from 2016-06-20
After last evening’s festivities and the celebration of the 1907 Thomas Flyer’s entrance into the National Registry, this has been a very different day of driving through Nevada! Through desert like lands of monstrous proportions, my announcing partner, Dennis and I drove 175 miles across these baren badlands to arrive at a small (population +/- 100) town called, Austin. As they arrived, our Great Racers swelled the population significantly.

2016-06-21
A later start to the day with our first time change to Mountain time and with no formal noon stop…MotorMouth drove the first segment from Elko, NV to the Bonneville Salt Flats, just into the State of Utah. On other occasions, we would have made a drive out to the area where world land speed records are set…this year, the salt flats are under water. It is our understanding that this is a good thing as the salt flats have a natural way to re-energize from years of use. The salt flats are exactly as one would imagine…flat and white!
101 miles from Salt Lake City! With Dennis behind the wheel and MotorMouth writing….we’re travelling at at least 80 miles per hour. That is the posted speed limit here in Utah! All of a sudden, we’ve lost an hour!
As we switched driver’s for the final time today and after refuelling, we made a final run to Evanston, where we greeted one and all at the old train yard. I had the pleasure of introducing State Representative Garry Piiparinen. I told of how the last time Great Race visited Wyoming, the Governor had presented me with a beautiful white cowboy hat that I still proudly display back home…he said that I should treasure it; budgets are a lot different in 2016!
And so today ends…tomorrow we stay in Wyoming, with stops in Rawlins and Cheyenne!
My head is about to hit the pillow. Great Racers…you’re doing an awesome job!