Day 4-WY to UT

Day 4/Rock Springs, WY to Wendover, UT
Distance today: 302 miles
Total to date: 1243 miles

Got up this morn at 0400 to work on yesterday's blog post. Am getting burned out from doing 400+ miles a day. Today was a "short" day in that we ONLY did 300+ miles. But I am still exhausted. Discussed cutting down the mileage with Robert & he adjusted our schedule from the 500 (!) miles we were supposed to do tomorrow to 400. I just hope I can hang! I don't want this adventure to turn into an endurance marathon! 

Rocky Mts in the distance

Today was another interesting day in many ways. First drove thru a tunnel on I-80 that was cut through one of the massive rock hills. And I finally had the chance to look at a map & discovered that the mountains I've been seeing to the SSW of I-80 are the Rockies! Still beautiful with snow on their tops! (The picture to the right isn't very good but if you click on the pic, you can enlarge it to see the mountains more clearly!) We're cutting through CO on the way back home so can't wait to see them closer.

Beautiful MT! (Note snow barrier
fence to right of picture)

It didn't seem to take too many miles after we got into UT & boy did the landscape change from WY!! WY had lush grass & wide, expansive views. UT went from sparse vegetation to outright desert to what looked like white salt on the ground. Very different scenery! 

UT with it's white desert sand

Coming into Salt Lake City, there was even a pronounced & very noticeable temperature change. Got hot, fast!


The interstate wound around (the Great) Salt Lake 
outside of Salt Lake City (SLC) & man is that lake big! 
I did some research about both the city & the lake, for I was wondering why in the heck anyone would want to live here in this desert with a salt water lake? 

While winding our way around the lake, we came upon an accident that had the westbound lanes backed up. Turned out there was a really bad wreck. There were about 6 State Trooper cars & a firetruck on the scene. When I drove by a fireman was hosing off the highway. I looked away because I didn't want to see anything. But when I turned my head away I noticed that there was a pool of bloody water along the road. Later research indicated that a man (71) & his son (47) were in a vehicle & the son was in the backseat sleeping without being in a seatbelt. The man had overcorrected, flipped the vehicle, ejecting the son who died on the scene. I was the last vehicle they let pass before they started to haul the vehicle out of the medium. So here I am, driving down the highway for a longgggg way by myself, contemplating all the ways a person can die on a highway, especially on a motorcycle. Very sobering!

Eventually life went on, as it always does, & my attentions were redirected to the stark desert of Salt Lake. Most folks know about the Mormons & how SLC came to be formed but the Great Salt Lake Desert is unbelieveable. 

Whiter than white salt lays on the ground like sand. Hard to imagine that there is that much salt just laying on the ground. I discovered that this desert is really a large dried up lake "noted for white evaporite Lake Bonneville salt deposits". And that most of the desert receives less than 8 inches of annual precipitation. No wonder there wasn't ANYTHING &  I mean anything growing or moving in or on this salt. Apparently this salt crust covering the desert reforms each year when the rain evaporates. 

I also noted that there was a military "Utah Test and Training Range" in the northern portion of the desert. This was rather low-key for a military facility, so being the curious

person I am, checked into this area & discovered that, according to Wikipedia, this is the "largest overland contiguous block of supersonic authorized restricted airspace in the contiguous US, an area for explosive ordnance, & testing of experimental military equipment". 

What is this thing? Note piece
of 'ball' laying on ground.

Finally, after driving at least 30 miles across this salt flat with NOTHING to see except the "whatsit" (picture to the right) & one twin rotor, 2 person civilian helo that was flying about 30 ft off the ground, parallel to the highway, we reached tonight's destination motel. 

We are literally on the border of UT & NV. So tomorrow we will be traversing more desert. Yee ha! I suggested to Rob that we get an earlier than usual start so it wouldn't be so hot. So guess we will be up & at 'em tomorrow morning. Glad we are getting to bed really early tonight!