Thought we had said goodbye to Utah, but being the car guy that he is, Rick wanted to see the Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway. So, while we were staying in Wells, NV, we took an afternoon to drive straight east, through Wendover and back into Utah one last time. This is what we saw...
Well, a little more than this. Just east of Wendover, at Exit 4 on I-80, a flat lonely road leads you right out onto the salt flats, which are part of the Great Salt Lake Desert.
Where the paved road ends there is an information board, a turn around and room to park. It was pretty disappointing at first - kind of gray and muddy looking. There had been some rain lately so the flats were damp and we had been warned that driving on them might not be wise. We got out and walked around a bit. Then we got a big break...
A big old SUV sped through the parking lot and right out onto the flats, along a "road" that we hadn't noticed before, being all white you know. So we thought, if he can do it, so can Ms. Subaru. And so she did. No problemo. Doesn't she look racey?
This is the very place where records for the fastest land speed in the world have been set. We drove out about a half mile and parked so we could get a feel for the surface...
…and the unique landscape. They say that the salt flats are one of the few places where you can see the curve of the Earth. I don't know if that's really true. In this picture I think we're seeing a curve created by the camera, but if so, we can just pretend otherwise.
In the distance are the Silver Island Mountains, around which there is a 54 mile scenic gravel road loop that we gave a good try. Fortunately there is a shortcut half-way through it so we didn't have to drive all 54 bumpy miles. It traverses some pretty unusual territory with very broad views of the surrounding hills, mountains, basins, the Great Salt Lake Desert, and Pilot Peak, a landmark for westward venturing pioneers.
The road turns back into blacktop as you near the end. This is the view looking back at the Salt Flats and the outskirts of Wendover. This really was our last view of Utah for now.
P.S. Check out my new favorite photos page for 2013-2014. You can find it any time in the column to the right under "Other Pages" on our home page.
It's been well over twenty years since we were last in that part of the country, but I still remember it looking like I was on another planet. Sounds like you had fun driving over the salt flats :-)
ReplyDeleteSure did! And we had more fun washing the salt of our car - for days!
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