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"I've
seen things you people wouldn't believe...." Roy Batty, Replicant, speaking to Deckerd, a Blade Runner, in the film Blade Runner. Much like Roy, I have been places you can only imagine. This page
will show you some of those places. Scroll down to see photos and descriptions of what you have missed.
These are the Places I've Been and You
Haven't Scroll down to
read about the places
Antelope Island, the Great Salt Lake, Utah Confluence
of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers
Baker, California
Writing
Rock State Historical Site, North Dakota
I've been
someplace you have never been to, and probably never will. The reason you will never go
there is not because it isn't a scenic place, because it is. It won't be because it isn't accessible, becaus it is. And it won't be because you can't find it, because it is clearly marked on an map of the area. No, the reason you won't go there is because you've never heard of it. 
And that's a shame, because it is certainly worth your time. The
place is Antelope Island, Utah. It sits in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. You access it via Antelope Island State Park, and it is well worth a visit. We were there in Mid-April of 2010 on a fine sunny day. Despite having been in the area several times, this was our first visit to the island. You
may have heard of the Great Salt Lake, the largest lake in the Western United States and the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere. Antelope Island is the largest
Island in the Great Salt Lake. The Island is home to several species of animals, including mule
deer, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, bobcats, badgers, porcupines, jackrabbits and several species
of rodents. 
Not to mention a large herd of Bison. Yes, there are over 500
Bison on Antelope Island. In fact there may be more Bison on Antelope Island than there are
Antelope. I don't think anyone knows for sure. What is for sure is that you are reasonably
likely to see one if you visit the island, and you probably won't have to look very hard.
This one was only 20 feet off the main road. 
Other than the occaisonal Bison, the best reason to visit Antelope Island is for the views
of the Great Salt Lake and surrounding area. According to Wikipedia, the Great Salt Lake is
the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world, the 37th-largest lake on Earth. In an average year the lake covers an nearly 1,700 square miles, but it's size fluctuates significantly because it is so shallow. For example, in 1963
it reached its lowest recorded level at 950 square miles, but in 1987 the surface area was at
the historic high of 3,300 square miles.  From Antelope Island you can see the majesty of the Wasatch Mountains. The
snow-capped peaks will have snow though June. The development you see at the base of the mountains
are some of the northern bedroom communities of Salt Lake City - Layton, Roy, Clearfield, Syracuse,
to name a few. It has been said that you can float in the Great Salt Lake due to the high salinitiy.
In fact, if you are light enough and walk carefully, you can actually walk on the water of the Great Salt Lake.  Well, I wouldn't say that definitively, but in some cases it seems like it would be possible. Should you ever find yourself travelling along I-15 in northern Utah and see a sign for Antelope
Island, do your self a favor and take the short side trip to Antelope Island State Park in the
Great Salt Lake. Not only will you enjoy your stay, but they you too will be able to say, "I've
been to a place you've never been to" - and in virtually every conversation you will have,
that statement will be correct. Confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Confluence – defined as ‘a
flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like.’ 
Therefore the Confluence
of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers is where the two rivers flow together. I have been there, and you have not. The confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers was first reached by the Lewis and
Clark expedition in
the Spring of 1805. After having spent the winter with the Mandan’s the Corps of Discovery was anxious to get underway. They followed
the Missouri on their way to the Columbia, not knowing at the time they would use the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone as a rendezvous a year later. 
What I do know, that you
did not until you read this, is that there is a very nice interpretive center on the shore of the Missouri where the two rivers come together. It is small,
well-maintained and visited by very few people. In fact I have been there twice. On one occasion I was the only visitor there, on
the other I was one of three.  The most interesting about
the site from my perspective is how the rivers have changed course over the 200 years since Lewis and Clark passed through the area. There in an interpretive
sign outside of the structure which shows where the banks of the river where when the expedition came through the area. This is the only way to try to visualize what
the men actually saw as they made their key decision. 
The only disappointment
I had with the confluence center is that it is difficult to get an overview of the confluence itself. As you can see from this photo, it’s hard to see the actual joining
of the waters. It would be nice to have a tower or lookout created where a person could have a better, more complete view of this historic confluence.
But that is not the case. Perhaps
it is better this way after all. It isn’t today what it was 200 years ago, so you wouldn’t see what the captains saw when they
first came to this site. Like the captains themselves, the confluence of their day is no more. 
So though I have been
there, I arrived too late to the site the way the captains saw it. But at least I have been there. Add as we now both know, that
puts me ahead of you, for I have been there and you have not. GPS Coordinates are 47.58.37.27 N 103.58.51.90 W.
 Baker, California
We happened to find ourselves Northbound on I-15 in California
mid-June of 2009, low on gas, a Mom and Dad who needed a place to stop and regroup and two boys who need to use a restroom. Unfortunately this occurred in the middle of the desert. Yet up ahead, what
we first thought to be a shining oasis, then reasessed our opinion to a deserted ghost town, turned out to be much worse -
it was Baker, California.
 As you can see in the photo above, the temperature
was a mild 108 at about 10:30 AM. Just another day in Paradise. When you approach Baker heading North on the I-15 freeway
you notice what you hope is a bad mirage. As you get closer you realize your eyes are not playing tricks on you - there
really is settlement there. Nestled cozily among the baking rocks and scraggly desert plants are the dozen or so buildings
that make up the town. Perhaps it is a ghost town, you think to yourself. Surely no one actually lives here.
