3-Day Ride to the Great Salt Lake, Utah

[SpudRider]

The Fall riding weather is still very nice. Therefore, I decided to pack my J.C. Whitney travel trunk, and take my YamaZong for a 3-day excursion to Utah. As I rode south, the farmers were harvesting hay in the Mink Creek Valley.



When I got to Arbon, Idaho, I found a good sized haystack.



The Arbon Valley of Idaho is very beautiful. Here is a picture I took as I rode the length of the valley to Snowville, Utah.



I encountered another haystack south of Arbon, so I stopped to get a picture. The friendly farmer stopped by and asked if I wanted to buy his hay; I declined.



I always enjoy visiting Holbrook, so I stopped by the grain elevator to take a photograph, and stretch my legs.



Shortly thereafter I entered Utah, and rode gravel roads all the way south to the northern edge of the Great Salt Lake. In the next installment I will continue my ride report from the Beehive State.

Spud

[Jim]

Sounds like a good trip, great photos I always liked grain elevators.

Not sure who watches Corner Gas, but we had to get a photo in front of this one on our trip a few years ago...

[Weldangrind]

Hey Spud,

Thanks for the photos; that looks like an amazing ride. Do you find that the trunk changes the center of gravity much?

Jim,

That's too funny! I took a similar photo when I passed through Rouleau last year. We have all six seasons on DVD.

[TurboT]

Great photos Spud!

Looks like an enjoyable time!

...and here I heard there was a hay shortage this year.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

...Do you find that the trunk changes the center of gravity much?...

Surprisingly, even when the J.C. Whitney travel trunk is fully loaded, my Zong still handles very well! I was heading out into the “boondocks” as I approached the Great Salt Lake from the north, so I had an extra 1.5 gallons of gasoline stashed in the travel trunk, along with my clothing and supplies for the three-day trip. I knew I would not find any gas pumps from Snowville, Utah, until I had traveled east across the Great Salt Lake to Ogden. Therefore, my travel trunk was fully packed, but the bike still handled very well.

Originally Posted by TurboT

...and here I heard there was a hay shortage this year.

There is no hay shortage in Idaho, Turbo! We have had an unusually wet summer, and the harvest is abundant this year.

My Garmin GPS receiver was absolutely necessary as I headed south over the gravel roads, into the Great Basin. As I continued southward I was rewarded with several beautiful views of the Great Salt Lake.



This area is quite remote, populated only by ranches and public land. The rancher below probably travels 50 miles of rough road before he reaches the nearest gas pump.



After a beautiful ride in the Promontory Mountains, I arrived at Golden Spike National Historic Site. This is the place where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met, and completed the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869.



I drove to the Visitor’s Center, and parked the Zong on the sidewalk for a quick photograph. However, a park ranger came out quickly, and asked me to move my motorcycle. When I explained I was just trying to get a quick photo, he offered to take the following picture. I posed, thanked him for his kindness, and quickly moved the Zong into the nearby parking lot.



The U.S. National Park Service maintains the original monument commemorating this historic event of 1869.



Every day, at the correct hour, the U.S. National Park Service brings two vintage steam locomotives to the historic spot. In this photograph, the Central Pacific locomotive is on the left, and the Union Pacific locomotive is on the right.



In my next installment I will continue my ride report as I head south, to Promontory Point, where the Promontory Mountains project into the center of the Great Salt Lake.

Spud

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Jim

...I always liked grain elevators.

Not sure who watches Corner Gas, but we had to get a photo in front of this one on our trip a few years ago...

That is a beautiful photograph, Jim.

Spud

[Jim]

Thanks Spud.

How many miles did you put on? I had a similar trunk on my Lifan, and it worked great, they are very handy to have

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Jim

Thanks Spud.

How many miles did you put on? I had a similar trunk on my Lifan, and it worked great, they are very handy to have

I did not record the mileage before, and after, my trip, Jim. However, I estimate I traveled about 500 miles during this 3-day excursion. My Zong's odometer rolled past 18,000 miles on this trip.

