Mirror Lake Scenic Drive

On the weekend my husband and I visited Midway, Utah and Homestead Crater, we also took a scenic drive to Mirror Lake, located in the Uinta Mountains. To get there, we headed north from Midway and then east along the south edge of Jordanelle Reservoir. This huge reservoir is relatively new, from the 1990s. There have been many water projects in central Utah to transport water from the mountainous areas that receive lots of snow each winter to the Wasatch Front, where the majority of Utah's population lives.

Along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, which starts in Kamas, UT, we stopped at a sign denoting the Duchesne Tunnel. This six-mile long tunnel can carry up to 600 cfs of water, although late in the fall it was running less than 20 cfs.

We could just barely see the tunnel from the end of the little walk.

As we traveled further up the road, we passed beautiful meadows, lots of ATV trails, and many campsites with hunters. By late October most of the leaves had fallen off the trees, but we did see a bit of color in the coniferous forest due to insect kill.

We stopped at the overlook for the Provo River Falls, finding an ice-covered cascade. We were the only vehicle in the parking lot, and it was obvious that on a hot summer afternoon, this place would be packed and a lot of fun.

We wandered down the trail and then back up the river to enjoy the many waterfalls.

Needless to say, it was cold!

As we went further up the road, my husband started getting worried because we hadn't seen any other vehicles in a long time. Now out where we live, we take this for granted. And usually we're on valley bottoms. But this time we were up in the mountains, and we started thinking of had all the tales of people getting stranded in similar situations and trying to dig their way out of snow and walking 36 miles in circles and cutting off their big toes to have something to eat.

We knew that even though it was a beautiful day, there was a big storm coming. And so my husband imagined even worse scenarios.

Fortunately, before too long we got to Mirror Lake, a scenic lake with tall Uinta Mountains in the background. A bit of trivia: the Uintas are one of only three east-west trending mountain ranges in the U.S., and they are the longest of the three.

Here we were again the only vehicle in the parking lot. The campground, with over 75 sites, were closed. Ice was building along the shoreline. The lakeside trail was covered with snow. And a cold breeze kept us from venturing too far. But we figured we had come this far, we had better get out and see a little of it.

I'm trying to keep my hair out of my face in this photo. This would be a fun place to go back to and spend a couple nights camping. There are some great mountains nearby that wouldn't be too hard to climb, along with fishing, hiking, and just generally enjoying the outdoors.

But for now, the Mirror Lake area is coated in deep snow. The storm that arrived not too long after our visit dumped many feet of snow. I'm sure the lakes have nearly frozen over as the cold chill takes hold on the high terrain. But next spring, as the days get longer and the sun warms the mountain air, it will all reawaken. And fortunately we won't be trapped in our vehicle, waiting.

Homestead Crater

Okay, I thought I was done with caves for the winter, but I couldn't resist going to another, and this time I dragged my dear husband with me. Fortunately this cave was warm and we were able to walk into it.

This is Homestead Crater, located in Midway, Utah, and it's a tourist attraction with a pleasant resort built next to it.

I liked how the light made my husband seem to glow. He didn't manage to levitate, though.

The real attraction in the crater is the 95-96 degree water. It is used for soaking, swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving. In fact, this is the only year-round scuba diving destination in the continental U.S.

Here's a soaking section, watched over by an alligator.

The tunnel into the crater was built in 1996.

The water in the crater is over 60 feet deep, but divers are advised to dive no deeper than 35 feet for 35 minutes due to the altitude and sediments at the bottom.

The tunnel is filled with tanks, regulators, buoyancy aids, and more.
The outside of the crater isn't so remarkable. A mound of tufa rises slightly from the surrounding terrain. This is the largest of about 35 "hot pots" that are found in the area. Originally 20 of them had water in them--I'm not sure if that many still do. The water comes from the Wasatch Mountains and then is heated deep in the earth. Apparently the hot pots are only about 10,000 years old--quite young by geologic standards.

We hiked up the stairs to the top of the crater. From above we could look down at the steamy water and see the scuba divers.

The views from the top of the mound are really nice, with mountains in all directions. Although we missed most of the fall colors, we enjoyed seeing the snow at the higher elevations.

In the resort, there's a display about the history of the area.

We found that the ducks like the warm water.

