This is the Place!

Location: Willard Bay State Park, Utah

We woke early this morning and our campsite was really beautiful as the sun first came over the mountain. We were about the same distance from Salt Lake City as the Russell Clan was on their trip, so we headed there first thing.

 

 

We drove the very winding route that the original Mormon pioneers had used to reach Salt Lake City in 1847. It turns out the poor Donner Party had been there a year earlier and spent 13 days cutting the trail through this area. That delay is what caused disaster for them when they got to the Sierras. The Mormon group made it through in only 6 days, thanks to the Donner Party's earlier work. The view from the pass above the valley was stunning this morning. An amazing number of bike riders were going both up and down this very steep road.

At the bottom of this long decent we stopped at the This Is The Place Heritage Park. This is the spot where Brigham Young is supposed to have recognized all the proper elements from his dream, so that he knew this was the place where Mormons should settle. Here I am proclaiming to Debi that This is the Place!

 

We walked around a bunch of the huge bronze statues in this place and through their gift shop. Let's just say that these guys take their historic bronze statues really seriously, perhaps a little too much so.

Our next stop was Temple Square, which Laurie wrote about at great length, but had only this to say about the "beehive house". "Brigham Young's beehive house was very odd." We toured this house, which was Brigham's first house and office from which he administered the Mormon Church. The beehive name comes from the beehive ornament which adorns the top of the building, which is symbolic of the industriousness which is so prized by the Mormon faith. Our tour guides were two young women, one of whom was probably one of the more socially awkward people you would ever want to meet. The house didn't seem that odd to us, but the hard sell of the Mormon faith was intense. One couple in our tour even bailed because they couldn't take the propoganda. Anyway, if any of you need a Family Proclamation Document, we would be glad to pass ours along.

We were really blown away with how truly imaculate everything was within the Temple Square. It had a strange feeling of being almost unreal, to the point where I actually felt several times like I was looking at a computer simulation rather than a real place. This is the Salt Lake Temple, with a gold angel at the very top.

The attention to the flower gardens within the Temple Square was actually unbelievable. At one point we passed a group of maybe ten young people giving some really intensive attention to one particular flower bed. One poor guy was even picking single blades of tiny weeds out of an almost perfect bed of mossy ground cover. All this attention really paid off, because the multitude of gorgeous flower beds was really jaw dropping.

We also attended a noon concert in the Tabernacle which featured their massive pipe organ. Featured in the concert were two famous pieces by Bach, a traditional Mormon hymn, which is played at every concert, and the Thunderer March by John Phillip Sousa, as the finale. My sisters, Nancy & Polly, will appreciate that I was unable to listen to a Souza march played on an organ without thinking of our father's enthusiastic attempts at playing "Under the Double Eagle" on our family Hammond organ (which never sounded the same after our family dog clawed at all the vacuum tubes in back while chasing a mouse).

Here Debi is attempting to become Brigham Young's second wife. You will notice that he appears to be unmoved by her advances, despite her very sincere gaze.

We wanted to see one landmark which Laurie described..."A block or two from the capitol is a great archway and on top is a wooden angel, goldplated however, which is supposed to have come from the entrance of Brigham Young's ranch." We saw this arch downtown, which features an eagle atop a beehive, and wondered, if this was the arch, when had the angel become an eagle. We actually questioned about seven different people about this, and were told that only the eagle had every appeared above the archway. We finally concluded that Laurie must have transposed the position of the eagle on top of the archway with the golden angel who is prominently displayed on top of the Mormon Temple.

We also toured the Capitol building, which Debi and I also thought was amazingly grand and impressive, certainly more than the State capitol building in Sacramento, and probably more so than the National capitol building in Washington D.C. The exterior was very impressive, but the scale and grandure of the interior with its amazing murals, really blew our minds, particularly when compared with the state capitol building in Cheyenne.

 

 

Here's one interior shot of which gives you some idea of the grandiose scale of this place. The natural light coming through the glass ceiling is really quite amazing.