Curiosity gets the best of you and you take the exit, expecting to cruise down the deserted street and get back on the freeway
a mile or two down the road.
 As you cruise the main drag, you casually glance out
your window and to your abject horror you notice a person walking down the street. Could it be that Baker California is not
a ghost town but a place were real people actually LIVE? Perhaps it is simply a regugee camp of some sort. But no, as
you proceed you find there is a gas station in Baker. That's when it hits you. Someone decided there had to be
a town between Barstow and the Nevada state line simply to provide services for travelers.Well, that makes sense, you think
to yourself, and silently bless whichever bureaucrat made that decision.
 This photo is proof you can purchase goods and services
in Baker. You may not want to, but it's good to know you can.The more you see of Baker (and there isn't that much) you
realize this place exists for the sole purpose of serving travellers crossing the desert. To those hot and thirsty travellers,
Baker is an oasis of sorts - it beats dying of thirst if your vehicle has run out of gas. On the other hand, for the hardy
souls that Call Baker home, I'd call it more of a Purgatory.
 Here is the landmark of Baker - the World's Tallest
Thermometer. At least that is the claim made on the plaque attached to
the base of this structure. GPS
Coordinates are 35°15′ 59 39″N 116°04.21′92″W. I don't know if 'the tallest thermometer' claim has been verified by anyone, but on the other
hand, why would anyone build a thermometer any taller? The story goes they madeit 134 feet tall to represnet what was,
at the time, the highest recoreded temperature in the area. Or maybe it was just a gimmick to lure the occasional tourist
who has made a point of visiting every Tallest, Smallest, Cutest or Most Inane roadside attraction in the United States. Other
than buying fuel, food, water or using a restroom, there really isn't any other reason to visit Baker. I know this sounds
very mean-spirited, and I don't consider myself a mean person. I have been many places, and there aren't many I'd avoid
going bak to more than Baker. There just simply isn't anything there, and it's too far away from anywhere I would want
to be. I have tried to think of a redeeming feature of this town, and couldn't come up with one. Okay, I didn't spend
a whole lot of time working on it, that is true. Still, how long can you contemplate Baker before realizing your brain
cells are melting in the desert heat?
 Before we knew it, our time in Baker came to an end.
Our fuel tank full, our bladders empty and our thirst slaked, we piled into the suburban and with Camping Machine in tow,
we drove down the main drag toward I-15 Northbound. Next stop, Las Vegas. As we made our way out of Baker we
looked at the sights one last time - no, it didn't take long - and captured one last photograph of our visit to the tiny hamlet
in the desert. I have no idea who is represented in this statue, why it is here or what significance, if any, it may
have. In one sense, perhaps, that sums up our visit and perhaps the town of Baker as well - Why is it here?
Writing
Rock State Historical Site, North Dakota
Along the high-line in western North Dakota, hard
by the Canadian border in the vast, empty space sits a place called Writing Rock state historical site. If you've ever
heard of the bustling metropolis of Grenora, North Dakota, you're closer than most people to Writing Rock. If by some chance you drive northeast out of Grenora into some
of the most desolate land you've never hope to be in, you might stumble upon what appears to be a little park or playground
in what is, truly, the middle of nowhere. "How on earth did a little park get her?" you might ask. "There's
a playground, picnic tables, a barbecue pit...but no people. Did I somehow step into The Twilight Zone?"  No, you didn't. The answer is nearly 1,000 years old.It
seems that about ten centuries ago, give or take a couple few decades, some Native Americans carved artwork into two large
granite stones.The Native Americans moved on, the boulders stayed put, more or less. Fast forward a thousand years,
and the carved stones have become treasured artifacts from our past, something to be saved and shared. Something to be protected.Removed
from their original resting place, they were moved to a stone structure built specifically to secure them and protect them
from vandalism.  An admirable objective, to be sure. This way the half-dozen
or so people who might stumble upon this place while hopelessly lost would be able to view the stones, yet not damage them.
It was unbelievable
to me when I visited this site that these spectacular stones were hidden behind iron bars in a dark stone building where it
is virtually impossible to see the intricacies of the carvings. To be sure, it is almost impossible to touch the stones, though
I did manage to reach in between the bars and just get my finger to feel the rough texture of the rock. With that said, it
was a major disappointment to have come as far as I did to see this site, only to find the stones imprisoned in a dark, dreary
stone crypt. In the photo to the right
you can just make out some of the intricate detail the original artists left on the stone. How much more impressive
would this site be if the boulder were sitting out in the open. At the time of day I arrived, it was late afternoon.
The land was bereft of human occupation as far as I could see. I could almost imagine a small band of Native Americans
wandering across the prairie, hunting game, coming across this stone and deciding to leave their message, their mark, their
story upon the stone.  Today the story is told through an interpretive sign.
Yes, you can see the rocks, and if you are inventive and have long arms, you can actually touch the rock (not that I encourage
this, but there will be no one around for at least 50 miles in any direction, so who is to know?). Still, it's a bit
sad that a more natural way to display the work the artist created so many years ago cannot be enjoyed and appreciated in
a more appropriate setting.And if for some reason Native American Rock Art is not your think, well, take a look at that playground!
Now there's a place to bring your kids for an afternoon of play. I guarantee they won't have to fight the other children
for a turn on the swings! Writing Rock State Historical Site is located located about twelve miles northeast of Grenora in Divide County, North Dakota, close to the Montana border
to the west and the Canadian border to the north. GPS Coordinates are 48°46′51″N 103°51′33″W
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