Have you ever seen a pink river? 
I saw one flowing into “Chott el Djerid” in Southern Tunisia. 
In Star Wars, Chott el Djerid is the setting for the Lars Homestead. 
We visited in June, when temperatures sometimes soar to 122°F (50°C),
causing intense evaporation so that the lake becomes a great salt flat. 
In fact, Chott el Djerid is the largest salt pan in the Sahara Desert:
5,000 square kilometers (2,700 sq. miles)! 
One of the most fascinating aspects of Chott el Djerid is that the water
is tinged with iron oxide, giving the salt a beautiful pink tint! 
It reminds me of the pink Himalayan salts that have become popular in America, famous for some 80± trace minerals
and touted by health food enthusiasts as particularly beneficial. 
However, I can’t find any peer-reviewed scientific research to verify this. 
In fact, analysis reveals that some of the Himalayan salts also contain trace elements of radioactive substances like uranium, radium, and polonium,
not to mention substances that can be poisonous, like thallium. 
It seems the scientific stance is that these trace elements—good and bad—
are too insignificant to be helpful or harmful,
so it appears you can choose pink or white—or whatever—as your palate pleases. 
However, keep in mind that white table salt is often enhanced with iodine, which is a particularly good thing for those of us who live in areas like the Great Lakes, where iodine deficiency has historically been a problem. 
If you go pink, consider adding more dairy, soy, and ocean-harvested foods
to your diet, or find another good source for iodine. 
Whatever you choose, you gotta love salt, right? 
Where would we be without salt to bring out the flavor in our foods?! 
How about in our spiritual lives? Got any salty friends? How about you and me? 
Are we salty? I wonder what trace elements we’re carrying…
I hope nothing radioactive or poisonous! 
Father, please refine us and enhance our spirits
so that we promote health in those around us. 
“Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another” (Mark 9:50).
(All the photos were taken in Southern Tunisia last summer, except for the 2 photos of various salts, which were taken at my local grocery store here in Michigan.)
P.S.—If you want more information about this amazing salt flat, you can find it here: http://www.anothermag.com/design-living/9549/the-cosmic-pink-lakes-of-the-tunisian-desert
Summer Setting 