May 29.....May God continue the unity of our Country as this Railroad
unites the two great Oceans of the world.
~~engraved on the Golden Spike
True to form, we woke up a little late (can you believe that one?)and hurried to get going on our
way to Promontory Summit to visit the Golden Spike National Park. Our drive took us about 45 minutes to get
there but it was a nicer part of Utah than we had previously seen, fields and some hills. Seeing so much of the country, I feel like a
real estate expert by this time. Utah is
not really my favorite. It is pretty dry
and not particularly nice to look at.
When we pulled into the parking lot, it was still early so there were
only a few cars.
The kids had the full
attention of the rangers and that was great.
They immediately started to work on the Jr. Ranger books. They were excited to do one last book, since
we had thought that Arches would be the last one.
We were pleased to know that the train would
arrive around 10:00 which was shortly after our arrival. Christian rushed to go outside to the tracks
in great expectation of seeing the train come in. In no time at all, No. 119 pulled in to the
station which is located on the actual site of the final meeting of the rails. About
1.7 miles of track have been relaid on the original roadbed where the rails
were joined. No. 119 is a replica of the
Union Pacific steam locomotive that met the Jupiter, the Central Pacific steam
locomotive, on the tracks at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869.
After a golden spike was symbolically tapped,
a final iron spike was driven to connect the railroads binding together the
East and West. In the end the Central
Pacific had laid 690 miles of track and the Union Pacific had laid 1086 miles
to make a grand total of 1,776 miles of track.
It took 6 years and about 50 million dollars to complete this monumental
task. Both sides required immense
amounts of laborers. The Union Pacific
would employ Irish, German, and Italian immigrants, Civil War veterans from
both sides, ex-slaves and even American Indians, 8-10,000 in all. The Central Pacific would rely on several
thousand low paid Chinese workers to do the bulk of the work from Sacramento
into the Sierra Nevada and on to Promontory. Coming from the east, Union Pacific started on
easier terrain but they had raids by the Sioux and Cheyenne to worry
about. In the west, the Central Pacific
faced the rugged Sierra Nevada range almost immediately. Both faced logistical problems with keeping supplies
replenished. Every rail, spike, and
locomotive for the Central Pacific had to be shipped 15,000 miles around Cape
Horn before even getting to San Francisco to be transported up to the railway
crews. The Chinese workers hand chiseled
with picks and then nitroglycerin to blast 15 tunnels through the Sierra
granite, sometimes only gaining 8 inches a day.
At one point, the Union Pacific laid 8.57 miles of track in one day and
laid down the gauntlet, with a $10,000 bet, that it could not be beaten. The Central Pacific gladly took up the
challenge and on April 28, 1869 successfully laid 10 miles 56 feet Of track
near Promontory.
There is a marker there that
recognizes this accomplishment. Both
sides used surveyors, grading crews, tunnel crews, trestle builders, and track
layers to get the railway put through. Indian raids,
the weather, and disputes between laborers were all deterrents to the success
of the quest. But persevere they did and eventually the work paid off to open America’s final frontier to better
supply and trade routes, better postal service, tighter army control over
Indian disputes, and quicker intercontinental travel and emigration. The nation’s second transcontinental
telegraph was strung alongside as the track advanced, allowing better
communication through the country. The
ones to suffer through this expansion were the Native Americans who stood by
and watched more of their lands open up to expansion and the buffalo almost die
off due to overhunting and senseless killing. Still, the indomitable spirit that drives us
as Americans helped to settle the west and bring our country closer
linked. This spirit lives on in our
quest for space travel and progression in technology. We as a people have a desire to work hard and
achieve our dreams......something we have seen on this journey we have been on,
we can all appreciate and learn from this.
As we came into Bountiful, we decided to stop for gas, SLURPEES (a new
favorite reward for doing writing...that and licorice, gum and Adventures in Odyssey.....who says bribery doesn't work), Starbucks and taco salads from Chipotle for
the drivers(our rewards for hours of driving through the miles of nothingness)! Bonus: Starbucks had city mugs for Utah and we scooped
them up. Gracie, with all of the innocence of a child, asked us the other day "where are we going to put all of these new Starbucks mugs?" Hmmmmm...guess we are cleaning out a cupboard. I may have to convince a certain aunt of mine to get me the ones from Copenhagen and Paris. While we were in town, we
mailed the final few postcards. WOW....I
can’t recall how many postcards my little family has written on this incredible adventure
but I would venture to say it may be close to 100 or more. I know that sometimes I have mailed 20 at a
time. On top of that the kids have been
writing in their history books about every place that we have visited...which
has been no small task.
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| at the Salt Lake Marina...that is the lake in the blue |
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| passing MORTON salt on the way to the salt flats... |
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| walking on the salt flats at Bonneville, UT |
As we began our next leg towards returning home, via hwy 80 (yeah it's our hwy), we would traverse the
same desert that some pioneers went through in wagons and horses. It was a hot and dry day on the desert
leaving Salt Lake City and on into the Bonneville Salt Flats.
We got out and walked on the salt and the
girls bagged some to bring home.
Christian had a good time digging in the salt. There was a film crew staging a scene with
two horses and we watched them as they set up on the bright sunny flat. They told us they film from 4-9 am and 4-9 pm
when the sun is not directly overhead.
Easy to understand why, we were so hot!!
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| strange desert art on the way to the salt flats.....on Hwy 80 |
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| Hello Nevada....Goodbye Utah |
Entering Nevada gave us all a "getting closer to home" feeling. Although, this part of Nevada is not like
home at all....dry, desolate land.
Stopping for gas, Christian was surprised to see gambling machines in
the gas station. I have to say, it was
sad to see people sitting mindlessly staring at the gambling machines.....gas
is going up $3.79-$4.09 along the way.
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| our classroom on wheels.....state facts..... |
The drive was mind numbingly boring, so we popped in the Adventures in
Odyssey to listen to in the break times from writing. The kids were very motivated to finish their
writing in order to listen to a few episodes...no worry we had plenty of time
to do both on this drive!! We finally
pulled into Tahoe around 1:00 am. Good
thing that we got an extra hour back today when we left Mountain time and
entered Pacific time. Pam and I, very
trickily, parked the RV in the small spaces (we did take up more than one) at the condos that her dad
owns. Phew, glad that is done with. On the door of the condo, there was a notice
posted that all vehicles have to be moved out of the parking lot by 7:00 am
tomorrow morning for resurfacing and striping...WHAT! We were so looking forward to sleeping
in...darn!!! Better wake up early....by the time we fell into our beds it was around 2:30.......
As we drove that final leg of our trip, a strange pall settled over us. We made two final stops in Fairfield at tour sites (Jellybelly and Budweiser) not wanting the trip to be over. While we were excited to arrive home, each one of us had feelings of sadness. It was the end of something epic. We reflected on the funny parts of the trip and each one of the kids shared their favorite memories. Entering the homestretch, Pam turned on "Life is a Highway" and we all sang the lyrics loudly . Awaiting us as we entered the driveway and crossed the finish line, were welcome home banners, race flags, friends and family, hugs, and a fabulous CAKE! Our husbands had arranged a welcome home party. What a sweet way to end our fabulous adventure!
