Willard Bay State Park, Utah 9/25 - 9/27

From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com 

Tim and Linda Bunyan

We have arrived at Willard Bay State Park which is a huge freshwater reservoir that offers boating, camping, and animal-watching.  This freshwater serves cities stretched along the Wasatch Range from Nephi to Brigham City.  Yet we are here to see the Train! 

We fuel up to drive to the Golden Spike National Historical Park

Site of the First Transcontinental Railroad

This historic site is the place the completion of the first transcontinental railroad crossed the United States.  We are here for the 150th anniversary in commemoration of the completion of the railroad.

The  Last Spike Site, 1869.  Ten miles of track was laid in one day!  April 18, 1869

The final spike was driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails.

The Golden Spike is now displayed in the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.

A journey across the plains, a formidable undertaking that required great patience and endurance.  It took six months to cross the country; the railway reduced the time to less than a week! 
The Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento and the Union Pacific Railroad from Omaha were laid, here at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory.

The final joining of the rails spanning the continent was signified by the driving of the ceremonial Golden Spike. 
 The leaders: Leland Stanford, Central Pacific, and Dr. Thomas Durant, Union Pacific Railroad. 

 California, designed and built working replicas of the locomotives that were present at the original ceremony.  

Tim and I witnessed the Union Pacific locomotive traveling from the East to come face-to-face with the Central Pacific from the West.

1869 Jupiter (CP#60) 

1869 UP# 119

On May 10, 2019, the United States Postal Service issued a set of three new commemorative postage stamps to make this 150th anniversary of the driving of the golden spike.  One stamp for the Jupiter locomotive, one stamp for locomotive #119, and one stamp for the golden spike.

Promontory Point

We depart to return to Willard Bay and Ogden, Utah 

We return to our RV at Willard Bay.  

The next day we drive into town to find the Train Depot - 1869.

The Union Station is a train station in Ogden Utah formerly the junction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads.

 Land deal with Brigham Young as he donated several hundred acres of land to the two railroads on the condition that they build the yards and station here in west Ogden,.

This area of vast flatland continues as a railway hub

I need to go find the postage stamps!

Onward to Salt Lake City.....there is a train coming!

Bear Lake, Utah, Westernly direction 9/23 - 9/25

From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com 

Tim and Linda Bunyan

After a month stays in Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park, we find our Travel Tour 2019 in the final month, heading West to Sacramento via Bear Lake, Utah thru Salt Lake City, Utah.

Westerly, passing through Bridger-Teton Nat'l Forest on the Centennial Scenic Byway

We leave behind the cattle ranches on the Logan Canyon Scenic Byway.  We are in Archery Ranges and Dirt Bikes areas, Animal Science School and the America West Heritage Center for Farming.

We enter the Idaho (northern) section of Bear Lake to continue south to stay at the Southern section of Bear Lake in Utah. 

Our place of stay to carve out and make our own,

along the shoreline of Bear Lake.

 Home Sweet Home while at Bear Lake

A side-trip drive around Bear Lake for the Day.
 Jet Skis stored for the season (it's now the end of September).

 Across the street are bales of hay ready for the season

Shoreline Bear Lake Drive along Bear Lake.
A popular destination for tourists and water sports enthusiasts and the surrounding valley has gained a reputation for having high-quality raspberries.  This area is highly compelling for a Summer residence place to make our own.  Marinas, beaches, and two tourist towns: Garden City and Laketown.  It has two state parks including one-half-mile-long Rendezvous Beach. 

Hillside townhouses with Bear Lake view.

Condo Rentals available for summer fun 

 Raspberry country!

  Water playground at Bear Lake Marina

Crepes and Coffee roadside stop in Garden City, next to Ace Hardware 

Summertime place to sell raspberry shakes

We have the famous quick n tasty raspberry shake, of course!

Houses along the Bear Lake shoreline.

What's not to like; Bear Lake West Golf Course!

Houses on the Bear Lake
A natural freshwater lake on the Idaho-Utah border.  About 100 square miles, the lake is split about equally between the two states.

We've entered the northern portion of the Bear Lake area into Idaho.

and there we turned around and went back to our RV in the southern section 
of Bear Lake into Utah. 

 

The "First Oregon Trail" marker across this trail indicates the first covered wagons to find passable wagon trails to areas known as "Oregon" or the "California".  Indians and American settlers and fur trappers would gather Rendezvous here on the Southwesterly shores of Bear River.

Bear Lake
The "Caribbean of the Rockies" Its unique turquoise-blue color due to the refraction of limestone deposits in the lake.

It is the end of September and time to travel on westerly to "the California" via the city of: Salt Lake City, our final stop of our 2019 Travel Tour. 

Our 2019 Travel Tour began in May at Connelly's RoundUP to the Oregon Coast; north along western Olympic Pennisula; to Family Reunion in Bellingham, WA at Diz & Vicki's; then to
 Couer d' Alene, Idaho; south to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Teton Nation Park; west to Salt Lake City; and return to Sacramento, CA
  The loop consisted of about 3200 Travel Tour miles. 

off to the city of Salt Lake City, 'we've a train to catch'!  

A po