The Family History Library beckons...

Brigham City, UT to Salt Lake City, UT

(genealogy research - what else???)

November 6, 2016 - who knows????

We are currently in Salt Lake City for some more genealogy research so don't expect any posts until we continue southward to catch the sun.  The weather so far has been warm and sunny - absolutely perfect for this time of the year.

The Golden Spike

Glenns Ferry, ID to Brigham City, UT

(sightseeing)

November 4, 2016 - November 6, 2016

We stopped on our way to Salt Lake City at Brigham City in order to visit Promontory Summit, the site where the first transcontinental railroad was completed.  At the time (May 10, 1869) a symbolic golden railroad spike was driven into the last railroad tie to celebrate the completion of the project.  It changed the west forever, opening it to hordes of people looking to make their lives there. Nothing was ever the same again.

The symbolic tie that joined the two railroads into one.
This tie is far to pristine to be the original but you get the idea.

The railroads were built mainly by two different companies - The Central Pacific RR and the Union Pacific RR.  The Central Pacific started from Sacramento and worked eastward.  The Union Pacific started in Council Bluffs, Iowa (just east of Omaha, NE) and worked west.  Each railroad was granted substantial loan and land subsidies for every mile of track they laid.  In the end they laid 1,907 miles of track between 1863 and 1869.  They even laid over 200 miles of parallel track near Promontory Summit because they hadn't agreed on where the two lines should meet! 

This marker originally sat at the actual spot where the two railroads were joined.

I found the following information really interesting and thought provoking:

• The Central Pacific workers were mostly Chinese while the Union Pacific workers were mostly unemployed Irish, German and Italian immigrants.



This natural limestone arch (formed millions of years ago when this area was covered by low
lying seas) is a memorial to the Chinese workers who built the Central Pacific portion of the RR.

• The Central Pacific had to build the railroad through the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains - building tunnels through solid granite they sometimes only advanced 8 inches a day.  The Union Pacific bypassed the Rocky Mountains by using a route through what is now Wyoming.
• The rails were each 30 feet long and weighed 560 pounds each.  That works out to about 172 rails per mile.
• 10 spikes were used per rail (1720 spikes per mile)
• The rails were bent as needed using sledge hammers
• 2500 railroad ties were used for every mile of track.  The Central Pacific built lumber mills in the Sierra's where they turned out milled ties of exact proportions.  The Union Pacific used rough hewn ties from wood obtained in the east.

Rough hewn ties used by the Union Pacific RR.

2500 ties and 172 rails were used per mile!

• Although both companies had to transport all the necessary materials to their work sites, the Central Pacific had to first ship all it's rails, spikes, connectors, bolts and locomotives round Cape Horn and up to San Francisco before they could haul it to the worksite.
• Various types of crews worked on the project.  Surveyors who decided the route worked 100's of miles ahead of the other crews.  They were responsible to make sure the grade of the bed was no more than 2% up or down.  The next group prepared the route and built the grades by either cutting through hills (or mountains) or by filling in ravines.  They also built trestles across ravines when necessary.  Finally there were the crews who actually laid the ties and tracks. 

This shows two ways the railroad bed was kept at a 2% grade.
If a hill was in the way they cut through it as seen on the far left edge of the picture.
Ravines were handled by filling in the distance with rocks and soil or by building
trestles to bridge the distance.  All the trestles they built in this area were salvaged
for the lumber.  In the distance is the great Salt Lake Valley.

• The second transcontinental telegraph line was also strung alongside the tracks as they went.

A second telegraph line ensured that communications could
get to the constructions sites and eventually across the nation.

Two trains, one from each end, met on Promontory Summit on the day the final spike was pounded in.  Sadly, each was later scrapped for money (about $1000).  Two exact replicas were later commissioned and are now housed at the site.  They fire them up in the summer months but in the winter they stay inside for any needed repairs but the rangers lead regular tours to the engine house.

The Jupiter - a wood burning steam train that belonged to the Central Pacific RR.

The 119 - a coal burning steam train which belonged to the Union Pacific RR.

Trails, Beds, Camps

Cascade, ID to Glenns Ferry, ID

(mail stop and sightseeing)

October 29 - November 4, 2016

34 years ago we camped at the Three Island Crossing state park in Glenns Ferry so we thought it would be fun to go back to see how things looked now.  This area is where most of the groups moving along the Oregon Trail crossed the Snake river enroute to the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  It was a dangerous crossing feared by many.  Just now, many days after we were there, I was wondering why they crossed the river because it meant having to cross it again further west on what is now the Idaho/Oregon border.  Why would they do that?  You gotta love the internet - it's so easy to look things up.  The reason most groups crossed the river was because the northern route offered easier traveling conditions had ample access to water, no small issue in this very dry area.  In spite of that, some groups chose to stay on the south side to avoid the dangers of Three Island Crossing.




Marker describing this portion of the Oregon trail.





In spite of the marker above, this particular place is two island crossing
which is just up-river from three island crossing.  Some travelers crossed
 the river here instead of the more frequently used three island crossing.

