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The mountains are really lush and green and look super inviting. So I decided to drag us out into the wastelands in between. Actually I decided to go check out the Spiral Jetty again, thinking it was just enough off the beaten path that it wouldn’t be as crowded as other popular attractions.
The mountains near Ogden. (Drive By Photography Album)
Brigham City (DBP Album). I think Bountifuls B is bigger. hehe.
Almost to Golden Spike, our first stop. Look at the road heading up into the mountains. (DBP Album)
Our first stop would be Golden Spike National Historic Site. To get there take i15 to exit 365 and head west for about 25 miles. Follow the signs, it is pretty hard to miss.
Interesting monument.
Golden Spike is normally $7.00 a carload in the summer. However today apparently their registers were down so we got in free. Nice! Particularly considering we have done it before, and there is not a whole lot to see here. I asked if dogs were cool. He said yes, outside only, so long as she behaves and we promise to clean up after her. I of course assured him we would (we always do). I then inquired about a few other things before going around the side gate to see the trains.
The Jupiter on the left and the.. 119 on the right. I can’t tell if the 119 has another name. Since we had Roxy I didn’t spend a lot of time inside learning about the history and I don’t remember from the last time.
The Jupiter.
The 119.
The last tie laid.
Which is directly between the opposing trains.
Betty: I think this National Park is encouraging us to drink.
Tracks.
I like this place, but there isn’t a whole lot to do. I really only stop by on my way to see the Spiral Jetty. Except today, and I really don’t know how I missed it last time, I noticed something on the map. Chinese Arch. Well, that certainly grabbed my attention, so I asked the ranger about it.
Me: “I noticed this Chinese Arch, what can you tell me about that?”
Ranger: “It was noticed and named by some of the first passengers on the line, probably due to seeing the Chinese worker camps nearby. It is a one way dirt road, no trailers or campers.”
Me: “Is it worth checking out?”
Ranger: “Well, it’s definitely no Arches National Park, but yea its pretty neat.” Me: “How big is it?”
Ranger: “Well…. “ pausing stepping back making arm gestures… “ about 10 feet tall…. and about the same wide.”
Me: “Thanks, maybe we’ll check it out.”
We decided to head out towards The Spiral Jetty and maybe hit that back on the way out. Due to how long the posts are running, I split our Spiral Jetty adventure into it’s own post which you can check out here. So, now we hit the Auto Tour East and explore Chinese Arch.
The Auto Tour East road is a little less of a road as it is tire tracks, however I think a small car could still do it. Just follow the posted 15 MPH speed limit. Trust me. (DBP)
I love the small window we have between snow covered mountains and brown mountains when they are just green and pretty. It’s usually a very small window, but we seem to be having an extended view this year. (DBP)
Okay, I didn’t expect this to be this adventurous. Meep! (DBP). This is why I suggest following the speed limit. It is kind of funny, usually I am the nervous nelly about things like this, but it didn’t bother me as much today. Probably because we were going slow enough, and I knew it was one way so it wasn’t that bad. Landis and Mah were the ones who kind of freaked out this time.
There were also little numbered signs with a golden spike along the way. I imagine these might be various points of interest that a map we didn’t see would tell more about. I tried looking for it on their website but didn’t have any luck.
Through the rocks. (DBP)
Hey, there it is! (DBP)
There is a very small parking lot, 2-3 cars max but even on this memorial weekend there was one car there when we arrived, and after probably spending 30 minutes here not another soul showed up. I had no idea this existed until today, so it is not a very well known thing. But still, pretty awesome and worth the stop!
This is really neat! No need to travel 5 hours SE down to Arches, travel 1.5 hours up north to see this one! But seriously, this is cool, but it is just the one, Arches National Park has tons and is definitely worth the trip!
From below.
Some caves on the other side.
The arch from the other side.
According to the plaque, it sits on the now non existent shores of Lake Bonneville and was created by the waves crashing into the rocks. That is pretty cool. There is so much in Utah that Lake Bonneville Affected, created. It is absolutely fascinating!
Landis has a tendency to climb things.
After he climbed back down we got a group shot. I would venture it is taller and wider than 10 feet. Probably closer to 20 and 30.
View of the valley below.
There is a trail above and oh, what do I see?
There are flowers growing at the top of this arch!
Landis climbs into one of the caves.
Detailed view of one of the others.
More flowers growing on the arch.
And a view from farther back. I just love this little arch. I am glad we adventured out to go see it.
Some more little caves below.
Another look into the valley below. I believe this is Blue Creek.
Last stop is the Big Fill/Big Trestle Viewpoint. You can see the abutments of the now non-existent trestle, and the man made fill behind them.
The sign gives some more information. The trestle was shaky and dangerous so when big fill was completed all traffic moved over to that.
Just a little ways up the road is a walking trail to get a closer look at them. We didn’t do it, but it seems pretty easy if you do want to get in closer you can.
There are tons of these flowers. I believe these are Sego Lilies, the state flower.
Some pretty orange flowers as well.
Well today’s adventure was a blast! I am really glad we came out to explore. It was a little more crowded than I would have hoped, but ultimately less crowded than anywhere else would have been I think so I will take it as a win. We still had a lot of quiet alone time with most of the stuff we came to see today and we found new exciting things we hadn’t seen before.
Be sure to come back for part 2, which is a little bit more off the beaten path but still exciting and wondrous.
Golden Spike itself there really isn’t much to it. Like I said last time, it is basically a gift shop with a few trains, and a half hourly show. rating it alone without the auto tours (since the dirt roads can be intimidating) I would give it 5 squirrels.
Chinese arch was absolutely awesome! The only arch that I am aware of that was created by Lake Bonneville. Its pretty much drive up and see, or to really see walk 50 feet. I loved it! but it is definitely a drive to go see. I would finalize on 9 squirrels here. Splitting the difference at 7.
As for difficulty, all 3 adventures are definitely a DR2. Almost DR1. Golden Spike is completely flat, and wheelchair friendly. Chinese arch can be seen from the road, or you can walk up a very short easy trail right up to it. I seem to recall a couple steps, but I imagine with a strong helper and some determination you could probably get a wheelchair up to it as well. The viewpoint, is a viewpoint. Drive up and look, also flat, paved, and wheelchair accessible.
I split today's adventure by distance rather than by timeline, so if you want to see The Spiral Jetty and if you are curious as to what oil looks like when it comes out of the ground, feel free to continue on to part 2.
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