Existence

You didn't forget this, as it is not true It would help if you understood this, so that as you read what I say, you are aware that I know exactly what has been said. My omissions are as, if not more, important than the things I am actually saying I see. But surely the salt lake flats are themselves travelling at high speed as they fly around with the Earth's rotation? And of course they are zooming around the Sun as the Earth oribits the Sun. And further, they are carried in orbit around the centre of the Galaxy. For purposes of our thought experiment, let's speed them up a bit so all these motions are appreciable fractions of c. Does any of this chnage your 2 feet calculation?

Yes, you're quite right - you did. But not with me, and it is an important bit of what we are talking about. And we shall see, it has already bore fruit. I don't really care. Such physical difficulties are immaterial to our discussion. And if we leave the relatve speeds as they are, they will still have an impact upon what you are claiming, albeit with much smaller effect.So, the question remains. Is the 2 feet measured relative to your "fixed" salt flats, or are you also taking into account the motion of the salt flats as they orbit the Galaxy, but just failing to mention it for some reason?