And the pool and hot tub were exquisite. There are also outdoor versions, although the outdoor pool was closed for the season.

To get ready for Halloween, there was a scarecrow convention on the front lawn with many creative entries.

Homestead made for a slightly different getaway, and I'm looking forward to going back someday.

Thanks so much to the cousins and aunt and uncle who watched Desert Boy so we could have a getaway weekend!

KNPB Special Reports

There's a lot of publicity for the upcoming PBS Series The National Parks: America's Best Idea. Some of that publicity is spilling over to local parks. Here are some reports from KNPB from Reno about Great Basin National Park, one of our favorite hangouts. It also happens to be one of the least visited national parks. 

Great Basin National Park is home to Lehman Cave and 41 other caves, ancient bristlecone pines that started growing before the pyramids were built, a rock-glacier that manages to preserve ice under a thick blanket of rock, beautiful sub-alpine lakes, and virtually empty backcountry trails. It's a good place to get away from the noise of every day and look up at the really dark night skies and ponder your place in the world.

The reports were produced by Michael Hagerty, who happened to go to elementary school in the same town I grew up in. We both sure ended up far from our roots!

To listen to and watch the reports, click on the following link:

http://knpb.org/programming/local/knpb-reports/nationalparks

Bonneville Speed Week-Part Two

In case you missed the first installment, click here to see Bonneville Speed Week-Part One.

After watching so many neat cars and motorcycles go zooming away across that smooth salt trying to go as fast as possible, trying to break the record for their class, it was our turn to go out on the salt. No, we weren't racing (although I'm sure my husband had several thoughts about it). Instead, we had permission to go visit the main timing tower, which is located between the long and short course at mile marker three. It was neat driving out on the salt and have vehicles zooming past us at much faster speeds.

James Rice was waiting for us. I had met James at a caving event, and we had started talking about Bonneville Salt Flats and Speed Week, and it just so happened that James is in charge of timing the vehicles! He and his brother Alan run the company ChronoLogic Timing, which does the timing for both Speed Week and World Finals at Bonneville, along with an assortment of other meets.

We went upstairs in the air-conditioned control tower to meet some of the folks helping out. Glen Barrett, on the left, has been involved with Speed Week for decades, and his daughter, Tammy (not pictured), is following in his footsteps. 

Speed Week becomes a tradition with many people, and not just the racers. The starters, timers, patrollers, inspectors, and others who help with the race go back year after year. Tammy said that when people ask where she's going, she says, "To my family reunion."

The Southern California Timing Association (SCTA), which sponsors Speed Week and other races, is an all volunteer organization. Obviously these folks love what they're doing.

On each end of the control tower are a pair of workstations that overlook the race course. The computers show the times of the vehicles as they pass the sensors. Everything is recorded, and it's known in just a few seconds if a record has been broken.

To the back of the timing tower are more support vehicles, along with emergency vehicles like a fire truck and an ambulance. Although not usually necessary, they are essential. Unfortunately there was one fatality at Speed Week this year.

Downstairs, James showed me the supply of extra timing mechanisms. These occasionally get run over (he had cleaned one up earlier in the day), so they always take several spares. They also have a large bank of radios to keep everyone in contact. With such long race courses, good communications are essential.

The timing devices are hooked by hard line into the timing tower. From there, the results can be broadcast wirelessly for a short distance, and are uploaded onto the SCTA website each night.

Thanks so much, James, for giving us this peek into the behind-the-scenes action at Speed Week! It is really amazing how many people are needed to make an event successful.

This is the view looking from the timing tower towards the pits, which are near the end of the long course.

The salt has interesting patterns on it from evaporation. There's a group called "Save the Salt" that works with the BLM and a nearby mining company to try to preserve the Bonneville salt.

We drove back to mile 0, staying close to the orange cones so we didn't disrupt any of the racers.

Then it was time to head out towards the pits, where we also found the registration and inspection area. Safety is taken very seriously, with three inspectors closely checking each vehicle. The drivers have to be familiar with the required safety gear and how to use it.

New drivers also have to attend an orientation. We were surprised that there were still new drivers signing up on Wednesday. They still had the rest of Wednesday and Thursday and Friday to race. The busiest race days are usually Saturday through Monday, and then as people reach the times they want or their vehicles reach their limits (or they have to go back to work), they head home.

