Bonneville-Salt-Flats-Bob Davis Podcast 1064

Bonneville-Salt-Flats-Bob Davis Podcast 1064

Bonneville Salt Flats

Firstly the Bonneville Salt Flats has a long history. I can only scratch the surface of all that salt in Bonneville-Salt-Flats-Bob Davis Podcast 1064.

Kid’s Dream

Secondly I have wanted to come to Bonneville since I was a kid.

Car Magazines

Above all in those days my favorite car magazines almost always featured something happening at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Muscle Cars

For me there was certainly an attraction to the famous muscle cars of the 60’s and 70’s.

Kodachrome

But I loved those Kodachrome photos from back in the day.

Not A Car Guy

Most importantly I am not a car guy.

Still Appreciate

However I still appreciate this automotive history of the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Special History

Be that as it may history here dates back to the 1820’s.

Captain LE Bonneville

Indeed the person the Salt Flats are named after never saw them.

Details in Bonneville-Salt-Flats-Bob Davis Podcast 1064.

Donner Reed Too

In addition even the famous Donner-Reed party’s ill fated travels to California included an episode with the Salt Flats.

Hearst Newspapers

Later William Randolph Hearst got the publicity ball rolling back around 1910.

Racing Days

Subsequently racing didn’t take on the flat until the early 1930’s.

Glory Days

In the long run The Bonneville Salt Flats glory was the early 1960’s through the early 1970’s.

Setting Records

When all those iconic records were set.

Huge Attraction

Unquestionably the Salt Flats are still a huge attraction.

Families

In fact families still love the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Speed Runs

In due time they all take their pick up trucks and sedans for a speed run.

Selfies

Even more the obligatory selfie and then it’s time to go.

Hot Rods?

Presently though you don’t see too many hot rods.

Sponsored By 36LYN The Independently Owned and Operated Community Focused Refueling Station In South Minneapolis

Bonneville-Salt-Flats-Bob Davis Podcast 1064

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Podcast 583-Summer Storm

Podcast 583-Summer Storm. Nothing better than a summer storm to help you forget the bitter cold. It’s well below zero in Minnesota. While Europe and parts of the South consider mid twenties to thirties ‘bitter’ cold, in the Upper Midwest we’re talking minus twenty, thirty or even forty below. This is the kind of cold you don’t need windchill to exaggerate. If you’re in the deep freeze this podcast is designed to provide a half an hour or so of relief.

Last summer I had a chance to record a huge summer storm that rolled through the area. The storm track on this podcast isn’t edited. It was recorded in real time, complete with bouts of heavy rain and thunder. Interspersed throughout the storm are some thought starters to help subscribers to the Bob Davis Podcasts mentally escape.

Maybe when you were a kid your family did a road trip to Florida. Or while in college you and your friends took a trip through the mountains, or the desert. Many have had one of those summer college jobs for some agricultural company that required rolling around on back roads across Iowa and North Dakota, recording the growth of corn, or whatever those companies require people to write down on clipboards.

For me, sitting in a broken down old ’67 Ford Galaxy in the fields and watching the storms roll in across the prairie in Rural Illinois, will always remind me of deep summer. It’s easy for people to say, “Why don’t you get on a plane and go to LA, or Hawaii”. Yes, it sure would be nice. Thing is, not all of us can do that.

As we head into the deep freeze, keep this podcast handy. Put on your headphones for Podcast 583-Summer Storm and prepare to be transported to my porch during an awesome summer storm. Of course, you’ll have to put up with me talking in your ear about places I’ve been and places to go, but it’s better than looking out the window wishing it wasn’t twenty five below.

It is true we welcome the cold weather, at least the first blush and especially at Christmas Time. Trust me, though. You’re going to want to escape. If you can’t get away as soon as you’d like to or at all this year, Podcast 583-Summer Storm is your ticket to paradise. Summer in the Midwest. Storms. Thunder. Steady Rain. The hum of summer insects. Thoughts of rolling down two lane roads cutting through green fields. Freedom is a clean windshield and a full tank of gas.

Sponsored By Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and Hydrus Performance.

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Podcast 356

Utah and Wyoming. Stranded at a truck stop in Sinclair, Wyoming. A long day (or two?) of travel comes to a screeching halt at a truck stop, where hundreds of trucks and drivers are stranded after the State of Wyoming shut down I-80. The cause? A 70+ car pile up during a spring snow storm. Coming out of the Wasatch mountains in Nevada, into the salt flats of Utah, into Wyoming. Following the path of the Donner-Reed party in reverse. So, in this podcast, on a snowy Friday night in Wyoming, time to break out a few more facts and opinions about the tragic story of the Donner party. In 1846, a series of mistakes by a group of around 100 people heading to California for a better life, led to one of Western History’s most enduring and compelling stories, with the chief character in the tragedy, the unpredictable and fierce western weather. What was the Donner-Reed party’s gift to us? Did they find a happy life once the survivors reached their final places of settlement? Visiting the various waypoints along their trail shows what an almost impossible task it must have been for 87 people, animals, and baggage in tow, to cross to California from Missouri. (Editor’s note: I-80 finally opened, but we were advised to hang around awhile. I did this podcast, and finally decided to head up 80 East, because another storm was brewing. It was a little icy, but I made it to Laramie. There, I decided to take a nap. When I got up about 2 hours later (at about 5 AM) it was snowing like hell, and all the drivers were hightailing out of the truck stop at Laramie. I decided to make a break for it, because I did not want to get stuck at another truck stop. Mountains, steep grades, freezing pavement, blowing snow, snow and ice encrusted windshield wipers, following trucks up the mountain toward Cheyenne at 25 miles and hour. We were our own little Donner Party in reverse, but the Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8 did not falter, slip or slide. Thanks to all you truckers that let me hang close and follow. Whew!) Sponsored by X Government Cars! Don’t forget to Join the Bob Davis Podcasts and Mobile Podcast Command Unit 8 live at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater on April 25th. Details here. 

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