The Beauty of Antelope Island

Antelope Island has been very good to me the past two days.  On Friday, we had a great IOP basing near the Fielding Garr Ranch.  U grad student Trey Alvey took the shot below at the end of the IOP.  Talk about a great vantage point for orographic precipitation research.

Driving around the island in the rain yesterday morning reminded me that I needed to return, so we took a quick trip there this morning to survey the views and the bison.  The photo below is from Buffalo Point.  Hard to believe this is a short drive from metropolitan Utah.  There was an interesting cumulus streamer reminiscent of a banner cloud forming on the lee side of Farnsworth Peak (Oquirrh Mountains). 

One has to wonder what it was like for the pioneers to gaze upon this body of water after traveling for weeks across the plains and mountains. 

A highlight of the day was watching this beast lumbering through the grass.

Medium range forecasts suggest a below average snow week ahead with above average temperatures.  Not good for storm chasing or skiing.  Perhaps I'll return to Antelope Island with my bike over the holiday weekend.