19 Mar Playing with Perspective at the Bonneville Salt Flats
One spot that has been at the top of my list for a very long time is the Salar de Uyuni in Bolovia. There’s something about the expansive white salt flats that intrigues me. So, when I found out that Utah has a similar landscape, I knew we had to check it out sooner rather than later.
On our second trip to Utah this year, we had a day set aside for the two hour drive out west to the Bonneville Salt Flats, and luckily for us, it was a beautiful day with bright blue skies. We arrived mid morning, and had the place pretty much to ourselves minus a few others making quick stops to see the sights.
The salt flats are remnants of the dried up Lake Bonneville, and they are located off of I-80 two hours west of Salt Lake City. When you pull up to the flats, you basically drive as far as the road will take you. There is a sign at the end of the road before it disappears into the expansive field of salt. You can drive on the flats, but it almost looked like the cars were destroying the landscape with their tire tracks–it was a bit sad to see how torn up some of the land was, but there was also plenty of untouched, beautiful land. If you do decide to drive on the flats, be sure the ground is hard enough–you wouldn’t want to get stuck!
In the summer, there is a racetrack called the Bonneville Speedway out on the salt flats. People have been racing on this land since 1914, and there have been numerous land speed records set there. Apparently, the land is perfect for speed racing and it shows by the all the records and the 5 different races held at the speedway each year.
In the winter, the salt flat is typically covered with about an inch of water, and the water gives the surface an almost glass like appearance. On our visit, we found both the watery landscape and the dry salty fields.
I am always cracking up over the ridiculous perspective photos of people at the salt flats, so I couldn’t resist doing some ourselves. Micah was a bit reluctant to join in with me, but he was a good sport. Thankfully no one else was around to laugh at our goofy antics and failed attempts! Let’s just say it’s hard doing perspective shots when you only have two people and a camera timer…here are a few of our favorite shots and failed attempts!
I’m so glad we were able to visit the Bonneville Salt Flats. I still want to get to Bolivia, but at least for now, I have visited at least one salt flat!
Have you ever been to a salt flat?