Hi, everyone,

I usually post in Africa and Europe, am a newb to the US board.

DH and 2 DS's (12 & 17 yrs old) are off to Speed Week on the Bonneville salt flats late August. They will be staying in Wendover. I have researched things to do in SLC (thanks Dayle and others), but it's a ways away from Wendover. Is there anything else to do on that stretch of the Utah/Nevada state line? I imagine that 7 days (yup, that's what they wanted) of Speed Week might get old. Anywhere in Nevada? I did get a link to the airfield from a previous post - thanks RedRock!

Anywhere to eat?

When we go to Wendover we eat at the casinos so I don't know about other places to eat. Each casino has a restaurant and a buffet. The Red Garter (a smaller casino) has a ham and eggs special for breakfast that many like. There's also Burger King, McDonald's, Pizza Hut. etc.

Wendover is basically a gambling town out in the desert. There aren't a lot of things to do or see close to there. IMO seven days is a long time to be in Wendover, so they may want to plan spending a few days away from there.

About 120 miles south of Wendover is Ely, where there is a railroad museum and train rides on the weekends. About 60 miles southwest of Ely is Great Basin National Park. Your DSs would probably really like touring Lehman Caves or hiking in the park one day.

Visit the old Army Airfield at Wendover, its worth a few hours. There is a small museum at the FBO office. Wendover is where Col Tibbetts and the crews of the B29's trained for the dropping of the A bomb on Japan that helped end WW-II.

http://www.onlineutah.com/wendoverairfieldhistory.shtml

The Golden Spike NHS is near as well.

http://www.nps.gov/gosp/

They are very excited about spending days out on the salt flats, in the sun and glare touring the pits at Speed Week. Not my cup of tea at all! If I have the week off (don't know yet) youngest DS and I might go to Paris on miles - now that's what I call a vacation! or the Caribbean .

But, they might need about 2 - 3 half days or a full day or two break from the thrills of internal combustion engines, heat and noise. So, a day to tour Salt Lake City, a day at Park City, and a half day or so at the airfield sounds like what might work. I was wondering if there was anything else in the vicinity. Ely also sounds interesting - didn't know about that.

Is there a minimum age in the casinos? Older DS (17) would LOVE to hit the one eyed bandits, I'm sure!

Thanks for your input - I knew that all the great Fodor's folks would come through, even for an obscure town in Utah!

21 is minimum age in the casinos and they are VERY strict about it. The penalties the casinos would receive are not worth letting a kid play.

It's one ARMED bandits...almost all are computerized now..don't know if any originals still exist.

yes, one armed, don't know what I was thinking.

21? oh, well, probably better - he has no money anyway...

and they are computerized? pulling that arm was all the exercise many folks got, and it was kind of satisfying. Shucks! No dial phones, no arms on the slots - what's next?

I'd have a very serious talk with the 17-year old. Not only can the casino get in trouble for allowing minors to play (or even loiter) in the gambling areas, but it is a crime for the juvenile as well. I can't speak for Wnedover but in my area of Nevada, kids can and do get arrested for it quite regularly.

Really can't sugar coat this - there is nothing at all to do in/near Wendover for a 12 or 17 yo. I have the speed/racing/track gene but I'd still find it really hard to fill 7 days.

Your sons can enter the restaurants in the casinos - but that is it - they can't even stand and watch your husband at the tables or machines.

not a problem - the boys won't go to the casinos. But, going to casinos wasn't originally part of the plan. They are going to go to Speed Week, which is a huge deal - here's some info if anyone is interested:

http://www.scta-bni.org/

or

http://www.saltflats.com/index.html

Speed Week at the Bonneville salt flats is close to heaven for car racing enthusiasts. Many land speed records have been set here, and the pits are open to the public, which means that you can go in and get up close and personal with the cars and crews. This is very rare, and the boys can't wait.

They even race bar stools at speed week, of all things. The record is 48 miles an hour.

I've raced and been around race cars for 30 plus years and Speed Week is terrific. But they just have to know it will be HOT, and there really isn't much of any respite from the heat, dust, glare, etc. etc. . . . .

thanks for the heads up. Lots of water, sunscreen, hats and umbrellas. And a few days in Salt Lake City and Park City.

I am just happy to get them out of the house so I can have some peace and quiet even if I don't go away.

well, you all were right - they came back a couple days early. They do not a all regret going (although were a little jealous of the youngest and I who went to Cozumel, with miles and off season pricing ), they had a blast and saw all kinds of wonderful cars, rockets, and who knows what. But, there wasn't enough for a week, even with a couple trips to Salt Lake City. Swimming in the great salt lake was very fun, and mountain biking in Park City was fun also. The airfield was a bust, should be closed according to my DH who loves airfields. They stayed in the Days Inn Wendover which received an OK from them.

But, they had a great time, and would recommend it to any motor heads out there - just maybe not a whole week.

Momliz,

Thanks for the follow up. I'm glad to hear they had a good time. I'm not very into cars, but do enjoy a little racing of almost any kind! I might go out for a day some year. I know a day would be enough for me!

PS - personally, I can't stand Wendover. But I really hate Las Vegas.