From Glen Canyon on the southern border of Utah we took road 89 up north and then Highway 15, which leads straight to Salt Lake City. So, covering the distance of over 620 kilometers we drove through two thirds of Utah territory. The name of the state comes from the Ute Indian language and means, according to Wikipedia, "people of the mountains". (S):
Salt Lake City is the capital of Utah and, with the population of over 180 thousand, it is the most populous city. However, Salt Lake City belongs to a larger urban area, called the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which is inhabited by over a million people. The city was founded by Mormons in the 1840s. Earlier, the area had been inhabited by Native American tribes of Shoshone, Ute and Paiute. The picture below shows the main street in Salt Lake City, called State Street, which leads to the Utah Capitol State building, visible here on the right at the end. (S)
Below is the picture of the Utah State Capitol, which is a house of the state legislature and the governor's office. The building is impressive: 123 m long, 73 m wide and 87 m high, its name and architecture resembling the US Capitol in Washington DC. It is situated on Capitol Hill, which is a vantage point from which the panorama of Salt Lake City can be admired. (S)
The Pioneer Memorial Museum contains memorabilia from the time of the first settlers. (S)
Despite the fact that it is a state capital, Salt Lake City looks very quiet. Its residential districts are full of greenery, and the bustle of the city does not disturb its citizens (S):
The beautiful and quaint houses look as if they remembered the first settlers. (S):
Utah's capital is situated on the shore of Great Salt Lake, visible immediately after one leaves the city and takes route 80 westward. Great Salt Lake is a closed basin, which means that the water does not flow out of it to rivers or oceans; it is also the largest salt lake in the western hemisphere, with the average area of about 4.5 thousand square km. The lake is very shallow, so its size changes depending on the amount of snow and rain. (S)
Great Salt Lake lies in the area that is very dry - Great Salt Lake Desert. Unfriendly to prospective settlers, the area is very scantily populated, with only snakes and scorpions thriving here. (S):
Great Salt Lake can sometimes cover 8.5 thousand square km, so when the water evaporates, huge areas covered with salt invite car drivers to test their vehicles' performance, which was the main reason why we traveled to Great Salt Lake. (S)
Visible below is the Great Salt Lake that we wanted to visit - Bonneville salt flats (S):
However, our destination was located further west, close to Utah's border with Nevada, so we had to drive along the straight road cutting through the desert - one may feel desolate in this landscape. (S)
Every now and then, however, a lonely traveler can stop and contemplate works of art on the desert - quite surreal, I must say;):
An interesting phenomenon is caught in the picture below: the dry bottom of Great Salt Lake looks as if it was covered with water - it's just a mirage, but I could swear I did see the sheet of water. Another bright conclusion of mine: "the desert is unbelievably deceptive";) 
Finally, we've reached our destination: Bonneville Speedway - the area on which land speed records are set and broken. Click on it to learn more (S):
We're not the only visitors to the place: there seem to be quite a few amateurs of speedy driving (S):
And here's our vehicle standing on the speedway (about 16 km long): On your marks! Get set! Go! (S)
However, I prefer admiring the salt sparkling in the afternoon sun. You could swear it's snow (S):
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