I’m guessing is the result of being founded near a lake of salt water. If that is the case, will the water be safe to drink? Should I bring my own water to the Summit?
Parched in Perth
Dear Parched,
You are completely correct. Salt Lake City was, in fact, founded near the Great Salt Lake in the American Southwest (although to call it SOUTH, when I live in Arizona, makes it a bit of a misnomer). Originally, the lake was a vast salt mine, spanning miles across Northern Utah. These particular salt mines were located in the Great Salt Valley (those Utah-ians are quite the wordsmiths). Upon settling, the founders fell to local folklore, which said luck would be bestowed upon those who spit down into the Great Salt Valley. At the time, prospectors were rolling westward in search of gold and since they were traveling west anyway, they would stop by the Great Salt Valley to spit and dribble and phlegm their way to luck. It would take many years to turn this valley to a lake, but now it has become a tourist attraction for people the world over.
That being said, I would highly recommend bringing your own water. The cost of the extra suitcase will be worth avoiding whatever diseases you may encounter from the water sources, since, as you must already know, all the water in Salt Lake City comes directly and unfiltered from the Great Salt Lake. And, folklore hasn’t changed much. If you are looking for some supernatural help when clawing at other shoppers going after the last fat quarter bundle of Field Study, you may want to go spit in the lake too.
And, because the Great Salt Lake was “formed” in place of the Great Salt Mines in the Great Salt Valley, the buoyancy is amazing. If you have ever wanted to float on water (and if your feet are big enough, WALK on water) Salt Lake City is the place to do it. Draw yourself a nice warm bath. You won’t even be able to touch the bottom of the tub! But do be careful not to open your eyes in the shower and maybe try not to wash your hands if you have a massive paper cut (or a tap from Guru Laura’s rotary blade). The burning is intense, and if I hear you scream, I won’t come to soothe your wounds. I will be there to tell you “I told you so”.
Some of you may be thinking, “What if I buy bottled water while at Sewing Summit?” and to that I must remind you those beautiful scenes of rushing springs and babbling brooks are actually just wall hangings in the immense corridors of water bottling plants, which essentially bring Salt Lake water in buckets into the plant to be funneled into the clear bottles. To be fair, they may add some chlorine to clear the water a bit.
So Parched, I leave you with the decision: to bring your own water or not to bring your own water.
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That's a whole load of gob …!
Yuck…. you will put people of attending. (Spitting in a lake) Is that what people do in America. Ha Ha
Hugs
I'm with Sarah!
I don't know whether to laugh or cry……or spit. Oma Linda
OMG! That explains so much! I was born just north of The Great Salt Lake and lived 45 miles from it for the first part of my life. I can add another warning to what Danny had to offer. If venturing into the Great Salt Lake to cool off by no means allow yourself to get tipped upside down because it's nearly impossible to right yourself again and you can drown just as easily in salt water as you can in any other kind of water.
All that gob! Yuk I don't think you 100 mls allowance on the plane will be enough somehow. :). Might need another plan!
Great answer, Danny! I live here in the Salt Lake Valley, and think I realize now why I retain so much water! 😉
Just throw in some pepper and that'll be some well seasoned water! Spit..gross much! =D
This is really a tourist spots in Monkey Mia. Love having a vacation in there.
Monkey mia tours
Priceless. I can't type for laughing!