The Golden Spike

I’ve known about the Golden Spike almost as long as I’ve known my hero.  That we were just a few (well, 90) miles away from that legendary place, coupled with the fact that there isn’t a great deal to do in Salt Lake City on a Sunday made a visit a bit of a no brainer.

Perhaps you’re not a railway buff yourself, or married to one?  In that case, stay with me and all will be revealed!

Out in the open countryside, north of the Salt Lake then.  A place where there’s little happening beyond the boundaries of the ATK facility (formerly known as Thiokol).  We noticed broad tracks up on the hillsides as we drove along, saw signposts to ATK but had no idea of what was their business until we asked the question and learned that they make the booster rockets for the Space Shuttle amongst other things (missiles?).  Hmmm.  I suppose those tracks up into the hills were used to transport such things?

Of course, that’s not why we were driving through this part of the state.  We were headed for Promontory Point and another of the wonderful National Park centres.  Another few miles down the road and we pulled into the car park, surprised that on this Sunday morning there were already quite a few people there.

The minute we stepped inside the building, we saw the reason why we were here.  There, just outside and visible through the window, was an old railway locomotive, sitting on the tracks quietly steaming.  A group of people were taking a close look, taking photographs and chatting to a Park Ranger.

As we stood waiting to show Mary’s Golden Pass and collect our tickets, we heard that we were in for a treat, because in just fifteen minutes time, the second locomotive was going to arrive and illustrate the Golden Spike Ceremony. 

Because, this was the place where the Central Pacific Railroad, which was built from California going east, met with the Union Pacific Railroad, built from Omaha going west.  The meeting of the rails, as it were.  The event was of huge significance and was marked by the hammering in of a golden spike, done with great ceremony by Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific.

These days, there is no golden spike, sad to say.  As the Ranger said, even if they fitted a gold coloured one, they’d have to replace it every day because of souvenir hunters.  So, instead, there’s a commemorative sleeper (or “tie” if you’re American) with a plaque.

Anyway, we were happy looking around the “Jupiter”, when the unmistakeable sound of the Union Pacific 119 was heard and we saw it coming from down the line.  Both of these engines are replicas, built in 1975 with attention to the smallest detail to ensure their authenticity.

We were, of course, engulfed in a cloud of black sooty smoke as the 119 went by, revealing our inexperience of being around steam trains.  Never mind, a brisk breeze soon sorted the smuts out!

And there we were, two engines sitting nose to nose, still gently breathing steam and, from a distance, looking remarkably like two model railway engines!  After a few more photographs, we returned to the visitor centre where one of the Rangers gave an excellent presentation about the workers who built the railway.  What a story!

We left Promontory and drove back via Ogden, where we found a bite to eat and a few more locomotives!  Though I’m not especially interested in railway engines, I do find the immensity and the engineering fascinating and I was happy to get up close to these giants and take a few photographs.

To think, one of these engines was powerful enough to pull a train of 7 miles long.  Amazing.

As we went back to the car, I spotted a little mailbox with free walking tour maps of Ogden in it.  I opened the box to take one, but instead, found this.

I’ll leave it to your imagination what the letter said…

The Beehive State

We’ve spent the day in Salt Lake City.  We’d been here before, but only to change planes (as had Mary) so this was our first opportunity to get out and about and explore the city.

Our first destination was easily spotted yesterday afternoon as we arrived.  The Utah State Capitol building was up there on the hill and as you might have gathered from previous posts, we rather like visiting these great buildings.

We arrived around 9 am, expecting to find security and volunteer guides ready and waiting to show us around – but there was none of that.  We had the place to ourselves and though for sure there were people in the building, for quite some time we saw no-one.

So, we made ourselves at home and spent a lovely quite time exploring this wonderful building.

The first thing we noticed was the beehive motif, symbolising the industry of the early pioneers who established the state in the late 19th century.  Of course, once we’d become aware of it, we found it everywhere.

On the elevator floor indicator

On the door of the elevator itself

and on other signs around the building.

There were other, more oblique references too.

One of the reasons we love to explore these state capitols is that often, there’s a collection of artworks on display.  In this case, a selection of works by Utah artists hung on the 4th floor and we spent quite some time enjoying them.  Above is “Morning News” by Alvin Gittins, painted in 1954.

I also liked this one: County Fair 1943, by B.F. Larsen.  I wonder if he had Swedish heritage, because I think there’s quite a bit of the Carl Larsson about it, don’t you?

I think my favourite was The North Face of Zion, by Jim Jones in 2008, probably because the landscape seems so familiar.

There were also some bronzes, including this delightful one of David Abbot Jenkins,  a legend in the world of automobile speed records set at the Bonneville Flats, not so far from here.

And, as we’ve come to expect from these state capitols, there were murals representing significant events in the history of the state.  Here, wearing a white shirt, Brigham Young can be seen, leading the Mormon pioneers from Illinois to Utah, where he sketched the designs for the Temple.

