September 10, 2018
Welcome to the Bonneville Salt Flats
Try to picture a place completely devoid of life forms. Look out across 30,000 acres covered with a thick layer of salt and absolutely flat. As one article stated, “It looks like a frozen lake bed covered with snow.” Welcome to the BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS!
Salt or snow???
The basics:
- Located in NW Utah, along I-80 near the Utah-Nevada border.
- Was a former lake bed, and one of many salt beds west of the Great Salt Lake
- Public land, managed by Bureau of Land Management
- There is no charge to explore the salt flats
- Known for land speed records and the “Bonneville Speedway”
Home of the Bonneville Speedway
LAND SPEED EVENTS
“Motorcar racing has taken place at the salt flats since 1914. Racing takes place at part of the Bonneville Salt Flats known as the Bonneville Speedway. There are five major land speed events that take place at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Bonneville “Speed Week” takes place mid-August followed by “World of Speed” in September and the “World Finals” take place early October.” ~ Wikipedia
I must admit that I was thrilled that there was no racing going on while we were there. No official “entry” barrier was in place, but there was a kind of viewing point where tour busses and most visitors stopped to take a selfie or other meaningful photo.
After a couple of minutes, we realized that there was nothing stopping us from continuing our drive out onto the salt flats. We had left the RV back in Wendover, and were in our tow vehicle, so off we went.
Driving out onto the salt flats
WOW, WOW, WOW.
How thrilling it was to zip along across the salt flats. I was like a giggling child.
No, we did not make the donuts, but made for an interesting setting
After a few minutes we stopped and got out and walked around. We enjoyed taking some photos of ourselves, the scenery, the car and the salt. And then we ran out of things to take pictures of so we just sat and took it all in.
I mean we REALLY ran out of things to take pictures of since there is NOTHING else out there 🙂
Joanne sitting on the salt flats
TRAVELING IN AN RV?
There is a KOA campground in Wendover, but we also found out that some casinos offer RV parking. We ended up staying at the no frills Wendover Resort Casino RV Park.
If you happen to drive your RV onto the flats, be sure to rinse it off after your excursion, especially the undercarriage. The salt is highly corrosive and can cause unneeded headaches in the future. Gas stations at the Bonneville Salt Flats exit on I-80 provide hoses for a quick rinsing.
Fill up the fuel tank if needed and plan restroom breaks. You are kind of in the middle of nowhere, so be aware that there can be quite a long distance between towns. Services are limited with Salt Lake City 120 miles in one direction and Wells 60 miles the other way.
This was our final stop from this RV adventure. It was time to get back home to Southern California. Our mountain cabin was calling us and we were determined to move forward with some much-needed renovations, repairs and remodeling.
Next stop – Southern California
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I am grateful that after returning home we got to spend some peaceful time and enjoyed quiet moments, sitting by the fireplace with a crackling fire. We made some serious progress on the remodel with Tim’s man cave and my storage room becoming a reality. The holidays came and went with a few special moments spent with family and friends. We said our goodbyes to 2018 and welcome 2019 with open arms.
COMING SOON: We have a short RV road trip planned to explore a couple Southern California places practically in our backyard. We invite you to tag along to see what we find next…
A Note From Abroad 
Hi Guys,
Happy New Year to both of you from us.
Looking forward to your next adventure.
Always the best,
Linda and Paul
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And Happy New Years wishes to both of you! This trip includes Dick and Karen so you know we will have fun!
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oh and love the pictures as always!!! 🙂
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Thanks 👍
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I would love to visit this place! Some great photos.
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Thank you Darlene. I hope you get there. We certainly enjoyed seeing this unique place.
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Looks interesting. Glad you ventured out onto the flats. I do have one question. Was a clearly delineated line between the flats and the “other land” or was it a gradual change?
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A little bit of a lead in, but the salt flats themselves are quite distinct.
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They remind me of the Uyuni Salt Flats in Bolivia.
With the help of our guide, we were able to set up perspective shots.
Ie Leyna (closer to the camera) was a giant ready to squash me as a midget (further away)
As a video, all our group danced out of (and returned into) an open Pringles can. The can was close to the camera and we were about 20 metres back.
It was all very silly but much fun.
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Love that! Sounds like so much fun. Tim and I tried a couple of “trick” shots and failed miserably 😬
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Joanne, you may not need a Storage room if you take Marie Kondo’s advice on NetFlix. I am having a great time folding and pitching. Decided to keep Daryl.
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Good decision to keep Daryl! I have watched some of her YouTube videos and love her method. Last year I tackled several area, but still needed more storage area. My new room is a combination store room and pantry and a place to hold a freezer.
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This place looks otherworldly! Have you ever seen the movie, The World’s Fastest Indian? It’s about a guy from New Zealand (Burt Munro) who set a land speed record at the salt flats on a motorcycle (an Indian) in the late 60s. You might enjoy it.
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I saw that movie and loved it. I think I remember that it was filmed here.
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Wonderful post! I’ll add this place to the list!
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Thanks a bunch. It is certainly not the “run of the mill” destination.
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My kids live in SLC and those flats are pretty stark, for sure. What gets me is the number of birds from around the world that still manage to find themselves in this salty region.
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We did not notice any birds when we visited. Darn the luck 😁
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My mistake, it’s on the actual fringes of the lakes not the flats that the birds go. My mind had a brain lapse there. Still, great photos!
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There’s something incredibly moving about looking at a horizon that’s caused by the curvature of the earth. 🙂
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Pretty cool, huh.
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It’s been a while since I’ve visited the salt flats. You got some lovely photos. Hope your new year is off to a fantastic start. I can’t believe January is over!
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Thank you Camie. 2019 is being good to us and we wish the same for you. 😊
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Wow! Had no idea this place excisted! On my travel list now! Thanks😊
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It was a really unique place to visit. So glad we could get you intrigued.
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Hello Tim and Joanne – thank you for dropping by my blog and reading my Monkey and Soup post. My husband has always been fascinated by the salt flats. One day we’ll pack up our bags and set off on an adventure. Safe travels!!!!
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The salt flats were interesting to see as well as being so unique. Adventures are around every corner 😉
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