One lap around the Great Salt Lake

[Frulk_imp]

Not much going on yesterday and the weather was projected to be stellar in the region...mid 70's and partly cloudy. Decided to hop on the CB1100 and run out to Wendover Nevada and check put the new super liquor store I've been hearing about that was recently built there. Also, since I was already out there I thought I'd head a little further west and take the scenic and remote backway around the west side of the lake heading northeast and eventually hit Snowville and then turn back south and towards home,

Map outlines the route...about 370 miles clockwise around the lake.


I put the aluminum trunk box on the rear rack in case I needed the space, zipped up the chaps and armored jacket and headed south towards Salt Lake at 08:15. Made good time and stopped at Salt Air (a concert venue on the shore of the Great Salt Lake that's been rebuilt a few times due to floods and fires).

Salt Aire. You can see the lake in the background.


From that same spot looking south at the Kennecott Copper mine 1,215 foot smoke stack

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennecott_...lter_Stack



Heading west on I-80 I was the closest to the lake I was going to get today. The lake has been down significantly over the past few years. In wetter years all the land in the foreground would be underwater.



Additional info on the lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake

Some miles west of Toole Utah on Highway 80. Dugway was the military site where the US Army destroyed it's chemical weapons inventory. This valley was chosen due to its geological stability, remoteness, and low moisture cycles.



Looking south into the valley



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_Proving_Ground

Gotta love the American West when you see signs like this



At approx. 91 miles into the ride there's an exit to the north side of the road to another military area. Driving down that road heading north for 1.5 miles gives you the view in the pic below. Noteworthy for the fact that during WW2 there was a German POW camp about 15 miles north and 3 miles west in the picture. The spot were it was located is called German Valley. No escapes were ever recorded. Several of the POWs passed away in captivity and they're buried in Salt Lake City. Every year there's a small remembrance ceremony for them hosted by German military personnel assigned to the air base in the local area. X on the route map marks the spot where I took this picture.



Further west there's a rest area on a knoll that looks down towards the Salt Flats and Wendover, Nevada. I imagine when V-Max and Hayabusa riders dream, this stretch of road is what its about.



The Bonneville Salt Flats just outside of Wendover. I was going to ride out 100 yards and park the bike for a picture but decided I didn't want to deal with the salt. This is from the highway parking area. Interesting factoid about those mountains in the background. I was atving them and we stopped to explore one of the hard rock mines there and went into one at a gradual decent for about 100 yards and found a dead deer right at the end of the shaft. Very strange . Deer could have just walked back out.



I dabble somewhat in whiskey, having been to about 45 distilleries in Scotland and a few in the USA. Jefferson's Ocean is a small batch bourbon whiskey that's barreled and then moved to ships were it goes through all the worlds oceans for X amount of time. Instead of being classified by age the bottles denote what voyage the whiskey was on. They had two voyages in stock. 11 and 13. Not being superstitious I opted for the #11.



While in Wendover I refueled the CB on the center stand because there was the possibility I would have to go 150 miles without any gas station and my bike gets at BEST 50 mpg even when I throttle back. I reset the odo and coasted out to I-80 West without stopping at Wendover Airfield (which is tied to the atomic bombs used in WW2)

See more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendover_Air_Force_Base

[peterbaron]

Not much going on yesterday and the weather was projected to be stellar in the region...mid 70's and partly cloudy. Decided to hop on the CB1100 and run out to Wendover Nevada and check put the new super liquor store I've been hearing about that was recently built there. Also, since I was already out there I thought I'd head a little further west and take the scenic and remote backway around the west side of the lake heading northeast and eventually hit Snowville and then turn back south and towards home,

Map outlines the route...about 370 miles clockwise around the lake.


I put the aluminum trunk box on the rear rack in case I needed the space, zipped up the chaps and armored jacket and headed south towards Salt Lake at 08:15. Made good time and stopped at Salt Air (a concert venue on the shore of the Great Salt Lake that's been rebuilt a few times due to floods and fires).

Salt Aire. You can see the lake in the background.


From that same spot looking south at the Kennecott Copper mine 1,215 foot smoke stack

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennecott_...lter_Stack



Heading west on I-80 I was the closest to the lake I was going to get today. The lake has been down significantly over the past few years. In wetter years all the land in the foreground would be underwater.



Additional info on the lake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake

Some miles west of Toole Utah on Highway 80. Dugway was the military site where the US Army destroyed it's chemical weapons inventory. This valley was chosen due to its geological stability, remoteness, and low moisture cycles.



Looking south into the valley



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugway_Proving_Ground

Gotta love the American West when you see signs like this



At approx. 91 miles into the ride there's an exit to the north side of the road to another military area. Driving down that road heading north for 1.5 miles gives you the view in the pic below. Noteworthy for the fact that during WW2 there was a German POW camp about 15 miles north and 3 miles west in the picture. The spot were it was located is called German Valley. No escapes were ever recorded. Several of the POWs passed away in captivity and they're buried in Salt Lake City. Every year there's a small remembrance ceremony for them hosted by German military personnel assigned to the air base in the local area. X on the route map marks the spot where I took this picture.



