I was driving in Utah, west of Salt Lake, when I came upon an unexpected find in the middle of nowhere. I pulled off the road at a rest stop. For miles outward, no growth, no structures, just smooth white surface. The Bonnevile Salt Flats. They stretch out to the base of hills in the distance. I walked out, felt the cool breeze flowing in the sunshine, touched my finger to the hard crystalline ground then tasted. I looked out and experienced the utter hugeness. If I were more adventurous I would have waited the six hours or so for the moon to rise high, to see what moonlight looks like reflected from an immense natural mirror.

I felt changed, larger, for having stopped there.