One mystery item in the capitol building which we spent quite a while sluthing about was a piano which Laurie described in length. "A pioneer woman had brought it from Virginia...During an Indian uprising they fled with the piano to some other place in Utah and for some years lived in a two room cabin. She had five children who grew up sharing the crowded space, and when the roof leaked, they slept under the piano." Nobody in the capitol building knew anything about a piano, but they suggested we look in the Daughter of Pioneers Museum down the street.

At this other museum we saw the original eagle that had sat atop the arch way until a contractor had backed his truck into the archway and made it collapse. We also saw some of the covered wagons and stage coaches that had impressed the Russell Clan on their visit.

 

 

 

 

We even saw this very impressive restored horse-drawn fire engine from 1902. But the only piano that anyone wanted us to see was the one that had been wrapped in buffalo skins and buried for a year somewhere along the pioneer trail, only to have it be in perfect condition when it was unearthed again. We finally went back to the front desk and told our story again to two other volunteers. They said: "Oh, there are a couple of pianos on the second floor you should look at."

Sure enough, one of the pianos there had more of the less romantized story where because of a miscommunication the piano had been stored under a tent which leaked, and the family had sought shelter under the piano itself. Laurie claimed "the wood was still in good condition", while in fact water stains are clearly showing from the ordeal. But we had found the mystery piano! It turns out all of the items in this museum were originally diplayed in the capitol building while this building was being built. We felt triumphant in our search.

All of this museum viewing, and the stiffling 100 degree heat outside was enough for us, so we went in search of a campite. On the way we stopped for burgers and a chocolate malt at a local place that was started the same year Debi was born.

Soon we found a campsite and got ourselves over to cool off in the nearby lake. Here's me conquering a big water slide we found in the middle of the lake.

 

 

 

 

Here's Debi "catching air" as she arches off the bottom of the slide. It was a great way to end a summer day.

 

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The 1929 Trek Continues

Location: East Canyon State Park, Utah

We slept like logs last night. It was the only night that we've used our sleeping bags for warmth since the first few days of our trip, since it got down into the 50's rather than the 70's. The lake next to our campsite was like a mirror this morning and really beautiful.

 

The Russell family in 1929 had camped at Laramie, so that was our first stop this morning. We bought groceries there and admired the beautiful parts of town near the college campus, but quickly moved on. Laurie's journal describes at great length the harrowing ride in pouring rain that they made down the mountain from Laramie. "I cannot forget the horror of side-slipping in mud on those narrow mountain roads...We progressed those 50 miles of the worst of it in nearly four hours." Meanwhile, the steepest decent for us was between the Lincoln Monument and Laramie. However, we are now driving on an Interstate Highway (in Wyoming, the Old Lincoln Highway becomes one with the Interstate), while Laurie describes "we find there is one place in the thousand or so miles of the Lincoln Highway that is not completely surfaced and there are notes that rain makes it dangerous." In contrast, this was about the steepest that the highway got for us today.

Laurie's group stopped at Parco, a huge oil refinery coupled with a company town which was designed in 1925 to be not only functional but aethestically pleasing. We drove through the same town today, which is now called Sinclair, since it had been purchased by Sinclair Oil in 1934, during the depression. We thought the houses had not aged well in the intervening years, but the fountain in front of the Parco Hotel is still quite charming.

 

 

Laurie reported that they camped that night at Wamsutter. "Out there on the lonely prarie where the railroad tracks were the main street, the Broadway Hotel and Cafe lifted its noble one story".

We were delighted to drive into Wamsutter today and locate what we think are both the former Broadway Hotel...

and the still-operating Broadway Cafe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Their first stop the next morning was in Green River. We stopped there and saw this great old building which still operates as a brewery, just as it did in 1929.

On the other side of the tracks we found a wonderful park, complete with water park, lots of grass and trees, and a beautiful place along the Green River which is perfect for floating down a few hundred yards to get cooled off in the blazing summer sun. This place felt like the epitome of summer. Debi read that this was the place where John Wesley Powell set out for his 3 month expedition of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon in 1869.

 

 

Their next stop was at Granger, which Laurie describes as "no municipal center, no trees, only sagebrush round and about. There WAS one shady spot though, underneath the water tower beside the railroad track." There they met an aviator (rather drunk, apparently) who carried airmail on night flights through this section of the country, and thrilled the whole family with his stories of flying a plane. We drove into Granger today, and found that the poor little town even lacks paved streets, but by sheer good luck, found a historical plaque that had a picture of the town taken in 1928, with the water tower!

