Getting closer, both to Los Angeles, and to the plaque dedication! Bit of a short day today, I'm making such good time. I had expected to stop for the night in or near Salt Lake City, but I passed through there around 12 noon local time; much too early to stop. So, on I went, and finally stopped for the night in Elko, NV. Tomorrow, I'm off to Reno, to meet my buddy Steve and enjoy a few adult beverages. Here's the round up from today.

Into Utah, and the mountains have a subtle color change, they are still predominantly tan and brown, but there's more green areas mixed in, and many of the rocks have a greenish tint, perhaps moss or lychen on them. Didn't stop in Salt Lake, as the traffic was a little balky, and it was too early to eat. So on I went, past the actual Great Salt Lake, which has receded even further than it had the last time I was here several years ago. Not that you'd want to, but if you decided to go for a swim in it, you'd have one hell of a long walk from the parking lot to the water!
Had my mind made up to stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats - site of the land speed record attempts. I'd been there in '97, in my little rental Mazda. Took it out on to the salt, cranked it up and hit maybe 75 or so. Today, I thought, gee, the Blue Cuda should be able to go a LOT faster than that! So imagine my disappointment when I got there and found this:

 Yep, the whole thing is under water! Spoke to a local Sheriff's Deputy who was walking around chatting with the tourists, and he said that this was the first year since they started the time trials that they couldn't finish, they got rained out! Turns out they had a torrential downpour, 3-4 inches of water came down, and completely flooded out the salt flats. In the next photo, you can see the entry ramp onto the flats, and how high the water is.

So there was no attempt at a speed record today. The Deputy said they normally get a second round of good dry weather around October, and he expected that some of the teams might come back then.
The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, good well maintained roads, light traffic, but around 1:30, the weather started to turn, there were some pretty nasty thunder clouds rolling in, and I spotted some lightning off in the distance. As the rain started, I decided it was time for lunch, and well, lo and behold, I found a Jack In The Box! Posted the 'monster taco' photo earlier, here's the onion rings;

 
 Checked in to my hotel, caught up on some emails, called Steve, and relaxed with a little television, then it was time for dinner. Steve suggested the "Star" restaurant, but unfortunately, a tour bus had just pulled up, and there was quite a wait for dinner. I did, however, visit the bar, and had a "Pecan Punch", a very tasty cocktail which packs quite a punch - they have a 'two punch limit'. Not sure how strict they are, but I sure didn't want a second!
Two monster tacos and onion rings were a big lunch, so dinner was something simple. I spotted a "Chicago Dogs" restaurant in a local shopping center, complete with 'Vienna Beef' signs, and decided to give it a try.
Small place, three or four small tables and two counters inside, and a few tables out on the sidewalk. Menu is pretty much what you'd expect, hot dogs, Chicago beef sandwiches, polish sausage, etc. Ordered the plain Chicago dog meal, which included a drink and 'hand cut' fries; more about them in a minute. The dog was your standard skinless Vienna Beef dog, steamed, served on a steamed poppy seeded roll, and 'dragged through the garden', meaning it had yellow mustard, tomato, pickle green relish, onions, sport peppers, and celery salt. Here's the complete meal:

The dog was fine, as Chicago dogs go. If you're familiar with them, Vienna Beef dogs are all beef, and have more spice to them than a typical 'bologna dog' that you typically find once you leave NY. However, as I've noted before, side by side with a "Nathan's Famous", they come in a poor second. You can't beat the 'snap' that the natural casing on a Nathan's dog has, and the heavy garlic seasoning in the Nathan's makes a big difference. Still, in a landscape littered with hot dogs that taste more like Oscar Meyer bologna than a hot dog, this was pretty good. Here's a shot after a bite:

Now, those fries. It's always nice when a place takes the time to do fresh, 'hand cut' fries. The effort to actually make fries instead of buying the frozen ones is appreciated. However, all the good intentions go out the window if the fries aren't properly cooked. To really do them right, the fries need to be twice cooked. First, they should be blanched at a temperature of 150-160 for several minutes. They should then be set aside to cool slightly, before being cooked a second time, at a slightly higher temperature of 160-170 until they're brown and crispy. When fresh potatoes are cooked just once, they get tough, not crispy, and that's what happened to these. Additionally, fries need salt;  you can't just take them out of the fryer and put them on the plate, you've gotta salt them.



Next stop, Reno!