Robert Smithson

Spiral Jetty [41 26 16N, 112 40 08W]

Nancy Holt, creator of the Sun Tunnels, was married to an earthworks artist, Robert Smithson. Not far from the location of the Sun Tunnels, Smithson created an earthwork called the Spiral Jetty in 1970 along the north shore of the Great Salt Lake. I've never made it out there, but it would be an amusing side trip if visiting the Golden Spike area again. Turns out that Smithson died at age 35 in a plane crash while surveying a site for an earthwork to be called Amarillo Ramp. His wife implemented his design for Amarillo Ramp at a small, private lake northwest of Amarillo, Texas. Like many bodies of water in the Texas panhandle, the lake disappears during times of drought. But Amarillo Ramp is still visible 39 years after it was built.

Amarillo Ramp [35 22 31N, 102 01 48W]

Sun Tunnels

Here's a satellite view of a random spot in the Utah desert.

Well...maybe not so random. There is something unusual in the middle of the photo. Here's a closer look...

Can't tell what it is? Here's a ground level view...

Still confused? It should be obvious by now. Clearly, this is four sections of enormous concrete pipe arrayed in an X-pattern...

It's the sort of thing you see every day when wandering around in the desert. That's Ron inside. I'm standing on a raised marker at the crossing of the X-pattern in the pic below.

These pipes are not light; it took some effort to get them out here and "properly aligned". So...why would someone do this? Ask Nancy Holt.