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Had another great year at Bonneville and here's the trip report.
First, I flew from ILM (the Wilmington NC airport) to Salt Lake City. It took forever as we landed in every second cow pasture (well, Atlanta and Kansas City). Lots of plane switching. This is the price one pays for living in Paradise.
Got the rental car and arrived in Ely at 1:00 AM local time. With time zone adjustments I think my ol' bod thought it was 4AM but I might be off an hour or two. "What time is it" becomes a difficult question at Bonneville as the time zone shifts every time you walk from the parking lot to the casinos. The lots are in Utah and the casinos (some of them, anyhow) are in Nevada with the time zone changing as you walk.
Anyhow, the next morning I was at the mine and Randal gave me an excellent tour. He even arranged a "shot", which is a very noisy method they have to move large quantities of rock from here to there. He thought he'd pimp the new guy by telling me that it really wouldn't be all that big a deal and was pretty quiet. It WAS a big deal and was NOT quiet!
The scope of the place is hard to wrap your head around. The haul trucks are about the size of my shop (no, I'm not kidding) but they look like pick up trucks when they're working in the pit. It's HUGE and wildly interesting - Randal has a great job.
The next morning I toured the railway museum in Ely. It's SO worth it! I started with a ride on the train - it goes from Ely to the mine and back. The day I was there it was pulled by a Diesel but they have 2 steam locomotives which are coal fired and used regularly.
Following the ride several of us took a guided tour of the workshops which are intact from about 1906 (IIRC). They have lathes big enough to turn ASSEMBLED wheel & axle assemblies! Lots of cool old stuff. In the train shed there is a rotary snow plow, a huge crane used to put locos back on the tracks, and lots of other cool stuff.
If you get the chance, GO!!!
Then, on to the salt. As I've mentioned I volunteer in the Impound area where cars that have completed their qualifying run come to await their return run the following morning. Each team gets 4 hours to prep the car for the next run. The following morning they are allowed an additional hour, mostly to warm engines, charge batteries, etc.
My job is to check bodies for adherence to class requirements, check gas tank seals, and similar duties. It gets pretty busy on the weekend and slows down as the week progresses. This is the happiest place on the salt as everyone is halfway to paradise but have not yet had their dreams crushed under the boot heel of reality.
Anyhow - I did the week on the salt then hopped the plane to Detroit where I hooked up with ME (she had driven up) for a few days of Grandkid spoiling, followed by a 2 day drive home. We arrived about 5:00 this evening after getting Knucklehead out of Doggie Jail.
Another great year and I look forward to next year.
Dan
First, I flew from ILM (the Wilmington NC airport) to Salt Lake City. It took forever as we landed in every second cow pasture (well, Atlanta and Kansas City). Lots of plane switching. This is the price one pays for living in Paradise.
Got the rental car and arrived in Ely at 1:00 AM local time. With time zone adjustments I think my ol' bod thought it was 4AM but I might be off an hour or two. "What time is it" becomes a difficult question at Bonneville as the time zone shifts every time you walk from the parking lot to the casinos. The lots are in Utah and the casinos (some of them, anyhow) are in Nevada with the time zone changing as you walk.
Anyhow, the next morning I was at the mine and Randal gave me an excellent tour. He even arranged a "shot", which is a very noisy method they have to move large quantities of rock from here to there. He thought he'd pimp the new guy by telling me that it really wouldn't be all that big a deal and was pretty quiet. It WAS a big deal and was NOT quiet!
The scope of the place is hard to wrap your head around. The haul trucks are about the size of my shop (no, I'm not kidding) but they look like pick up trucks when they're working in the pit. It's HUGE and wildly interesting - Randal has a great job.
The next morning I toured the railway museum in Ely. It's SO worth it! I started with a ride on the train - it goes from Ely to the mine and back. The day I was there it was pulled by a Diesel but they have 2 steam locomotives which are coal fired and used regularly.
Following the ride several of us took a guided tour of the workshops which are intact from about 1906 (IIRC). They have lathes big enough to turn ASSEMBLED wheel & axle assemblies! Lots of cool old stuff. In the train shed there is a rotary snow plow, a huge crane used to put locos back on the tracks, and lots of other cool stuff.
If you get the chance, GO!!!
Then, on to the salt. As I've mentioned I volunteer in the Impound area where cars that have completed their qualifying run come to await their return run the following morning. Each team gets 4 hours to prep the car for the next run. The following morning they are allowed an additional hour, mostly to warm engines, charge batteries, etc.
My job is to check bodies for adherence to class requirements, check gas tank seals, and similar duties. It gets pretty busy on the weekend and slows down as the week progresses. This is the happiest place on the salt as everyone is halfway to paradise but have not yet had their dreams crushed under the boot heel of reality.
Anyhow - I did the week on the salt then hopped the plane to Detroit where I hooked up with ME (she had driven up) for a few days of Grandkid spoiling, followed by a 2 day drive home. We arrived about 5:00 this evening after getting Knucklehead out of Doggie Jail.
Another great year and I look forward to next year.
Dan
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