Desert Boy was worn out from all the looking around and laid down on the salt. We lucked out with weather--when we got to the salt flats it was only about 65 F. In a few hours it warmed up to 85 F, and was expected to get slightly warmer. One official told us that some years it can be up to 110 F, and then it's just brutal. I can only imagine. 

There is so much to see at Speed Week that these blog posts just give a hint of what's out there. It's a fascinating world of speed, machinery, and camaraderie. I encourage you to go see it for yourself, it's not like anything else I had ever experienced.

What's next? My husband and the ranch mechanic are already hatching plans for what farm equipment they can resurrect and supercharge to set new land speed records. Fortunately, tractors aren't one of the racing classes, so maybe we'll be okay!

Bonneville Speed Week-Part One

About two hours east of Salt Lake City, on the west side of the Great Salt Lake, there is a huge area made of salt called the Bonneville salt flats. And when I say huge, I mean huge. The salt flats cover 159 square miles. Some of the salt is estimated to be six feet deep. It is flat, and after every rain, the previous tire tracks get washed away, and it becomes flat once again.

This flatness makes the Bonneville salt a great place to race, and as early as 1914, the first land speed records were being set there. Today, there are three major speed events: Speed Week in August, World of Speed in September, and World Finals in October.

Last Wednesday, we went for a quick trip up to see Speed Week. Ever since we saw the movie The World's Fastest Indian, which is about Burt Munro's trip from New Zealand to the Bonneville salt flats to race his Indian motorcycle, we've wanted to take a trip to Speed Week. Apparently the movie has influenced a lot of people, because this year they had a record number of entrants, over 400 cars and 150 motorcycles.

We began at mile 0, where participants were lining up to race. There were three courses: the long course, the short course, and the special course, which was also a short course. The long course is seven miles long, with timing up to mile five and then two miles to slow down. The short courses are five miles long, with timing up to mile three and then two miles to slow down.

Registrants can race as many times as they want, they just have to get in the back of the line.  It costs $400 to register before May, and $600 afterwards. There are many different classes of cars and motorcycles, and on Wednesday morning, 48 records had been broken just on the short course. 

These records are Speed Week records, and to earn one, you have to race twice, on two mornings, and have your times averaged at the same timing post (from what I understood--if someone knows better, please leave a comment!). Vehicles are timed at several different locations along the courses.

It takes a lot of preparation to get ready for a race. Not only do you have to prep the vehicle and have the driver practice, but there also needs to be a support crew. This crew unloads the vehicle, helps move it up to the starting line, then goes to the end of the course to retrieve the vehicle.

At mile 0 there's an announcer who broadcasts on an FM channel so that folks watching all over know who's racing and how fast they go.

Here's looking at mile 0 on the long course from the announcer trailer.

One of the things that surprised me was that some of the vehicles get push-started. My husband explained that they are geared so high that it would take them a long time to get up to speed if they didn't have this extra assist.

It might take 1/4 mile, but eventually the car is off on its own, pressing the pedal to the metal.

There were a lot of motorcycles racing. Some seemed to go really fast, while others we wondered if they made it over 50 mph.

Desert Boy was fascinated with the salt everywhere, but he didn't seem particularly interested in the racing. It's okay with me if he doesn't think he needs to set a land speed record.

Here's a BMW motorcycle at the starting line, waiting his turn.

The starter is in radio communication with the control tower.

When they clear the course, the starter gives the thumbs up and the rider is on his way. There were also a number of women drivers, and the fastest motorcycle time we heard while we were there (over 200 mph) was by a 71-year old woman.

This brightly painted red car caught my eye, but not for its shiny chrome.

Instead I noticed the array of casualties on the grille. Apparently there are quite a few insects even out over the barren salt flats!

This streamliner was trying to beat the record for fastest time at Speed Week. Whoever gets that honor gets his name inscribed on a huge trophy. I think this streamliner fell a little short--it only went about 371 mph.

Here was another streamliner, so close to the ground it almost seemed to blend in.

In the next post we'll look at our chance to go out on the salt--and some of the inside operations of Speed Week. Speed Week is sponsored by the Southern California Timing Association, and this is the 61st year it's been held.