Welcome to the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Sure as a flood, smooth as a vast wind blowing;
And, gathering power and purpose as he goes,
Unstumbling, unreluctant, strong, unknowing,
Borne by a will not his, that lifts, that grows,
Rupert Brooke

The morning of our last leg was not one of rush, but of leisure. We had pushed through three days and 2000 kilometers. Each day was spent traveling for no less than 12 hours. While the lure of the salt flats was still very present, we were in no rush to get there. It was about an hours travel from our hotel in Wells Nevada, so the urgency was lost. We still woke up around 8 am, but instead of the usual haste to load all the gear and ready the bikes, we found ourselves relaxed and simply enjoying each others company. Mike was feeling better after a day of rest and we unloaded Jim's bike and re-strapped the damaged Cafe Racer in place.

The previous night we had met up at a local pub, had a few drinks and some less than average food. We couldn't really get a feel for the town and what it looked like till the following morning. Wells was originally called 'Humboldt-Wells' and was known in the early 1800s for its lush meadows and natural springs. By 1869 the Central Pacific Railroad had made it an important shipping and receiving center for the mines and ranches of the nearby valleys.

Many of the buildings were constructed from 1876 until 1920 and served as the center for business and recreation. One little known fact was that Jack Dempsey; the famed boxer of the 1920's, and heavyweight champion, was discovered in Wells while working as a bouncer for a local saloon.

Today, due to economic difficulties the town seems to be struggling and an earthquake measuring 6.4 in 2006 leveled many of the historic land marks on main street. If you look closely however, you can still see the faint gleam of a time gone by, rich in history and begging for its story to be told. It is my sincerest wish that Wells finds it's voice and becomes the great tourist location I know it could be.

After driving down a few abandoned streets we headed east. The roar of internal combustion was calling.

The drive from Wells to Wendover is a very deceiving stretch of road. You are lured into the notion of a desert with never ending mountain ranges and valleys that stretch as far as the eye can see, then, as you crest the hill into Wendover, everything changes. The glare from the salt flats is blinding when caught at the right time of day. Everything in the valley below is white with a surface devoid of any detail. I can only describe it as being similar to skiing in white out conditions. Amazing and unexpected.

Wendover is just on the Nevada border next to Utah. I suspect its location probably is by design as it also a home to a few gambling franchises. A great city with a whole lot of heart. The people in Wendover were genuine and friendly. They were also great with directions. Yes, I am embarrassed to admit. I lost my map again.

The location of the Salt flats is located about 10 minutes east of Wendover and directions are clearly marked along the highway. Just watch for the first overpass out of Wendover. From there you travel past a gas station and an area referred to by the regulars as "The Bend in the Road". Here people camp out due to the unlikely nature of finding a hotel in Wendover. Booking a hotel in Wendover during speed week is like winning the lottery. The rooms can only be booked six months in advance, and every room is booked on that day. Ergo why we were staying an hour away in wells. Knowing what I know now, I would have gladly slept out in the desert/salt flats.

Past the "Bend in the Road" is a 3 to 4 mile stretch of road which leads you to the entry way into the Bonneville Salt Flat park. It is an considered a national park and it's 15 dollars to enter.

An excerpt from the "Save the Salt" website

During the (1930-1940) era the Bonneville Salt Flats was able to support the
weight of 10-ton twin-engine stream-liners that roared down the 13.5-mile long Race Courses. The Hot Rods roared onto the salt flats in 1949 with the first Speed Week event and have run every year since.

By the early 1960's the pioneers of Land Speed Racing began to notice subtle changes in the surface of the raceway. There were discussions of why the surface seemed to be getting weaker and that this unique body of land was shrinking.
They were able to get only as much as 7 miles of decent salt for our courses, if they were lucky. It wasn't long before fingers were pointed at the mining industry on the south side of interstate 80. Owned by Kaiser Chemical, their operations covered some 50 sq. miles of the salt flats.

Rick Vesco, the first chairman of Save The Salt, spearheaded the effort to meet with Utah State and Federal Government officials as well as the Chemical Company to resolve the problem of salt depletion. The goal was to return the salt that was accumulating in their settling ponds at the mining facility to the Raceway. These early cries for help continued until 1989 when the Save the Salt Organization was founded and struggled to achieve recognition as they began to see the heavy toll the mining industry was taking on the salt flats. In the meantime Kaiser Chemical had sold the operation to Reilly Chemical and a new 20-year lease for mining had been signed.

The once healthy 18 plus inches of salt had become so fragile that the Race Courses have had to be moved farther and farther east. Running on the long International Race Course was no longer possible. Reilly Industries was forcing water through canals crisscrossing the flats into their evaporation ponds from which potash was extracted. It was estimated that the process was taking an estimated 850,000 tons of salt from the flats each year.

This is one of the reasons why I am documenting this trip. Not only to find some sense of self, but to inspire others to come and see the historic Bonneville Salt flats before there isn't any slat left to race on.

We all headed out onto the flats and witnessed every kind of vehicle imagined; modified for one purpose. Going fast.

We spent our first day next to the pits. This is where the crews work endlessly trying to squeeze a fraction of a second off of their time. There were 30 foot long stream-liners down to 50cc scooters. The nature of most of these folks was pretty level headed. All they wanted was one thing, to be faster than the last time. We did meet one crew that was obviously extremely stressed, as their support truck had a blown engine and was in need of being road ready in a few days. Once Speed week is over, you need to vacate the premises for the next event. I think there are fines if you are still on the salt.

Our first day was one of wonder. So much to see. So many people. We arrived on the flats around noon and stayed until 5. The heat was incredible with temperatures in the upper 90s low 100s. The glare off of the salt meant that you needed to wear sunscreen EVERYWHERE. A few of us had sun burns under our shorts due to the sun reflecting off of the ground. We would return again tomorrow and then the fun would really begin. It would be time to race.