Last night at "the bend in the road" people were partying til late at night, fireworks popping above us. The crowd of RV's has grown considerably, and space is getting tight. A truly amazing collection of cool cars and trucks has assembled, and it's hard to see them all.

At 3:00 a.m. someone decided to take their car onto the road for a few high speed runs, waking up the whole area. Lucky he didn't get caught, because it's grounds for disqualification from racing.

We left our motorhome, and the dog, at 10:00 a.m., and headed for the salt. Since this was our first time, we didn't have clue where to park, where to watch, or what to do. We paid for a full week's pass ($80 for two of us) and headed to the parking area. The immense size of the flats is staggering. You really can see the curvature of the earth. Mountains that appear to be 4 or 5 miles away are really 15 miles or more off. The pit area is over a mile long, and is packed with interesting vehicles of all types.

We decided to park and walk the pits, a mistake because once the sun peeked out from the clouds it started to get HOT. About half way down the pit area, we turned around and headed back. We stopped at the sales trailer and bought obligatory tee shirts (proceeds go to save the salt). We came across a voluble official, who was happy to explain the layout, where to watch from, and what to do. He also gave us an entry form so we can race next year. Maybe we'll "hot rod" the Echo!

The track is really 3 tracks, and they are at least 1/4 mile away from the nearest viewing spots, but still the image of cars hurtling across the salt at 200 MPH+ with the sound following behind them is really neat. One unfortunate fellow in a roadster spun out at 195 MPH, but no damage was done (except for his shorts!). There is a radio channel you can tune in and listen to race announcing, and keep track of what's going on.

After a few hours, we are tired, and ready for food and a rest, so we head back to the RV and feed ourselves. We are in need of some supplies, so we took the dog and drove into Wendover. This is a small truck stop of a town, with only the casinos to attract gamblers from Salt Lake City to keep it going between racing events. Now the town is full, no room at any of the inns, motels, casinos or RV parks. Prices at the grocery store are HIGH, but liquor is cheap (Nevada). After resupplying ourselves we went back to the RV for a nap.

At about 7:00 the parade of vehicles leaving the track began, and we had a front row seat for the show! We fired up the grill and cooked some pork chops and baked potatoes, and we will go for a walk around to see the cars and meet some people. Stay tuned.