Forgiveness is always easier to get then permission, right? So I'm gonna start the official SW thread with some photos, since I'm here and I got some to post. Makes sense to me, anyway. SSS, if ya wanna move stuff around, do whatcha gotta and I'll try to play along in the same key. K?
Ok. So as I left the Salt Lake City area, around 2 pm, it was 103F and there were a few clouds off to the west. After driving 50 miles west, I was in the middle of a downpour and the Burb's external thermometer said it was 62F. What the h*ll? 50 miles and a 41 degree drop in temperature? Weird. The hard rain didn't last long, but the overcast did. There was a lotta virga (rain falling that never hits the ground, see 2nd photo) but no more wet stuff outta the sky.
Doc Freud called me to let me know that there was a pretty big storm front along the Utah-Nevada border, heading NE. I checked out wunderground.com later and I see some activity, but it all seems to be going to the east of the salt.
When I got to the rest stop at mile marker 7, there westbound traffic was backed up for a mile or so. I never did figger out what happened, cuz by the time I'd walked 3/4 of the way to the head of the backup, the seas parted and the traffic got moving again. So I drove on to Land's End, where I met Linda and a coupla other folks and then out to the pit area to stake out a pit for a friend who's a day or so behind me.
The rain might never have hit the salt, but the wind was blowin with a vengeance. I estimate 40-50 mph wind, fairly steady. That was 90 minutes ago and it's slowed down quite a bit now.
I'm gonna post this and continue it with a few more images and some observations about the salt.