Salt Flats East Rest Area ~ Wendover, Utah - Highway Rest Areas on Waymarking.com

This large, and sometimes busy, rest area has an elevated viewing platform from which you can observe the Bonneville Salt Flats from a distance. Some parking spaces are located under large cast-concrete open shelters that protect your car from the brutal heat of desert summers.

The Welcome to Bonneville Salt Flats sign reads:

WELCOME TO THE
BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS

AND UTAH'S FAMED MEASURED MILE
SITE OF THE WORLD LAND-SPEED RECORD RUNS

Utah's famed measured mile is located approximately seven miles beyond this marker, well in front of the mountains you see on the horizon. The elevation along the course is approximately 4,218 feet above sea-level. *** The total length of the course that includes the measured mile varies from year to year, but for recent runs it has been laid out in a path 80 feet wide and approximately 10 miles long, with a black reference stripe down the middle. Due to the curvature of the earth, it is impossible to see from one end of the course to the other. *** Timing of world land-speed record runs is under the jurisdiction of the United States Automobile Club. World land-speed record times represent an electronically-timed average of two runs over the measured mile, within a one hour time period - one run in each direction. *** The first world land-speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats was set on September 3, 1935 by Sir Malcomb Campbell. His speed was 301.13 miles per hour. *** Craig Breedlove holds the honor of being the first man to go faster than 400, 500, and 600 miles per hour. His record of 600.601 miles per hour, set on November 15, 1965, was finally broken on October 23, 1970 by Gary Gabelich. *** Gabelich's new record is 622.407 miles per hour.

Both Gabelich's rocket engine 'Blue Flame' and Breedlove's jet-powered 'Spirit of America' were equipped with specially designed inflatable tires, pre-tested to speeds in excess of 800 miles per hour.

Erected by THE GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY - June 1972

The Blue Star Memorial Highway marker reads:

Blue * Star
Memorial Highway
A Tribute to the Armed Forces
that have defended the
United States of America
Sponsored by:
Utah Associated Garden Clubs
in cooperation with
Utah Department of Highways
1976

The First Transcontinental Telephone Line marker reads:

first transcontinental
telephone line

On June 17, 1914, the first transcontinental
telephone line was completed near this point
on the border of Nevada and Utah at
Wendover. Construction forces of the Bell
Telephone Company of Nevada and the
Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph
Company met there, making the last splices
in the wires which joined East and West in
voice communications for the first time.

Highway Number: Interstate 80 Highway Access Direction: East Rest Area Name: Salt Flats East Facilities: Picnic tables Pet exercise area Pay phones Drinking fountains Services: Vending machines, free traveller publications. Special Features: Elevated viewing platform Blue Star Highway marker Welcome to Bonneville Salt Flats sign First Transcontinental Telephone Line marker WiFi: no Common Name for the Highway: Not listed

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