Clueless tourists (Salt Lake City, Fielding: beach, swimming, bike)

[SWFL_Native]

I personally find the “great” salt lake to be the least interesting thing to visit but I’m also from Florida and grew up on an island with salt water.

https://sanibel-captiva.org/wp-conte...Play-Beach.jpg

But with that said outside of Utah there are many negative stereotypes and misperceptions about the area and it’s people that simply aren’t true. I’m ok with it as the more people that don’t move here the better (IMO).

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

I personally find the “great” salt lake to be the least interesting thing to visit but I’m also from Florida and grew up on an island with salt water.

https://sanibel-captiva.org/wp-conte...Play-Beach.jpg

But with that said outside of Utah there are many negative stereotypes and misperceptions about the area and it’s people that simply aren’t true. I’m ok with it as the more people that don’t move here the better (IMO).

I don't think it's so much the lake that's interesting, but Antelope Island. I think it's absolutely intriguing and the best spot around for some incredible photographs. And this year's annual Bison Roundup is coming right up. Bet you didn't have one of those on your Florida island!

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by LesLucid

Not only are people ignorant of many things, they’re sometimes clueless even when the facts are staring them in the face. I was visiting a lake with a group and walked out onto the dam with a person just to get a better view. We’re just standing there looking at the lake and she asks, “Is this natural or man made?”

Lake Mead...

...ever heard of a reservoir?

[Hiruko]

It was formed by the Hoover Dam which is made of quite a bit of concrete...

[SWFL_Native]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I don't think it's so much the lake that's interesting, but Antelope Island. I think it's absolutely intriguing and the best spot around for some incredible photographs. And this year's annual Bison Roundup is coming right up. Bet you didn't have one of those on your Florida island!

I see your bison roundup and raise you a pumpkin regatta this weekend!

[Katzpur]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

I see your bison roundup and raise you a pumpkin regatta this weekend!

You win! I've always wanted to go to the bison roundup, though. It sounds like a lot of fun to watch.

[English Ivy]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

I see your bison roundup and raise you a pumpkin regatta this weekend!

Ha! How silly. I want to try it.

[some boring guy]

Come on, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect someone visiting Salt Lake City to have heard of, like, the Salt Lake. Or at least to put their thinking cap on ahead of time and think "hum, Salt Lake City...I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lake involved!" and not appear dumbfounded when someone brings up the Great Salt Lake. Clearly y'all have never made fun of any ridiculous questions/statements in your lives before

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by Katzpur

I volunteer one or two days a week at the Salt Lake City visitors center (aka the "welcome center"). I give people maps of the city and state, direct them to places of interest, provide them with recommended restaurants and tell them where they can buy a new charger for their phone, etc. Yesterday, a man and woman came in. They appeared to be roughly 70 years old. They were from a large city in the Midwest (I won't be more specific, so as not to embarrass anyone who might be from there). After giving them some suggestions for some of the things they might want to do right in the city, I asked if they would like to see "the lake" while they were here. So, here's how that conversation went...

Me: Did you want to see the lake while you're here?
Man: What lake?
Me: Uh... The Great Salt Lake.
Man: What's that?
Me: *staring at him, speechless, and wondering whether or not to laugh at his joke*
Man: I've never heard of it.
Me: *looking at him and then at his wife* You've never heard of The Great Salt Lake?
Woman: *looking clueless but remaining silent* Um... Well, uh, maybe.
Man: No, what is it?
Me: It's the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere. It has a salinity that is up around 28%, which is roughly 7 times saltier than ocean water. It's impossible to sink in it.
Woman: *looking like the light bulb just went on* Oh... Is that how Salt Lake City got its name?

Okay, I realize that we can all be a bit egocentric about our hometowns and surroundings, and I'd be the first to admit that neither Utah, nor the Great Salt Lake nor Salt Lake City is the center of the universe, but were these two people really more uninformed than the average American retirees? They were clearly hearing about "the lake" for the first time in their lives.

This got my attention. I lived in Montana and we used to call people like that tourons. They flocked to Yellowstone and Glacier. What's sad is geography doesn't seem to be taught in schools anymore. I don't think too many people know what states or countries are anymore.

[rainroosty]

The person that asked if it is man-made and the person that asked if the deer change to elk at a given point are both absolutely correct.