As we explored each floor in turn, we admired some beautiful features.

And puzzled over some notices on the board.  This one made us smile.

Of course, there were always a few more beehives to spot as well.

By this time, things were getting busy and large groups were arriving downstairs, so we felt it was time to move right along.  We left by a different door, discovering that the beautiful sunny morning had clouded over and there was a definite feel of rain in the air.

We headed downhill to the city centre to visit the other principal feature of Salt Lake City and the one we all associate with the place – the Mormon Temple in Temple Square.

Since we’re not members of the church, we couldn’t go inside, but we took a while looking around the visitor centre which was beautifully furnished and had some interesting displays.

We spent a while looking at our family history and then admiring the beautiful gardens which were so well tended.

 

The importance of the family was evident in many of the bronze statues outside and this particular one appealed to me.

But we were getting hungry and lunch seemed to be a good idea, so we headed across the road to Kneaders, a Utah chain of bakeries, where the temptations were many…

but the choice was sensible!

As we walked back to the car, the heavens opened and a swift decision was made to spend the afternoon indoors.  We explored a little of the Legacy Highway, before returning to the hotel late afternoon to catch up on journalling, reading, organising photographs and continuing the family tree research.

And having enjoyed such a fine dinner last night at The Tin Angel, we returned there tonight, to a warm welcome and seats at “our” table.  What a great place we found there!

Tomorrow, another adventure is planned…

(Oh, and by the way, there’s more than one Stonehenge in this area,  in case you’re interested)

Before we move on…

Let’s talk a little about the Bryce Canyon Lodge, where we’ve stayed the last couple of nights.  It was a bit confusing, because the room layout was identical to the lodge at Zion National Park, but there were certain features of this particular place which I thought were interesting.  You see, the “motel rooms” here have been recently refurbished and since this is the only remaining original lodge in this group of parks, it would appear that particular care has been taken to maintain the original character too.

The original lodge building dates back to the 1920’s when the Union Pacific Railroad brought travellers from the station 100 miles away, in open topped charabancs to stay here.  One of our guides spoke of her father, who had laid some of the stones in this main building.

It was she who drew our attention to the optical illusion of the pattern of the shingles on the roof of each building here – giving the impression of an uneven surface, even though it’s actually completely flat and regular.

Some accommodation is in small log cabins here, but when we booked, we were advised that unless the three of us wanted to be very cosy indeed, two motel rooms would be more comfortable (respectable!) so that’s what we reserved.

Our room (identical to Mary’s) was comfortably furnished, if a little dark by our modern day standards.  In fact, we’ve found many of the interiors here in Arizona and Utah to be dark, especially when outside is so bright.  We appreciated the screened windows and porch, which allowed us to let in some air without the fear of assorted wildlife joining us too – of course, those screens make for a darker room too.

Anyway, the decor of the room was based on the original palette, with local inspiration from nature: blue lupine flowers, wood lichen, sage brush, alder bark and Brigham tea. 

The pattern of the custom made carpet was taken from the 1930’s marketing materials and the blanket was a Pendleton woollen, based on the traditional Indian blankets of the time.

It had been especially made for the lodge, with the distinctive label sewn into one corner.

The chairs were made to a pattern taken from Union Pacific Railroad photographs of the lobby

and the wallhanging (sorry, lousy photo) was made to a traditional pattern by master Native American weavers.  I’m not sure I liked the way it was hung and would have preferred to have seen it straight on the wall, perhaps over the bedhead, but there we are, what do I know!?

The painting in the corner was of a Southern Paiute Indian in full ceremonial regalia.  The Paiutes were the original people of this area and we heard quite a lot about them as we travelled around the park.

Of course, in the refurbishment, all modern amenities were added/updated, so there was a coffee machine and a telephone – but no air conditioning, no wifi beyond the lobby and no TV at all.

We enjoyed our stay there at the Bryce Canyon Lodge very much, but tonight, as I sit in a bright and modern Hilton Garden Inn in Salt Lake City, I will admit to feeling happy to have wall to wall wifi, a bright and modern space to relax in and most of all, be at an altitude which makes breathing and sleeping rather more comfortable than the previous week or so.

More from Salt Lake City tomorrow, when we’ve had a chance to explore a little.  I’ll leave you with the surprising sight we spotted from our car window whilst we were stopped at traffic lights in Orem this afternoon.

Hoodoo day

In case you’ve forgotten in the meantime, these pillars of rock are called hoodoos, and my goodness, have we seen some today.  In fact, standing at the last viewpoint of the day, feeling hot and weary, someone in our party was heard to claim that he (clue) was “hoodooed out”.

It’s a truly spectacular place, however, and we started early this morning with the idea of beating both heat and crowds, because we wanted to visit a couple of the most popular viewpoints.  They were both near to our hotel, so before breakfast, we stepped out and walked to the rim.

The first person we saw was a cowboy!  “Good Morning!  How are y’all today?”

