Sam And Saundra's Second Time Around - Part 4

Sam And Saundra’s Second Time Around – Part 4

Nevada

10/17/10 - 10/18/10  - Salt Flats Raceway and Race Away

West Wendover is very similar to Jackpot, only it sits on a boundary of the 44 thousand acre Bonneville Salt Flats.  We take a side road, following it until we find the official Bonneville Salt Flats International Speedway sign.  Without all the fans and reporters and racers and their entourage, it is really barren.  I was disappointed until I read the sign and discovered that the flats were not covered in moisture, but in dried salt that had formed a crust.  It looked like ice, even close up.  The land speed record here was set over 40 years ago in a ‘rocket car’ that traveled over 600 miles per hour.  Read up on it for specifics.  That’s a long time for a record to just sit there.

Flats Go On And On

Info 

We leave for Las Vegas going on Hwy 93 Alt S. The scenic route. Since Las Vegas is about 367 miles from West Wendover, we decide to make it there in one day. We traveled alongside the Salt Flats for a time, always checking out the side of the roads for free-roaming rocks.  Most of the ones we stopped to look at (not easy pulling a trailer on a skinny shoulder road) were not very interesting once the dried salt was shaken off.  So we let them be. The rock formations, hills and mountains change constantly.  When we think we are miles from moisture – a sign indicating a lake with boat launch shows up.  Wildlife refuges and whatnot.  We are on a constant climb.  The temperature drops about 25 degrees and Calvin tells us we are over 9 thousand feet high.  I did not plan on this.  I take it in stride.  The views are great.  A low growing tree or big shrub, that I think is mesquite, shows up. Then, a whole forest of them.  Other greenery appear, along with switchbacks.  Just when we get used to this, we start our descent down and the temperature rises.  We keep going at a good clip.  There are very few towns between there and here, so we stop at Caliente.  It is a very clean town with a nice, green central park complete with gazebo, waiting for a band.  We park next to it, get out, walk around and get into the trailer.  After a couple hour nap, we hit the road again.  Stop thinking that!  We are not! OK not chicks any more – but they smell! Caliente is at 4,300 feet and has a lot of history.  The area is known for railroads, petroglyphs, ghost towns and old mines. 

The Lake That Was

Blue skies and white clouds, whispy and fluffy, are keeping us company.  We start seeing a few cacti, then more. More varieties appear, then suddenly they disappear at the ‘shore’ of another extinct lake.  This one did not leave salt behind. It is getting dark.  As we near Las Vegas, we both get a little antsy.  Our past experience driving through here has not been great. We are wishing that we had taken a few days to explore the Caliente area, when we turn earlier than Calvin directs.  Oh no! We wait until he recalculates, because he is still smarter than the two of us together.  He directs us to keep going. It is dark. The freeways are to the left and above the road we are on.  No street lights, but plenty of factories fenced in behind big gates.  We keep going.  He takes us to Sam’s Town RV Resort and Casino in Boulder, Nevada, without us having to get on any freeway, or major-major highway.  Way to go Calvin!  We get assigned a spot, find the pool and call it a night.  We have decided to follow Aunt Anne’s recommendation to see Las Vegas at least once.  Now is that once.