Today is Day 15 of our ride. Except for the issues with Garry's bike there have been no glitches. The weather has been great, if not a trifle warm, and except for Friday afternoon when we weren't riding anyway, we've had no rain. And being in a semi desert, the chances of anything but isolated thunder showers are remote. If you hate riding in rain and don't mind the heat, this is the place to be.
We had an early start today, well early for us, rolling out of Rock Springs, WY, before 9:00 a.m. and heading through Green River to the Utah border. Despite all the different rock formations I've seen to this point, the ones I saw at Green River were really impressive. The Interstate is cut right into the side of the mountain, laying bare millions of years of geological history. At one point the engineers cut a tunnel through the rock rather than remove the huge amounts that they would have had to do to to have an open road.
The high plains open up west of Green River and, of course, the road kill began anew. We saw many deer crumpled up on the shoulder of the highway, along with other smaller animals that are just flattened onto the asphalt. The colours began to change in the exposed deposits as well. In addition to the regular yellows, browns, greys and reds, some of the exposed formations now have a beautiful, almost sage green, that I have never seen seen in these types of formations. We were rolling along quickly and you aren't supposed to stop on the Interstate, so sadly, I wasn't able to get any photos.
For the past few days, the usually clear views have been obscured by a haze that blocks out much of the mountains in the distance. Apparently with the drought, there are some big fires in Nevada and northern California and they are creating a heavy haze that is obscuring the normally stunning views. It is unfortunate that our trip coincides with these fires.
Continuing past Evanston, WY, we crossed into Utah and began a climb through another mountain pass that took us to more than 7200 feet. At one of the rest stops the highway is high above the valley floor which is quite narrow and has room only for a small stream, a two-lane highway and the Union Pacific mainline, probably the same line that was originally built in 1869 when the Union Pacific built the eastern half of the first north American transconinental railway line. We stopped for a water break and I climbed to the top of the hill to get some photos of the gorge and to see a Union Pacific coal train inching its way down the grade. I love trains so I was delighted to be able to get some photos and video of one coming through an absolutely beautiful landscape.
Another shade of red in a rock formation
Union Pacific coal train inching downgrade
Out of the gorge and into open country.
The highway continued to twist and turn through the pass until we came down to open country where we were able to make good time to Salt Lake City. The Interstate leading from the high area to the east of Salt Lake City forces its way through the last mountains in a continuous series of sharp curves until it comes out into the valley near Salt Lake City, where Brigham Young located the centre for the new religion, Mormonism, that Joseph Smith had created around 1830.
The mountains just east of Salt Lake City
As it has so often during this trip, my GPS again proved its worth taking us right to the centre of Mormondom. We were even fortunate enough to find a parking spot on the street less than a block from Temple Square, so it was a short walk to the whole complex of the Temple, Tabernacle, Assembly Building and other buildings which are in a park like setting with fully grown elm, horse chestnut and other trees as well as bronze statues depicting famous events in Mormon history.
Statue of Brigham Young at the entrance to Temple Square
Mormon Temple in Salt lake City
The huge pipe organ in the Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.
The Mormon Tabernacle
The Assembly Building, Salt Lake City
The Temple is a relatively massive building erected from granite quarried 23 miles away and brought by ox cart to the site over a period of forty years from 1853 until the completion of the Temple in 1893. It was even started and completed on the same day of the year, April 6th. We noticed a large crowd of people at the side of the Temple and found out that it was several wedding parties awaiting their turn to be married in the Mormon 'Holy of Holies'. To my mind, while it is undoubtedly an impressive building, it is not aesthetically pleasing. The proportions don't seem just right.
Mormon Temple, Salt Lake City, UT.
I also noticed that there were many young couples on site, many of them with three or four children, all under the ages of five or six years. 'Be fruitful and multiply,' isn't just a suggestion in Utah from what I saw today. It also seemed strange that almost every male I saw on the grounds and in the streets in the adjacent areas had on dark pants, white shirts, and ties, some with dark jackets. The thought that it was a sort of uniform crossed my mind and that they were all well programmed automatons. The women were dressed as if they were going to a formal occasion. There were no jeans or T-shirts to be seen, except for ones Garry and I were wearing. We were also the only two men that I saw who weren't clean shaven, and I probably had the longest hair of any male in the city when I was there.
The temperature was forecast to be 95F. in SLC today and I can believe it reached that easily. It was a real relief to go to a food fair in a shopping centre and enjoy the air conditioning for half an hour before heading out on the road again. In under two hours we were on our way to the west and toward the Great Salt Lake. We weren't more than about fifteen miles west of Salt lake City cruising at 75 mph when we saw a huge cloud of dust. When we stopped and the dust had cleared we saw an old Nissan-type pickup truck halfway into the ditch. He seemed to have hit the shoulder and clipped a saftety marker, tearing it out along with several more. His left front was totally demolished but a woman got out unhurt followed by another guy then the driver. When we saw that everyone was OK we carried on.