He wasn’t alone, however, because shortly afterwards we heard the clatter of hooves and four strings of riders came by, setting out on a trek through the canyon.

It was pretty steep and some looked very uncomfortable.  One rider called “Howdy Ma’am!” to me, and I heard his wife on the horse behind him mutter “Oh man…did he really say that?!”  Is it true that every chap dreams of being a cowboy?  

Anyway, they rode off down into the canyon and we walked along the rim trail, stopping at each viewpoint to stand and stare, to marvel at the view and to try to work out just how many different landscapes there can really be in one small part of the world.

This view included some of the “walls”, hoodoos which hadn’t yet separated into pillars. We’d heard a talk from one of the park rangers last night about “slot canyons”, which are formed when a couple of these high cliffs separate, leaving a narrow passage in between.

There are a couple of these here, including one far down below, where we could see people walking down towards.

It’s called Wall Street and it looks very dark and claustrophobic.

Sadly (!) we weren’t equipped to hike down there, not having the necessary walking boots and sticks.  Of course, it was hard to watch everyone else go down that steep and very slippery pathway in the heat, down into that dark and creepy place.  We made do with sitting on a log and left everyone else to it.

Looking across the valley/amphitheatre/canyon, we noticed some dust rising and looking more closely, we spotted the strings of horses we’d watched earlier.  Can you spot them behind that white hoodoo in the centre of the picture?

Here’s a zoom into that shot and it’s clear they’re still walking along pretty narrow tracks.

Later in the day, we took a guided ranger drive further up the road, to an area that few bother to see.  Here we could see the hoodoos forming from the cliff face, not yet eroded enough to separate.

I like those which are bleached white, where the metal salts have been washed through, leaving a delicate-looking hoodoo which stands out from the rest and which fits the “fairy chimney” tag well.

The views beyond the park were spectacular – here looking into Arizona, with the North Rim of the Grand Canyon somewhere there on the horizon.

As has happened every afternoon, clouds began to build up and there in the distance, we could see a storm.  The rule here is, if there isn’t time to count to 30 between the flash and the thunder, then it’s time to take shelter.  Fortunately, this one was far enough away, for now.

The driver/guide identified shapes and faces in the rocks – something which is easy to do when looking closely at them.  What can you see here?

Our afternoon finished at the Natural Bridge viewpoint, inaccurately named it seems, because of course, it’s obvious that it’s an arch, not a bridge.

Well, obvious to some, if not to us!

And that was that.  Hot and weary, we returned to the lodge to shower and relax a little before dinner.  We are promised a Ranger Presentation about the stars tonight, because Bryce Canyon is one of the best dark sky places left.  Hopefully, those clouds will have gone by the time the talk finished, because then there is a stargazing session to follow.

Fingers crossed, please.

(insert superlative here)

The advantage of retracing our steps this morning was that we got to stop and take photos on the other side of the road.  However many times we’d photographed those wonderful views, the changing light inspired us to take more.

Whatever did people do before digital cameras made recording all of this so easy?

Spend a fortune on film, I imagine.

So, a few last looks at Zion before we turn left (“continue along this road for 22 miles and then make a left turn”)

Those textures…oh my.

Whilst standing on a flat pavement of layered rock I picked a small piece up.  It resembled one of those wafer biscuits, I thought.

But, created purely of compressed sand, it crumbled away to nothing as soon as I touched it.  How fragile it all is – and yet, here it all stands, millions of years later.

Declaring these sights to be the best yet, we said goodbye to the Checkerboard Mesa and followed the directions through a couple of small Utah towns and turned right to Bryce Canyon, the third and final National Park of this section of our trip.  Again, we’d got reservations for the lodge, so we went straight there, left the car in the parking lot and used the shuttle bus for the rest of the day.

Unlike Grand Canyon and Zion, there didn’t immediately seem much to see here.  The lodge is set amongst trees and there appears to be no hillside or canyon anywhere nearby.  We thought it a good idea to go straight to the visitor centre and get our bearings, maybe get some recommendations for making the best use of our time here.  We learned about the Hoodoos and how they were formed, getting a rough idea of what lie in store just along the way.

However, nothing could quite have prepared us for this.

We were standing on a small promontory, looking out over a vast “terracotta army” of these hoodoos – pillars of sandstone, capped with a harder layer of rock which protects them from erosion.

Some were capped like fairytale castles.  All had begun as arches or windows, before the top part had become weak and caved in.

In some cases, the arches still stood.  Along this pathway, there was a line of them.

In one arch stood a little couple…

As always, the more adventurous souls were picnicking in a precarious spot.

Meanwhile, we were watching the weather close in – thunderstorms forecast this afternoon again and we could hear the occasional distant rumble.

Not wanting to be out in the open, or in a vulnerable spot when the storm passed over, we returned to the lodge and (eventually) checked in.  All of this will still be here tomorrow, when we’ll have a whole day to explore the more hidden locations in the cool of the early morning.

What superlative would you choose, then?