Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Utah Capital, Bonneville Salt Flats and Nevada

We had a great visit to Salt Lake City and enjoyed touring the area. The state capital building (Orinda likes to visit each one!) was super and very well worth the stop. This beautiful structure is on the very highest point in Salt Lake City and overlooks the mountains on several sides.

Inside, the capital building is truly amazing. This dome is over three stories tall and features murals depicting the history of the state.
Here, Orinda stands at the base of the incredible marble staircase (there were two of these) -- notice the skylights above. This capital reflects the great optimism of the state and was a joy to visit.

Leaving Salt Lake, we traveled west on I-80 and after about 60 miles, found ourselves next to the famous Bonneville Salt Flats and the land speed racing course -- very cool! You could not see the enire course due to the curvature of the earth! This is a very FLAT place!



Shortly after Bonneville, we stopped for fuel and found ourselves surrounded by NASCAR trucks -- apparently there was a race west of us and they were convoying to the next race site. There were some spectacular trucks and paint jobs -- although I wish I could have seen inside the trailers.

We spend the night in Minden, NV which is in the middle of the Carson Valley -- a very green valley which stands in contrast to the desert leading up to it. Just 15 miles away (and 2,500 feet up), to the west, is fabuolus Lake Tahoe, which we enjoyed touring around.

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