Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway, Utah, Such an amazing sight to see, a MUST SEE for sure. So much salt & nothing to eat? If you look in the 2nd shot Shelia the sheep is under the sign, she was so tiny under that sign??! Probably salty too!! It was wild to see the cars and motorcycles running around on the salt. Would be great for a commercial, Horrible for your car, not good for the paint. 

I did enlarge the Bonneville Salt sign to tell you what it says, some words are rubbed off... "The salt flats were formed an ancient Lake Bonneville slowly evaporated and deposited concentrations of salt onto this playa. Shorelines carved into the mountainsides are visible to the north along the Silver Island range and extend to the Salt Lake Valley. Named after Captain B.L. Bonneville, an early military explorer of the West, the salt flats measure over 44,000 acres and are primarily Public Land. 

Historically, the flats have impeded man's movement westward. Early traders like Jedediah Smith and John Fremont crossed the vast saline plain only to return with awesome stones of the salts ... In 1846, the Donner Reed part lost animals, wagons and valuable time on the salt. These .. contributed to their late arrival and subsequent disaster in the snowy Sierra-Nevada Mountains. The flats'potential for racing was first recognized in 1896, W.D. Rishel, who attempted to organize a carriage and bike race. He convinced Ferg Johnson to test drive his Packard here in 1911. In 1914 Teddy Tetzlaff reached 141 mph in his Blitzen Benz. Succeeding years saw many attempts to set faster records. In 1940 Ab Jenkins set 81 new speed records in his Mormon Meteor III, including a 24-hour endurance record of 161 mph. Jet and rocket cars appeared in the 1960's and exceeded the 500 and 600 mph marks. 

The speedway, 80 feet wide and 10 miles long, is prepared by the Bureau of Land, Management in the early summer. Speed trials are schedule throughout the summer and fall. They end when rains covers the area with water. Caution: Salt crust may appear firm, but is often moist and unstable. Enjoy the area, please keep it clean."

Enjoy this video to see more of an up close view. The 2nd part of the video we are in our van, now sold, but it fun to see from the sheep's perspective. Thank you kindly for stopping by today, do go enjoy my birthday!! Have a piece of cake or why not a bit of ice cream. Enjoy life! Beth ( :