Bonneville Speed Week & A Tour Around The South West Of Americs

We’re going to USA the week after next & will be spending a few days at Speedweek at the Bonneville Salt Flats (15th-18th Aug)
We land in Las Vegas the Tuesday before (9th August) & am planning to take in Death Valley & Yosemite via Hoover Dam on the way up to Bonneville.
We’ve got 9 days after Speedweek & I was thinking of driving south to take in Zion, Bryce Canyon & Monument Valley.
Then down to Flagstaff & Phoenix & visiting the Pima Air & Space Museum, finally going back up to Route 66 & following this back towards Las Vegas (on the 27th August).
Were hiring a 4x4 & plan to book the hotels as we go. (Apart for the first night & the 4 nights in Wendover for Speedweek).
Does this all this sound feasible or am I trying to cram too much in? Conversely am I missing out stuff I should be doing? Do you think I’ll be ok booking rooms as we go?
Any advice gratefully accepted.
Thanks in advance
Paul

Who gives a fuck you jammy bastard, why would we care if you're doing all that while we're at work

Paul,
If you haven't already got your rooms booked for Speedweek, then go over to www.landracing.com and people list spare rooms on there.
Don't forget to stop at Lands End before going onto the salt and get your weeks pass from lands End Linda

HTH
Neil

Good point from NeillDD above about accommodation. Both Wendover and West Wendover are likely to have been booked to capacity, probably from last year. Wendover used to be a bit of a run down dump and West Wendover was a bit better with casinos and the benefit of Nevada gambling money.

I take it that Speed Week is planned to go ahead this year? It was cancelled for the previous two years because of the condition of the salt and I know that initially, the BLM said they wouldn't be issuing a permit for this year; although I know that the SCTA were continuing negotations with them.

Even then, if it rains up in Idaho, the salt flats can quickly become flooded and water logged. The last time my wife and I were there in 2008 we had to drive through over 2 feet of salt water at the end of the access road, to get out to the racetrack.

In terms of the competition, if you want to see the fast guys set records, you need to be out on the salt by early morning when the air is cooler and denser and there's more horsepower to be made. Also, quite a lot of the fast guys run early in the week and if they set a good time, they pack up and go home. So it doesn't pay to leave spectating to the end of the week.

Going out on the salt, it's going to be over 100 deg F and the intense UV light reflects off the salt. You need to cover up and put sunblock up your nose, in your ears and if you're wearing shorts, up your legs. Take a light coloured brolly and lots of water. In 2008 there were some vendors out on the salt including an ice cream van and a sunglasses stall.

I found that competitors were very friendly and welcomed our interest. I was invited into pits to take photographs and recruited to help push cars up to the start line queue. I don't know if it's still the case but you used to be able to stand next to the start line and watch cars, bikes and trucks being flagged off on their runs down the salt. My wife, who's a major petrol head, was happy to sit there for hours and watch and listen to big engines thundering off down the salt. She regularly asks when we're going back again.

As for the viability of doing everything you've planned - in the years when we were touring the Western USA, we'd regularly cover 4,500 miles during our three weeks there.

Hope this is of some help and have a great time.

It also occurs to me that since you're planning on visiting the Pima Museum, you might like the Wendover Airfield. http://www.wendoverairbase.com/museum

Amongst other things, they had the bombsight from the Enola Gay when we were there.

Hi Chaps,
Thanks for your comments.
We’ve been saving for the past couple of years as a treat for my 50th (2 years ago).
I booked the accommodation in Wendover i February & at the moment i looks like like it’s going ahead.
Thanks Neil we’ll get our weeks pass from Lands End Linda, will also visit the Wendover airfield.
Schtum we get there Monday & will take your good advice to get there early morning, really can’t wait!
Any advice on booking hotel rooms for the rest of the visit?
Cheers