Road Trip! (pt 2) The long & somewhat windy road through Wyoming, Utah & Nevada

My husband and I were along for the ride as our friends moved out to San Francisco this past week. We drove up to Wyoming and took I-80 to the Bay Area. It was not nearly as scenic as I had expected it to be – part of that had to do with the weather. The other part had to do with the fact we drove through what seemed to be high desert for the entire second day. Not a lot of trees and very few towns.

That said, I had never driven to the West Coast before, and it was an interesting experience.

Here are a few highlights and photos from the trip:

For much of the drive immediately west of Salt Lake City, it felt as if we were driving right through the lake, as shown below. Notice the water on both sides of the highway?

But apparently this water is not as deep as it appears. In the winter, according to Utah.com, a shallow layer of standing water floods the surface of the salt flats. In the summer, the water evaporates and the surface is flat, and some would say, "desolate." The largest of the salt flats – the Bonneville Salt Flats – is the place to set land-speed records in the spring and summer when they dry out. Yes, that means that where you see water below, cars and other motorized vehicles drive very very quickly in the summer. We had the pleasure of seeing the area with water, which made for beautiful reflections of the mountains that sit behind the salt flats.

I insisted on being a speed tourist in the major cities we stopped in: Salt Lake City and Reno. I had never been to either city, so I wanted to get a taste for both. In the former, we went downtown to Temple Square. The Salt Lake Temple was much larger and more ornate than I had expected.

In Reno, we went to the diner I featured in this blog post on the Gold 'N Silver Inn. We also went gambling, however briefly (and unsuccessfully). The strip in Reno was not quite like Vegas, but it was still a fun diversion.

The rest of the drive, while interesting, was dotted with the (very) occasional tree, several signs of mining and a few small towns.

The prettiest was the final leg from Reno into San Francisco. The final leg of the trip into California featured snow-covered mountains and pine trees as we descended to the coast. The only odd thing I noticed as we entered California was a conspicuous lack of lines on the highway - as in, it was difficult to tell where your lane was. We also had to go through an agricultural checkpoint as we entered California. Last I checked, we weren't leaving the country, but perhaps there was a good reason for it? Who knows ...

Coming soon: Being a tourist in San Francisco.

(The above photos were taken by my husband and myself.)