Press release

NEEDS MORE SALT!

By Erin 'Gigglechick' BennettMy alarm went off at 4:50am Wednesday morning. I was about to throw it across the room and then the little voice inside my head excitedly said “SALT FLATS TODAY!!!” and I leapt out of my bed at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City!!

The Bonneville Salt Flats. Where speed records are made... and broken. You’ve seen them in adverts on the teevee and probably thought “Wow, that’s some great CGI they did there to make that place look like it’s No Man’s Land.”

I assure you. The Salt Flats..... They’re real... and they’re SPECTACULAR!

As we drove west about a hundred miles, the sunrise was quite something (my buddy Sekou was able to take a few shots of it.)

As we meandered closer to where the Salt Flats are, I saw the Tree of Utah. One might think “What the heck is a weird giant pole with monstrous tennis balls doing out here?” - well, it’s a man made “tree” since there’s no other trees around for miles.



We get to the flats and check in with MINI, get some snacks and snap a few more photos of our MINI MOB.



It’s time to “race” ---- we weren’t allowed to go over 60mph***

*** I tried not to.

I was in the MINI Cooper Camden edition with the Mission Control (where the MINI talks to you during your ride.) Both of my MINI voices were soooooo happy!! I was hearing “FULL THROTTLE!!! YES!” and “Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!” as well as other shouts of joy.



My co-pilot, Elizabeth, got a little salty with the camera after sticking her arm out of the window trying to take video...





What a beautiful & strange setting the Salt Flats are.



Just in case...



Martha from Tuscon and her winged FYRBST (FireBeast) looked stunning out there amongst the backdrop of Sodium Chloride.





Quite the coordinated couple, aren’t they?! AWESOME!

MINI Pearl and her owner Nancy trekked all the way from San Diego to the Flats with Maximilian her stuffed MINI Bulldog



It was such a Once In A Lifetime experience to drive on the Bonneville Salt Flats... I had to keep pinching myself to make sure it was real.



One way to keep the Salt from getting into the MINI interior was to wrap bags on your feet... very smart, Sekou, very smart (I, on the other hand, was not.)



We couldn’t wrap bags on the tires though... that’s not whipped cream on them!



We HAD to have another group shot on the flats.





So, we took the Bonneville Salt Flats on this leg...I wonder if we can find some Pepper Flats to conquer next!!!!!????