September 3

Idaho route 77 is very peaceful, going south from I-84 down the Elba Valley. There is no indication a “city of spires” exists on either side of the valley. But eventually you reach Almo, take a right turn and in a couple of miles are looking at white granite rocks which point to the sky. This is California Trail country. Some of the rocks in the park have etchings from the emigrants who crossed through here, from the 1840s to the 1880s. Once the Transcontinental Railroad was completed a little bit south of here in 1869, there was no need for long wagon trains heading west. There are two types of granite in the park. The oldest is 2.6 billion years old, formed when magma pushed upwards through the earth’s crust, then cooled. The people I saw climbing on a number of rocks today were much younger. Everyone had technical gear. This is one of the premier sites in the world for this type of climbing. I passed on the idea of trying to scale any of this stone, instead going for some short hikes across flatter granite. The best was to Window Arch. Yes, just like you see in Arches NP. There is only one road which runs across the park, east-to-west. A spur does lead to the south end and the famous Twin Sisters formation. But that is it. Both roads are unpaved, though not bad to drive on. Around 4,000 acres in the Reserve are privately owned. I came face to face with some cattle at one of the rock formations. Thankfully, a fence separated us. A side comment for those who intend to actually cross the boundaries of the parks they visit. The VC is not in the park, instead back in the small village of Alma. But be sure to stop there first to chat with staff and see the short park video. Then get off the asphalt and go up into the park.

Route 77 takes you back to I-84, but via the village of Malta. Then it is a quick drive down I-84 to the turnoff for Promontory and Golden Spike NHP. Utah route 83 goes by a large Northrup-Grumman complex. A small public-access park with examples of the rockets this company has produced over the years was very interesting. A few miles later was the VC for the national park. I intended to arrive by 12:30 PM since the park has a daily presentation at 1 PM which involves the firing up of the two stars of the park, the Jupiter and the No. 119. These are replica engines of the two which met here on May 10, 1869. If you arrive around 9 AM you can see both engines being brought out to their stationary positions (and around 4 PM they are sent back to their garages). But 1 PM is when both are powered up and moved back and forth on the track, belching black steam. The Jupiter was wood fired, while No. 119 was coal fired. And the whistles… boy are they loud. A ranger stands in front of the two engines and gives a history lesson of the construction efforts and the final meeting of the Union-Pacific RR and the Central-Pacific RR, as the staff gets things moving. That had to be one momentous day. The future of our country changed with the pounding of one ceremonial gold spike. Our two coasts were now connected without the need for sailing around the cape of South America or wagon trains plodding across the landscape. There are two auto-routes, one from the west approach and one from the east. I drove the east approach road, which the Union-Pacific took. The final grade and cut which the Irish and Chinese laborers made is evident. Memorials are at the VC for these two groups of workers.