The beach where I swam 36 years ago is closed because the Utah government doesn't was to pay for lifeguards and also because the lake has contracted in this drought so that the beach is a long way from where it used to be. We stopped for photos but the haze prevented me from getting any images that would show how incredible this place is.
Great Salt Lake, UT
Further west the Interstate runs through some salt flats. In some areas there is standing water with salt crusted around the edges of the pools and around posts that have been driven into the ground for some unknown purpose. It was very much like the beginning of a freeze up where the water turns to ice along the edges of the pond first and also around any objects that may be sticking out of the water. Without the context of 100 F. temperature, a photo of this might make you think that the water was in the process of freezing.
We have learned that it is necessary to drink lots in this heat because it is easy to become dehydrated and mentally sluggish, so after stopping occasionally to take photos we stopped at a very small place, (it was a small store and gas station with two of the three pumps out of order) to buy drinks. As we were standing in the shade four vehicles, three Chrysler cars and a Jeep pulling a trailer pulled in. I asked one of the guys what the SRT on his shirt meant. He told me that it was 'Street & Racing Technologies' a branch of Chrysler Motors and that the four of them, two men and two women, were driving around America from car show to car show demoing Chrysler's racing vehicles.
The SRT team at Delle, UT
The 'better half' of the SRT team.
The SRT team with their Jeep and support trailer.
We had an interesting chat about their jobs and they were all having a great time doing them. The guy I talked to has been racing for more than thirty years and he has raced Corvettes and Ferraris. One of the women sells the types of cars that are so powerful that drivers have to be trained before then can drive them. One of the guys said that when these rich guys buy a car like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, they think they are buying talent, too.
Following them onto the highway, we did a quick 100 km to a rest area right on the Bonneville Salt Flats. We were able to walk right out onto the lake bed. When I picked up a piece of salt I was surprised to find that it was moist. In various parts of the lake, the salt is a hard crust but there is water - very salty water - underneath so the salt is still moist.
There is a plaque at the edge of the salt flats that explains the importance of them in racing history. Some very amazing things have occurred here, and while the current world land speed record is now over 800 mph (1300 kph) there is going to be an attempt to take it to 1000 mph (1600 kph) in the near future. Perhaps this year.
Union Pacific coal train heading west near Delle, UT.
Standing on the Bonneville Salt Flats
Plaque explaining the importance of the Flats to high speed racing
Me at the Bonneville Salt Flats plaque
We met the SRT people again and one of the guys was kind enough to take my photo there. And I didn't even learn their names.
About seven miles further on Bonneville Salt Flats State Park is a mecca for gearheads from all over the world. People have tents, trailers and motorhomes set up right beside the highway on the salty lake bed. Further on, where the road ends and the lake begins we parked our bikes on the Bonneville Salt Flats and I walked on the lake near where the race course is set up. By 'near' I mean at least a mile away. In the distance we could see the rows of motor homes & trailers set up to support the racers but by the time we arrived racing was done for the day and most people were leaving. Some of the vehicles coming off the lake were encrusted in salt. I think that can't be good for the bodywork. Garry and I can now say we have been to the 'Gearhead Centre of the Universe'.
Camping on the Bonneville Salt Flats, UT
Racing team trailers and campers on Bonneville Salt Flats, UT
Garry, his bike, and Big Red on the Bonneville Salt Flats, UT
Our original plan was to stay overnight in Wendover, UT/NV, When we arrived at one of the motels we were told a room was ninety dollars plus tax and that the intenet wasn't very good so we decided to gas up and continue on west. Even though we were in Utah, there was a big casino in the middle of town. When Garry asked about that the guy told him that the state line was just down the street. In fact, it was marked right on the street and the casino was built just inches or maybe feet inside Nevada. The parking lot for the casino is actually in Utah!
Our next stop was Wells, NV, 60 miles further west so we again hit the road and again road construction made the ride a bit unpleasant. Garry was caught behind a semi that kept wandering onto the shoulder & throwing stuff up at him and towards the end of the seven miles of construction there was barely more than half a lane on which to ride.
Room prices have varied widely on this trip depending upon whether the owners think they can gouge you or not. Wells, NV, is not the tourism capital of the world so rates were reasonable. We took a room began to unload our bikes and I met two men from France, a father and son, Philippe and Vincente. They are from Orleans, just south of Paris and are here because they always wanted to go to 'Speed Week'. Philippe has an 100 Moto Guzzi but would like to get a Harley. His son didn't seem so interested. They started their trip in San Francisco and had visited National Parks like Yosemite and Sequoia before heading to Las Vegas and finally here. You meet the neatest people on a Harley!
Philippe (l.) and Vincente from Orleans, France, in Wells, NV
After settling in we walked over to the restaurant/bar/casino for dinner and then walked back to the motel. Me later than Garry because I played ten dollars in the slots and came back with eleven dollars.
Today was a long day but tomorrow will be about the same. We'll ride about 50 miles to Elko, NV, then the remaining 300 to Reno where we'll stop for the night. This country is ever amazing and it a such a treat to be able to do this at least once in my life. Maybe I'll hit the big one tomorrow, huh, Ed?
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