THE Golden Spike National Historic Site is in the middle of nowhere, at 32 miles west of Brigham City.
In 2019 (May 10), it will be the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike here -- and the countdown is already on.
How well do you know the Golden Spike story?
It is well documented, but instead of spending the usual 30 minutes at this site, as in past visits, I took an hour and even drove one of the dirt roads nearby.
Here's what I found ...
-I was surprised to realize that there was an "undriving" of the Golden Spike ceremony held on Sept. 9, 1942 there was a ceremonial undriving of the spike held. Since the Lucin Cutoff had opened in 1904 (a direct railroad route across the Great Salt Lake form Ogden, instead of heading northwest around the lake), the train tracks around Golden Spike were on minimal importance to transportation. Hence, the "undriving" and then all the steel rails were removed in the area and used for the American efforts in World War II.
-The oldest natural relic in the Golden Spike area is the Chinese Arch. Composed of 300 million year old rock, this formation is believed to have been formed thousands of years ago by the wave action of being under Lake Bonneville.
This arch is but a few hundred yards away from the original railroad line leading to the Golden Spike. It is presumably named in honor of the many Chinese workers who made the national railroad connection possible.
It is accessible by a one-way, narrow dirt road ("East Grade Auto Tour"), that's fine for passenger cars and well worth the extra drive.
This road is best accessed on the way FROM Golden Spike and then it merges with the main paved road a mile for so further east.
-I also took the 20 minutes to watch the historic movie on the Golden Spike's history at the visitor center and it is excellent, putting the railroad's biggest-ever event in context with American history.