Here's what we think is the same view today, with the water tower now relocated elsewhere.

 

 

 

Our final destination tonight is East Canyon State Park in Utah. As we entered the park, we were greeted by a welcoming committee of sheep playing on the roadway, with lots of spunky little lambs. After finding a campsite, we quickly got on our swim suits and took a cooling soak in the lake. This made Debi really happy!

Here is Debi with Winnie at our campsite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This park is where the Donner Party camped. They were the first group of wagon trains to come through this way on their way to California. Don't worry about us though. Here is Debi cooking chicken for our dinner, making sure that we are both well fed.

 

 

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Highest Point on the Lincoln Highway

Location: Curt Gowdy State Park, Wyoming

Last night our campsite was really peaceful, as you can see from this sunset photo. We even took a serene bike ride for about 4 miles down to the diversion dam on Lake Ogalalla. You can imagine our surprise, then, when at about 2 a.m. we woke up to the sound of our awning slapping around in violent winds! We managed to get out of bed and stumble around and get everything stowed away, so that it wouldn't blow away, but I'll bet we were a funny sight to see. We managed to get back to bed, but slept only intermittently with the wind whipping away at the van.

 

Our first order of business this morning was to follow up on a breakfast tip that we got yesterday by text message from Eric and Polly. They said to be sure to get some pie at Homemade Heaven in Ogalalla. We had stopped there yesterday and found out they were closed on Sunday. When we arrived today we realized we were too early because we were now on Mountain Time and had gained an hour. Oh well, next time...

 

On our way out of town we saw another ode to vintage road trips. This was a display of "visible" gas pumps which were the type probably being used in 1929. They were popular because they allowed the customer to see that they were buying clear gasoline, since dirt and water contamination of gas was a big issue at the time.

 

Laurie mentioned in her journal: "I learned about Russian thistles from experience;if someone puts one in your car for a souvenir, please don't sit down on it." I stopped and took a photo of one today as we were driving along.

 

Laurie wrote a very long paragraph about how ridiculous she thought the Ogalalla golf course was, since it was apparently comprised mainly of sand. " There were three or four men carrying clubs around over that. How wilted their collars must be have been for it was at least 100 degrees F." I realize that we forgot to get a photo of the current state of the golf course there. (I recall Nancy and I spending a long time trying to even locate it on our 1999 trip.) So instead I am including a photo from the Ogalalla golf course that I found on the internet. This confirms at least that they now have grass growing there.

 

The Russell Clan had stayed at a tourist camp at Big Springs over their weekend. (I take it that travel was not permitted on Sunday, as several of the group attended local church services on that Sunday morning.) We drove through there today and took this photo. There's even a church just as you enter town.

Laurie's crew made an early departure from Big Springs, and stopped in Sunol to eat breakfast. "It was our first experience with 15 cent milk, but not our last. By the side of the road someone pointed out THE cow of the village." I'm assuming that 15 cents (per quart?) for milk was considered very expensive in 1929. We've been paying about $3.69 per gallon. Anyway, here is a photo of the town of Sunol today. It has not faired well in 86 years, and appears to be inhabited by junk car collectors.

 

 

We drove into Sidney and stopped at the little museum there. Before we realized it, we were on a very thorough tour by a very enthusiastic elderly volunteer about every exhibit (and there were lots!) with no way of escape. Here's a photo of me in the happy moments before we were entrapped!

We crossed the border into Wyoming and stopped in Cheyenne. The Union Pacific Station there is really impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's Debi next to one of the decorated cowboy boots that are all over town.

Just as the crew in 1929 had done, we toured the state capitol building, only we rode there on our bikes from the Union Pacific Station.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a number of classic looking murals of pioneer times throughout the capitol building that Laurie mentioned in her journal. The most relevant for our trip though was the photo of all the members of the state legislature in 1929. Be sure to check our Charles Spence! (Bottom row, 3rd from the right) His hair looks a lot like mine does many recent mornings, but I am careful to wear a baseball cap while walking around the campground, until I can get a shower, for fear of frightening small children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made two more stops to document places that Laurie mentioned in her journal: A big boulder with a tree growing out of it. (Now located between the east and west bound lanes of Interstate 80!)...

