On our way from Baker to Elko, Nevada, we planned to take the scenic route around the Ruby Mountains and check out the Lamoille Canyon drive.

Mother nature had other plans, and the low visibility due to the ongoing snow storm sent us directly to Elko, saving Lamoille Canyon for a day with better weather.

Elko, Nevada

The Star Hotel was the standout in Elko for us, with the rest of the town consisting of casinos and dive bars. We had a traditional Basque dinner at the Star Hotel, which was excellent and also tons of food. The sides alone would have made a meal. We also got the try Picon Punch, the unofficial state drink of Nevada.

Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway

By the next morning, the snow had stopped and it was blue skies and sunshine so we set out toward the Lamoille Canyon Scenic Byway.

The closer we got to the turnoff, the more snow there was on the ground. Luckily, there was a road grader plowing the snow off the first section of road when we arrived. We made it to the first turnoff and stopped to take some pictures. Unfortunately, that is as far as the snowplowing had gotten at that time. The snow was too deep to risk it in our 20-year-old FWD car, so we turned around and will leave the remaining miles of the byway for another trip.

The area we were able to see was very pretty, and I’m sure there are more impressive views farther up the drive.

Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah

The following day, we set off for our friends’ house near Ogden, Utah. More clear skies accompanied us on our drive, and we pulled over at an interesting rest stop with a concrete tower. It turned out that the tower was overlooking a large section of the Bonneville Salt Flats where the measured mile has been used for nearly 100 years of land speed record making.

While taking in the view from the tower, Heather noticed people walking out on the salt flats, which were accessible from the westbound rest area. We hopped back in the car and pretended to be an authorized vehicle, making a quick u-turn into the rest area parking lot.

We walked out onto the crunchy salt surface and marveled at the flat expanse that led all the way to the mountains in the distance. It was easy to imagine Rollie Free, Burt Munro, or Craig Breedlove zooming by at several hundred miles per hour. The surface had interesting patterns and made for unique views unlike anything we’ve experienced elsewhere. 

Kindig-It Design, Salt Lake City, Utah

Once we had our fill of the salt flats, we headed for Salt Lake City — the home of Kindig-It Design. Heather was less than thrilled about getting to visit a custom car shop featured on a reality TV show, but I hoped she would keep an open mind.

We arrived slightly early for the tour, which gave us a chance to explore the small showroom area with two of the Kindig-It CF1 cars inside.

Our tour started shortly after, and our tour guide was Kevin, the shop manager. I enjoy his sense of humor on the show and thought he did a great job with the tour. It was the right mix of technical description and high-level overview with some laughs mixed in.

The shop was very clean, and it was interesting to see the process up close, particularly on the non-CF1 cars. The tour lasted about an hour and in my opinion it was well worth the $5 price tag. 

These few sights made for an easy-going but memorable ending to our road trip.

If you find yourself looking for things to do on the stretch of route 80 between Nevada and Utah, I would recommend checking them out for yourself.