Travelogue: The Golden Spike

The Golden Spike was one of Lauren's requests. She saw something about it in her history book, and since it was apparently right along our path from Idaho down to Colorado, we figured it would be no big deal to stop.

And yeah, technically it is right along the way. It was about half an hour off the highway. But MAN!  It is out in the middle of NOWHERE.  I know--most of the West is the middle of nowhere. But this was one of those really hot, stifling days on the trip, and we got there half an hour after the visitor center closed. That was my fault--I spent too long talking with my friend Terri, but it was worth it, because that was one of MY best parts of the trip.

So when we got there, the place was deserted. There was a big monument out front, and a few maps on the wall we could see, but it looked like that was it. Oh, except for the bees. There were a lot of bees, or maybe they were hornets. Ever since getting stung last year at camp, Lauren has a real aversion to flying stinging things, so she wasn't too happy there.

In spite of that, she was convinced that there was more we could see around back. We walked along the edge of the parking lot.  "See?  There are the train tracks right back there!"  Unfortunately, "right back there" was across a field of sagebrush I didn't feel like walking across, and I convinced her to head back to the car. But as we were starting to drive away, I decided to look at one last spot. Sure enough, the fence only extended out from the visitor's center a little ways, and we could easily get behind it.

Jackpot!  Well, jackpot was probably inside, where it was air conditioned and had a lot more information. But the main event was indeed out back.  It didn't appear to be a Golden Spike, though--more of a shellacked railroad tie with a plaque on it.

Memorial plaque for the Irish laborers.

An adorable Irish couple asked if I would take a picture of them standing on either side of it, their hands reaching out over it to just barely touch. "That's a great picture idea!"  Sadly, Lauren was already scampering back to the car; Sarah & Jeff hadn't gotten back out at all. It was really hot, and did I mention the bees? 

Do I consider the Golden Spike a "must see," or someplace we'll want to return?  No, not really. Yes, it was cool. Yes, I'm glad we went. But even without the visitor's center, I think we pretty much saw what we needed to see. Lauren disagrees--it was one of her favorite parts of the trip, she'd like to do the Junior Ranger program.