I love my J.C. Whitney travel trunk. It is rugged, waterproof, and easily locked, and unlocked, from my luggage rack. When I reach a motel, I unlock the travel trunk, and use it as my luggage.

Spud

[SpudRider]

After I left Golden Spike National Historic Site, I headed southward, on the west side of the Promontory Mountains. I reached the shoreline, but a gate on private land prevented me from continuing to Promontory Point. In the photo below, the Promontory Mountains are shown in the background



That’s one bad thing about using GPS; it tells you a road is there, but it doesn’t tell you if it is gated.

I backtracked to Golden Spike, and headed down the east side of the Promontory Range, toward Promontory Point. Along the way you notice that the Great Salt Lake is quite shallow in this area, with large, briny salt flats extending from the lake toward the adjacent farmland. The photograph below shows the Wasatch Mountain Range in the distant east.



Here is a close-up photograph of the farmland and range leading up to the salt flats, the Great Salt Lake, and the distant Wasatch Mountains.



Here is a view looking back to the north, from which I had come. The Promontory Mountains are on the left; the old Transcontinental Railroad grade is at the horizon, running just north of the Great Salt Lake. In the distance, an experienced eye can discern the ATK Thiokol plant, where the SRB (solid rocket booster) units for the NASA space shuttle are produced.



Below is a photograph I took last year, at the ATK Thiokol plant.



Continuing farther south, the Great Salt Lake becomes wider, and the salt flats approach closer to the Promontory Mountains.



Getting closer to Promontory Point, the Great Salt Lake continues to widen.



At Promontory Point, the Great Salt Lake gets much deeper. The photograph below was taken from Promontory Point, looking southeast, toward Antelope Island, on the horizon. Once again, the briny salt flats extend for a hundred yards or more, into the lake.



At this point, I decided to head east, across the Great Salt Lake, to Ogden. Rather than follow the railroad east, I decided to take a road that parallels some solar evaporation ponds, used to harvest potassium-bearing salts from the lake. Below is a photograph taken from the road, looking northeast, with the Wasatch Mountains reflected in the water. If you look closely, you can see some salt sticking to the underside of the Zong’s fender.



Looking to the south, you can see Antelope Island, with "saltbergs" floating in the briny water.



Here is a close-up view of Antelope Island, and the "saltbergs."



Getting closer to Ogden, the solar evaporation ponds get saltier.





Closer yet to Ogden, the solar evaporation ponds become large reservoirs of potassium-bearing salts. These enormous piles of salt are moved about by bulldozers, and transported by truck.



I passed a large pile of the harvested salt as I left the Great Salt Lake, and once again reached landfall, a few miles west of Ogden.



As the sun was setting, I traveled to Ogden to spend the night at Motel 6.

In my next installment I will continue my ride report as I head east, into the Wasatch Mountains, riding high above the Great Salt Lake Valley.

Spud

[Jim]

Thanks for the pictures and story.

18,000 MILES? Wow, definitely getting your money's worth. Does your odometer read in miles or km's?

[frostbite]

Finally, a picture of Spud! I thought you'd be taller.

[FastDoc]

Dude, I was just there on a bike trip. I was in Pocatello also, but on a Gold Wing. You are my hero on a CB!

[FastDoc]

We stayed at that little $hithole in Snowville. We must have crossed paths many times.

[FastDoc]

We did Wa, OR, ID, UT, AZ, CO, and WY in 10 days and 2,200 miles, but I was on The WIng. You are hard core buddy. Maybe next year I'll meet up with you on the Q.

BTW, I ride through the winter, but I expect it's milder here...

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Jim

Thanks for the pictures and story.

18,000 MILES? Wow, definitely getting your money's worth. Does your odometer read in miles or km's?

I agree; I definitely got my money's worth from my Zongshen Sierra 200GY-2 motorcycle!

The odometer on my Zong measures miles; I have verified its accuracy. I just got back from a two-day trip to the Big Lost River Range; I am now closing in on 19,000 miles on the odometer.

Spud