I-80 and UTAH

Bonneville Speedway is at exit 4. Yes, it is flat and that is why it is famous.

The Great Salt Lake Desert will be keeping you company for the next 50 miles or so. Then you will pass between the Lakeside Mountains (Salt lake is on the other side) and the Cedar Mountains.

Great Salt Lake. Now you get a sight of the Great Salt Lake; yes, it's like an ocean but a lot saltier. Covering some 2,500+ square miles, the lake is the collection medium for all the rivers and streams in the area - and there is no outlet. So the salt and other minerals have become so concentrated that fish cannot live in the water. There are some tiny creatures, brine shrimp and crabs, that do thrive in this salty solution and they are a major attraction for the thousands of birds migrating through here every year. And, yes, the salt has created another local industry: salt harvesting - over 2 million tons a year are extracted and shipped.

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Salt Lake City. When you pass the Salt Lake International Airport (SLC) at exit 115 you know you are in Salt Lake City. At exit 120 you will merge with I-15, follow it south about 3 miles than swing east again passing through South Salt Lake City. I-80 then winds up Parley's Canyon and over the divide (7,000 feet). On the west side of the divide the waterways drain into Great Salt Lake. On the east side, however, they drain into the Green River which joins the Colorado in its attempt to reach the Gulf of California before all the water disappears. (Yes, all that water and it just isn't enough!)
 In the Winter, this is a skier's paradise. Park City is at exit 145. You might say this is Utah's 'Vail' (sorry Colorado); they claim the skiing here is better.

Goodbye, Utah. At I-80's Exit 158 is the eastern termination of I-84. I-84 used to be labeled I-80-N and connects Portland and the rest of the Pacific Northwest to I-80 and points east. Then it is just 33 more miles (and one more pass) to Wyoming. There is so much beauty in Utah but, unfortunately, you miss most of it on I-80.  

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