 

 

 

 

 

And the Ames Monument, which was built by the Union Pacific Railroad in tribute to the Ames Brothers, who contributed greatly to building of the Transcontinental Railroad. It's 60 high and 60 feet at the base. Oddly, you have to drive almost 2 miles off the interstate on a washboard gravel road to see it. Seems like a strange place for such a supposedly important monument.

This is the monument of Lincoln that stands today at the highest point on the Lincoln Highway, 8865 feet. In Laurie's day there was "a sort of little park, a log cabin converted into a tea room, a toruist supply store, and a place for a camp."

Tonight we are staying at Curt Gowdy State Park. It's an eastern Wyoming park, so it's a little sparse on trees, but the good thing is that we got a campsite on the water. Here's Debi enjoying a sangria that we improvised from things we had on hand.

 

 

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The Center of the U. S. of A.

Location: Lake Ogalalla State Park, NE

We woke this morning to a beautiful red sunrise. Seems like the old saying is right, "Red sky in the morning, Sailors take warning..." because by the time we rolled out of the campground at about 7:30, the wind was gusting like crazy and there were all kinds of beautiful, ominous cloud effects happening in the sky. Since it was Father's Day, Debi insisted that we go out to breakfast, which we did. Here's me with my Father's Day french toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon, at a breakfast place in Kearney (pronounced "Carnie"). We then continued west along the old Lincoln Highway, which parallels Interstate 80 but at a much calmer pace through most of Nebraska.

Laurie's journal reported "A little before noon we reached the exact center of the United States, geographically speaking. It is 1730 miles from either coast at this point. Here was a little resort by a little lake with pavilions, picnic grounds and some amusements." On my trip with Nancy in 1999, we had been delighted to find that this spot still existed. There was no pavillion or lake anymore, but lots of signs boasting about it being the center of the U.S. I think the little tourist store was closed, but Nancy and I took photos of everything, including the ferro-cement depiction of a covered wagon pulled by a pair of oxen. As we neared this spot today, I saw how updated all the houses looked and wondered if the tourist spot would still be there. Moments later we came upon the spot, now with only one sign, but Nick and Rosa are still pulling the wagon, 86 years since my father's family passed this same place.

A little further down the road we drove through downtown Lexington, which still has brick lined streets, and a surprisingly vibrant bunch of businesses, especially compared to many of the little ghost-like towns we see throughout the midwest. You can see in this photo some of the ominous skies we were under at this time. Not much later, we drove out of all the weather and were blessed with blue skies.

 

Another place which Laurie mentioned was their lunch spot in Cozad. We stopped there to admire the beautifully restored train station which commemorates the spot where the construction of the Trancontinental Railroad was completed to this point on the 100th logitudinal line west of Greenwich on October 5, 1866. This big event was celebrated by a trainload of 250 dignitaries who arrived at this place three weeks later on the first passenger train to travel west of the Missouri River.

A nice Union Pacific Logo above the station doorway.

 

 

Here's me practicing my Harry Truman "whistle stop" skills.

A little further west we checked out the Pony Express Station in Gothenburg. It operated here only from 1860-1862, since when the Overland Telegraph was completed they were put out of business.

 

 

 

 

Across from the Pony Express Station, Debi practiced her skills as a fireman.

In North Platte, we stopped at the Buffalo Bill State Historic Park where Buffalo Bill Cody built his home in 1886 at the cost of $3900, during the heyday of his famous Wild West Show.

 

 

 

 

 

We also liked the mural on the way out of town paying tribute to the Lincoln Highway and a sweet little former gas station, which might have been operating in 1929. Parts of the Lincoln Highway remind us of Route 66 with iconic symbols of America's love of road trips.

Our final destination for the day was Lake Ogalalla. While crossing the dam, Debi took this awesome photo of the water gushing through the dam.

 

 

 

 

 

After touring a bunch of potential camp sites, we settled on this nice shady one right next to the lake.

 

Of course Debi is enjoying her usual spot, floating in the lake.

 

 

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