Further west there's a rest area on a knoll that looks down towards the Salt Flats and Wendover, Nevada. I imagine when V-Max and Hayabusa riders dream, this stretch of road is what its about.



The Bonneville Salt Flats just outside of Wendover. I was going to ride out 100 yards and park the bike for a picture but decided I didn't want to deal with the salt. This is from the highway parking area. Interesting factoid about those mountains in the background. I was atving them and we stopped to explore one of the hard rock mines there and went into one at a gradual decent for about 100 yards and found a dead deer right at the end of the shaft. Very strange . Deer could have just walked back out.



I dabble somewhat in whiskey, having been to about 45 distilleries in Scotland and a few in the USA. Jefferson's Ocean is a small batch bourbon whiskey that's barreled and then moved to ships were it goes through all the worlds oceans for X amount of time. Instead of being classified by age the bottles denote what voyage the whiskey was on. They had two voyages in stock. 11 and 13. Not being superstitious I opted for the #11.



While in Wendover I refueled the CB on the center stand because there was the possibility I would have to go 150 miles without any gas station and my bike gets at BEST 50 mpg even when I throttle back. I reset the odo and coasted out to I-80 West without stopping at Wendover Airfield (which is tied to the atomic bombs used in WW2)

See more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendover_Air_Force_Base

Nic ride , story and pics....but the last one does not look like extra petrol for CB


pb

[Frulk_imp]

PART 2: I hit the picture limit in the original post.

Heading west you pass the south end of a north/south running ridgeline that includes Pilot Peak, which tops out at over 10,000 feet and is not visible from this spot (only the southern terminus of the ridge is)



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_Peak_(Nevada)

Turning NE onto remote (and I mean REMOTE) Hwy 233.



Luckily the gas station in Montello was open even if they were gouging me for $3.89 a gallon.



Pilot Peak from the north West side looking south east somewhat with snow on it's flanks



Approaching the Raft Mountains on the north end of the Great Salt Lake





Wide open country. If you want to see what your machine is capable of this is the place to do it. Normal disclaimers apply



Looking South east at the Newfoundland Mountains. One of the most remote ranges in the continental USA. Surrounded by evaporation basins and a bombing range.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_Mountains



The last pic of this trip. My first glimpse of the lake after 150 + miles. That's the north end and puts me right at about 290 miles for the trip



I rolled into Snowville, Utah. Fueled up and slabbed it home. The CB running like it was on rails the whole time. Total for the day was right at 360 miles.

[el duque_imp]

nice trip report! my kind of trip...wide open, remote, few people, cars, deer, trucks.....etc. Gas stations are cool.
thanks.

[the Ferret]

Heck of a day and that IS some wide open territory. Geezalou $85 for a bottle of hooch. Glad I don't drink lol. (actually just never acquired the taste for it..beer, wine or whiskey)

[Banned_imp]

Awesome pictures as always Frulk.

I rode through the American Southwest once and it is my dream to go back there and spend about 3 weeks exploring.

Side question for you Frulk, how does the seating position on your XR1200 compare to the CB1100? I've been looking for a couple of years for an XR1200 (very few around here) and one has just popped up an hour from me.

[use2b_imp]

very nice scenery but 360 miles in one day on a CB would require at least a half bottle of that pain reliever .... thanks for sharing the ---
"pictures at least "

[SportsterDoc]

very nice scenery but 360 miles in one day on a CB would require at least a half bottle of that pain reliever .... thanks for sharing the ---
"pictures at least "

Nah, I did 465 miles last Monday, to Jacob Lake and back to Las Vegas Valley, with stock seat and stock suspension.

Did enjoy the photos. Last time I was in the SLC area, wife and I stopped at Williard State Park and saw Nutria for the first time, on top of the dike.

[LongRanger_imp]

Great pics Frulk. I can't believe how low the lake is. I lived in Alta during the winters of 82/83 and 83/84. We received over 800" of snow each year and I remember the flooding each spring. The railroad trestles west out of SLC were under water and Salt Aire was flooded and completely cut off from I-80. Even Trolley Square near downtown was flooded. I also remember the canyon walls abutting Glen Canyon Dam were beginning to fail. It's amazing how dry things look now!

I rode my CB400F non-stop from SF to Denver in '82 and took a nap on one of the picnic tables at the rest area just east of Wendover, across from the salt flats. Good times! You think a CB1100 is uncomfortable? Ever see how narrow the seat is on a CB400F?!

[pdedse]

Outstanding!! I love the blue sky. I miss that soooo much. Those pics warm up one's spirit for sure.