Hello from the Land of Salt and Speed (Bonneville Salt Flats)
Sunday morning – August 14, 2016 (First post of this travelogue)
We are camped at what they call “the bend in the road” (link to Google Map Location)
{google_map}40.762304 -113.965180{/google_map}
The Road we are on is called “Bonneville Speedway Road”. It is only 4 or 5 miles long and terminates about 2 miles east of us. At the termination, the flats are closed to the public except for racing events. The salt is fragile and could be damaged by reckless driving.
The area we are camped in has no fees even though it is BLM land. There at several hundred campers in the area. The outfits vary from small tents to elaborate motorhomes and everything in between (see photo of our bus and some of the campers).
The photos make it look like we are on the salt. When you are on the salt, the appearance is quite different – very white (like fresh snow). The soil we are parked on is some sort of clay that can be a real problem if it rains. In the past some campers have sunk to their axles. Indeed, if you venture very far from the road, it is still wet from the spring rains and at least two vans were stuck yesterday (they were not supposed to be in that area). I suspect the whitish color is a very slight deposit of salt on the surface.
We took the I 80 route to get here, stopping at the Walmart in Rock Springs, WY. The first day was about 370 miles and the second day it was a bit over 300 miles. When we woke up in Rock Springs it was 44 degrees!
The weather here is in the 90s during the day and gets down to the high 60s at night. That makes sleeping very pleasant, since there is no humidity to speak of. We run the generator and air conditioners during the day if we are in the bus. That makes it very pleasant.
We parked next to the road so that we could see the “endless” line of cars going to and from the salt. There are tons of what are called “rat rods” plus many rods and customs that travel back and forth each day.
I have a lot more to talk about, but I want to get out on the salt.
That is all of this blog.