Beatty to Ely (5 May) & Ely to Salt Lake City (6 May)
The journey from Beatty (elevation 3307 ft, 1008 m) to Ely was a fairly relentless drive over passes and Nevada desert plains. The plains made us think of moonscapes. The passes were rocky, some resembling the MacKenzie Country, or Central Otago, or the Desert Road but on a larger scale. A drive of 100 km in any direction in New Zealand will include changes in what you see; here it was more of the same, only with subtle changes in vegetation. On a couple of occasions this was briefly interrupted by a small piece of irrigation, apparently for hay to feed to livestock. We saw a few goats, 3 or 4 small herds of cattle (10-20 plus calves) and no wildlife at all. We didn't see birds and our windscreen remains free of insects (touch wood).
The image below shows a view through the front window. We think it's spectacular and we didn't tire of it.
This was our view for much of the journey. The other view was of the passes as we climbed or descended them. Some passes were as high as 6,600 feet. Plants higher up tended to be bigger, greener and closer together. Plants on the plains were pale and dusty looking, typically pale green or brown. There was no grass, just bushes as seen in the image.
We eventually arrived in Ely (elevation 6,437 ft, 1,962 m). It's a junction with gas stations, one of which also sells marijuana, now legal in Nevada, although sold under strict controls. You'll notice the word "elevation" used a lot in this post. We were impressed with how high we had driven, over 2 vertical km in the pass before we descended to Ely. Despite marijuana being available at the gas station, driving was the only thing that we got high on!
Today we set out for Salt Lake City (elevation 4,226 ft, 1,288 m). At first glance the view was a repeat of yesterday was more of the same except that we weren't climbing over passes. Instead the view straight ahead was uninterrupted by hills and mountains. The horizon kept receding and the view beyond appeared . . infinite.
We arrived at Wendover. Actually there are two Wendovers. West Wendover is in Nevada and visitors are waist deep in Casinos and pubs. Wendover right beside it is in Utah and has none of these. West Wendover is known as a weekend get away for Utah Mormons who want to drink and gamble.
Wendover is also adjacent to the Great Salt Lake Desert which includes Bonneville Salt Flats, known for land speed records and especially for the World's Fastest Indian. We turned off there and visited, disappointed to find neither Bert Munro, nor Anthony Hopkins. We did see a lot of salt.
The desert is huge and, yes, it is salt. We walked on it and felt and heard the salty crust crackle under our feet. The taste test confirmed that it is made up of salt.
From here we continued along an interstate freeway, the I-80. The maximum speed is 80 mph (129 kph) but we were content with a mere 65-73 mph and never needed to pass anyone. In fact, anything above 67ish was a bit of a challenge as a wind buffetted the motorhome and huge trucks roaring past us in the other lane interfered with windflow and felt intimidating.
We are travelling some big distances and need to keep pushing along. We have driven over 650 miles (1050 km) over the last three days and we've had numerous stops along the way to look at things. We are in Salt Lake City for 2 nights so will use public transport to get to Temple Square to see the Mormon sights.
The next day (Tuesday in this part of the world) we carry on to Caldwell, Idaho, then Kennewick,Washington State, arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia on Thursday.
The image below shows a view through the front window. We think it's spectacular and we didn't tire of it.
This was our view for much of the journey. The other view was of the passes as we climbed or descended them. Some passes were as high as 6,600 feet. Plants higher up tended to be bigger, greener and closer together. Plants on the plains were pale and dusty looking, typically pale green or brown. There was no grass, just bushes as seen in the image.
We eventually arrived in Ely (elevation 6,437 ft, 1,962 m). It's a junction with gas stations, one of which also sells marijuana, now legal in Nevada, although sold under strict controls. You'll notice the word "elevation" used a lot in this post. We were impressed with how high we had driven, over 2 vertical km in the pass before we descended to Ely. Despite marijuana being available at the gas station, driving was the only thing that we got high on!
Today we set out for Salt Lake City (elevation 4,226 ft, 1,288 m). At first glance the view was a repeat of yesterday was more of the same except that we weren't climbing over passes. Instead the view straight ahead was uninterrupted by hills and mountains. The horizon kept receding and the view beyond appeared . . infinite.
We arrived at Wendover. Actually there are two Wendovers. West Wendover is in Nevada and visitors are waist deep in Casinos and pubs. Wendover right beside it is in Utah and has none of these. West Wendover is known as a weekend get away for Utah Mormons who want to drink and gamble.
Wendover is also adjacent to the Great Salt Lake Desert which includes Bonneville Salt Flats, known for land speed records and especially for the World's Fastest Indian. We turned off there and visited, disappointed to find neither Bert Munro, nor Anthony Hopkins. We did see a lot of salt.
The desert is huge and, yes, it is salt. We walked on it and felt and heard the salty crust crackle under our feet. The taste test confirmed that it is made up of salt.
From here we continued along an interstate freeway, the I-80. The maximum speed is 80 mph (129 kph) but we were content with a mere 65-73 mph and never needed to pass anyone. In fact, anything above 67ish was a bit of a challenge as a wind buffetted the motorhome and huge trucks roaring past us in the other lane interfered with windflow and felt intimidating.
We are travelling some big distances and need to keep pushing along. We have driven over 650 miles (1050 km) over the last three days and we've had numerous stops along the way to look at things. We are in Salt Lake City for 2 nights so will use public transport to get to Temple Square to see the Mormon sights.
The next day (Tuesday in this part of the world) we carry on to Caldwell, Idaho, then Kennewick,Washington State, arriving in Vancouver, British Columbia on Thursday.
wow, what a pair of bloggers, very impressive with such detail
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