Winnemucca, NV to Salt Lake City, UT April 28, 2015

Day two we had a shorter ride than yesterday.  Again, the scenery is very stark but the mountains all all around us.  There is a dusting of snow on the peaks that look like powdered sugar on a cake.  I am excited to enter Utah.  I have never been here before and I love to see new things.  As we neared Wendover, UT Fred pointed out the salt flats and the Wendover Airport.  Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II, it was a training base for B-17 and B-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-29 unit that carried out the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  The salt flats are amazing and go on and on.  The light reflecting off the salt made the nearby mountains look like they are floating and reflecting into water.  Fred drove us out to the end of the road where the Bonneville races occur on the salt.  http://www.bonnevilleracing.com/  We left Merlin in the car and walked out onto the salt.  It looks so much like ice & snow but it is not slippery.  Quite the opposite.  In the 60's Fred and a friend ran his 1964 1/2 Ford Falcon to a oneway speed of 157 mph.  They broke the record on day one but could not repeat it the next day.  When they returned the following year they blew up the engine on the salt.

Salt Lake City was not much beyond the salt flats.  We are heading to the Mormon Temple.  I have heard about it want to see it.  Unlike the temple in the Oakland hills that is visible for miles around, this temple is right in the middle of the city.  We found  a parking spot on the street right by the gate to the grounds.  Fred has amazing parking karma. I was not disappointed.  The weather is in the high 60's and crystal clear.  Very nice for walking around.  The grounds are breathtaking.  The trees have blossoms on them and the tulips and other spring flowers are glorious.  The tulips at home are long gone.  The temple and grounds are very impressive and there are young missionaries everywhere asking if we need any help.  The place has a special calming effect on us.