The Island

            After writing my last article about lake monsters, I got the itch to go out to Antelope Island and re-explore the buffalo-infested locale. So, I grabbed my little boy, a diaper bag, and some snacks and headed out there late Sunday morning.Even though the weather wasn't perfect for an island getaway, we needed a day tripand there were promising patches of blue sky visible in the midst of the cloudysky.

As my son and I crossed the Great Salt Lake via the causeway, he began to cry. He had just woken up from a nap and I knew he was hungry. In order to entertain him and help stop the flow of tears, I began making North Shore Monster noises. I doubt any of my attempts truly captured the monster’s terrifying nature, mostly because my son smiled at each different bellow or grunt I tried. By the time we reached the island, neither one of us was scared of the monster because of how silly I was making him sound.

A wintry Sunday afternoon is the best time of year to visit Antelope Island, given the fact that there seemed to be only five other vehicles on the island besides ours. If you want to do more than simply drive around the state park, though, you may want to wait for spring or summer to visit. The sun, when it appeared, couldn’t do much against the chilly lake winds, so we stayed in the car and searched the landscape for buffalo.

There are somewhere between 550 and 700 buffalo on Antelope Island. I’m not sure how that number fluctuates, but for such a small island, that’s a lot of buffalo. I don’t know where they were all hiding, because we merely caught a glimpse of maybe eight or nine of them. And they were all a good distance from the roadway. The one animal that decided to make an appropriate appearance was a pronghorn antelope. While all six vehicles on the island convened to check out the antelope, it posed and slowly walked about, clearly enjoying the attention. I think most of us visitors were relieved to have at least one story to share about the wildlife on our trip to Antelope Island, since the buffalo weren’t cooperating.

Luckily buffalo aren’t the only attraction on the island. There are short and long hikes, a visitor center, picnic areas (with restaurants that serve buffalo burgers), and an old ranch. It’s interesting to walk around the ranch and try to imagine what it would have been like before the causeway existed. On clear days, you’d be able to look out over the lake and see Salt Lake City, knowing full well that there were probably a few dances or horse carriage races going on there, but you were stuck out there on that island, tending the livestock and watching out for the North Shore Monster. Ranch life is difficult in general, but ranch life on an isolated island is hard to beat.

Snow began to fall as my boy and I left the ranch and traveled back toward the entrance to the island. It was like the sky was trying to put Antelope Island to sleep with a cold blanket. The snow helped create a quiet ending to a long day. My little guy and I were both tired and ready to go home. Antelope Island was the perfect day trip destination and I look forward to coming back soon to take my son on one of the numerous hikes that affords beautiful panoramic views of the Wasatch Front and the Great Salt Lake. Oh, and search for a monster, too.