Glenns Ferry was supposed to be a quick stop to pick up our mail and two packages.  We arrived on Saturday and our mail and one package were at the post office on Monday.  The other package was supposed to arrive on Tuesday, then Wednesday, then Thursday, then....?   By this time I'm completely exasperated!  While we waited, we tried to make lemonade from lemons and drove over to Hagerman, ID to see some fossil beds, a portion of the Oregon trail (where the ruts are still visible) and learn about the WWII Japanese Internment Camp at Minidoka, Idaho.

The Visitor Center in Hagerman does a valiant job of presenting three big topics in a pretty limited area.  The Hagerman fossil beds are it's primary focus and they have some really nice specimens on display.  This is where an ancient horse (called the Hagerman Horse), closely related to Grevy's Zebras was discovered.  They have also found the fossilized remains of many other animals including giant sloths, sabertooth cats, camels, giant marmots, mastedons, and many others.

 

Full skeletal fossil of the Hagerman Horse

Hoof of the Hagerman horse shown next to a modern horse hoof (just below it).
Lots of evolutionary changes in the millions of years since the Hagerman horse roamed the plains.

This painting is an artists rendition of what the area around what is now Hagerman might have looked like millions of years ago.

Mastedon skull. On the left are the bones of a mastodon's foot.

 

Cross section of a mastodon tusk.  It has growth rings just like trees.
This fossil is at least 9 inches across!!!!

Ariel view of the Minidoka Internment Camp.
The exhibit at the visitor center was well done but very sad.
What our country did to the Japanese who had made the US their home is deplorable.

The Minidoka camp is, as you can see, in hot, flat, unforgiving country.
The Japanese who were forced to live here made the best of it however, creating
gardens for both beauty and spirituality as well as gardens to produce fresh produce.

The Oregon Trail near Hagerman, ID.  Beyond the curve the road was built right over the old trail.
The two lines coming off towards hill in the bottom right corner are the ruts of the original trail.
 

Close up of the original trail ruts - still visible after over a hundred years.
The area is a maze of washes like the one at the top of this picture so
finding a route through this area must have been a challenge.

On Friday, Nov.4th the tracking information still showed the package had left Salt Lake for Boise on Oct 29th but it never arrived in Boise. It still shows the exact same thing today (Nov 9).  Maybe it was beamed up to the mother ship somewhere out in space somewhere between SLC and Boise. Regardless of what happened - we moved on.

Wearing out our welcome?

Riggins, ID to Cascade, ID

(back to see cousins Lee and Deann)

October 26 - October 29, 2016

Continuing south on the same route we took north, we stopped once again to see Laura's cousins Lee and Deann.  We hadn't seen them in years and this was our 3rd get together in 4 months!!!

They have a wonderful spot in the woods outside of Cascade and we had fun talking, eating and playing rummikube and aggravation.  Once again, Barney was in heaven.  He loves both Lee and Deann and he got to be free to run around a bit.

Before we got there Lee had been out hunting and he got his deer for the season.  This is a guy who actually has a cold storage room especially made for hanging game.  He and Deann had already butchered, wrapped and frozen the meat.  Too bad, I would have enjoyed seeing how it was done although my heart always goes out to the deer.

Their house and garage - with the garage doors freshly painted by Deann.

East side of the house and a partial view of their really cool vegetable garden.

This fabulous garden is 100 feet by 12 feet.  It's all cleaned up
for fall but in the summer it yields lots of delicious fresh produce.  Lee
actually takes a full size Troybuilt rototiller inside to work up the soil!

Lee and Deann in our motorhome.  You couldn't meet two nicer people.

Retracing our route.

Lenore, ID to Riggins, ID

(to revisit a lovely campground on the Little Salmon River)

October 20 - October 25, 2016

Since we were back on the western edge of Idaho we just had to return to the campground on the Little Salmon River in Riggins.  We enjoyed it so much when we were there last July, the shade of the big trees, the sound of the river, the sunny days.  It was just the same this time.

I finally finished waxing the motorhome.  What a relief to have that done.  My shoulders and arms had been barking at me since I started the project and they were none to happy to begin again but at least the end was in sight.  It looks so much better if I have to say so myself and it's so gratifying to see the rain bead up and roll down the sides.

While we were there we took a drive up a scenic byway called Seven Devils Road which promised to have panoramic views of 4 states.  The road was only 18 miles long but it took a long time to reach the top due to road conditions, curves, etc.  The fall colors made it particularly beautiful.  Not too many reds but there were many nice orange, yellow and gold colors.

Fall in Riggins, Idaho.
They don't get a wide range of colors but the it's still
beautiful when set against the dun colored hills.

The larch trees are only noticeable in the fall when they loose their needles.
At any other time of the year they go in-noticed.

Panoramic view about 3/4 of the way to the top.  We'd been enjoying such nice weather so we didn't expect the snow.

Winter always comes early in the mountains.

Nice view of the Salmon River valley and the mountains beyond.

At the top life is hard even for the trees.

You can hike to Boise from this ridge - just put one foot in front of the other
and follow this trail.  I'm not sure if the trail is #101 or if it's 101 miles to Boise!

I thought I had spotted a bear but it was just a free range calf.
Would have loved to have seen a bear.