Category Archives: US/Southwest

Golden Spike National Historic Site – Where a Country Came Together

  By Anne Patrone | September 15, 2011 - 10:57 am | , , , , ,
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Replica of the Golden Spike

When I planned our driving route for our Western US road trip, I decided to make a slight detour after passing through Salt Lake City, Utah to visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site. 

I have always been fascinated by the “golden spike” that joined a nation and signaled the beginning of an end of an era. So hey, I wanted to see it . . . Little did I know that the ORIGINAL golden spike is actually housed in Stanford University’s library. The one at the Golden Spike Historic Site is a replica that was taken on the space shuttle Atlantis.

Either way, our visit was worth it because of the history it represented.

Why was this gold spike so important? Because with train travel linking the prosperous East Coast to the wide open ranges and new opportunities on the West Coast, people no longer had to use bulky (and slow) wagon trains to start a new life.

They could take the train.

Breaking ground in January 1863, the Union Pacific set out from Omaha, Nebraska while the Central Pacific Railroad began pushing east from Sacramento, California. The Union Pacific used mainly Irish, Italian, and German immigrants and the Central Pacific hired thousands of Chinese workers, brought in solely to grade the land, dig tunnels, and lay track.

The railroad ties that were laid

Of the two groups, the Central Pacific definitely had the harder of the two paths. During one particularly brutal winter, their progress slowed to a mere EIGHT inches per day because they had to chisel out tunnels through the solid rock of the Sierra Nevadas.

When the groups finally met on May 10, 1869, a gold spike was tapped once, then replaced with a more practical iron spike.

Last tie laid to join a nation

All of the above history, my kids learned from watching a 30-minute Charlie Brown cartoon entitled This is America, Charlie Brown: The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad  before heading out to see the actual spot. I so desperately wanted to buy a copy of this excellent video, but alas, it’s been out of circulation due to copyright problems. 

After watching the video, we went out to look at replicas of the two steam engines present at the joining, the Jupiter (Central Pacific) and No. 119 Engine (Union Pacific).
Replicas of the Jupiter and No. 119 steam engines

It was a great place for photos and a chance to look at these beautiful steam engines, as well as force my guys to reenact the famous handshake between representatives of the two railroad companies – Leland Stanford (Central Pacific) and Thomas Durant (Union Pacific).

My guys “reenacting” the famous handshake

A small museum on the site showed us the tools needed to lay the 1,776 miles of track . . . 

Actual track from the original railroad

. . . and then we were back in the car, heading for our next destination – Jackson, WY.

Canyonlands Boat Tour at Sunset

  By Anne Patrone | September 13, 2011 - 9:00 am | , , , , , , , , , ,
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Colorado River at sunset

Sometimes when I plan our trips, I use a friend’s suggestion or a recommended tour in a travel guide. But sometimes I discover a tour or place completely by accident – a random click of my computer mouse.

Thank goodness for random luck because it was how I discovered Canyonlands By Night & Day as I clicked my way around “Things to Do in Moab, Utah.”

Tour headquarters

Offering a variety of tours (jet boat, Hummer, ATV, and horseback riding) that explore the beauty of southern Utah, Canyonlands By Night & Day was an unexpected surprise.

We chose their signature tour (and the one they’ve been offering since 1963) – an evening boat tour and old-fashioned light show along the Colorado River combined with a “cowboy” style dinner.

Relaxing on the Colorado River

Skip the dinner since the food was nothing special, but be sure to go on the relaxing and scenic boat tour which culminates in an awe-inspiring finale that, for us, was only marred by the clouds blocking the starry sky.

We started off near sunset with a gentle cruise on a pontoon-style boat down the Colorado River.

Our guide told us humorous stories about the Moab area and pointed out strange rock and shadow formations on the passing canyon walls.
Boat guide on the Canyonland By Night Tour

Then, as the sun dipped below the horizon, and night fell, we settled back into our seats to watch an “old-fashioned” light and sound show. 

Canyon walls lit by a spotlight on a moving truck

I wasn’t completely sure what an “old-fashioned” light show meant, but it turned out to mean a large spot light on a moving truck which lit up the canyon walls as we floated back down the river to where we had boarded. There was a narrated story which covered the geologic creation of the are, the Native American history of the area, and the settlement by the Mormons, before ending with an emotional rendition of “This is My Country” (a song that has always been my favorite amongst the patriotic ones).

We ended the cruise in darkness and silence with the boat gently spinning around. For some reason, our eyes naturally lifted to the skies and through the clouds we could just make out what would have a blanket of stars on a clear night.  

Arches National Park – Natural Wonders

  By Anne Patrone | September 8, 2011 - 9:45 am | , , , , , , , , , ,
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Arches National Park in Utah

When I planned our Western US road trip, Arches National Park made the list because: 1) it was on Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up and 2) I wanted to see arches – those weird rock formations formed by water, ice, erosion, and underground salt movement seen in so many movies from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade to the 2003 version of Hulk.

Home to the world’s largest concentration of stone arches, Arches National Park was, therefore, the best place to see arches.

The only thing I forgot??

Kids get cranky, hungry, and tired after a long hike and generally don’t want to see more arches after they had seen several on our morning Fiery Furnace hike.

After much pleading (and I admit, a small amount of bribery . . .), they finally agreed to . . . sigh . . . go see more arches – as long as it didn’t involve a lot of hiking/walking.

The terms agreed to, we headed over to Sand Dune Arch, which admittedly wasn’t as impressive as some of the ones seen earlier in the day.

Sand Dune Arch

However, the boys enjoyed playing in the sand like the kids they were.

Cool sand in a hot spot

As the complaining increased, we headed back to the entrance, making a small detour to look at one of the most photographed arches in Arches National Park – Delicate Arch.

Delicate Arch

To be honest, I had no desire to hike the rather rigorous (and completely unshaded) climb to Delicate Arch. BUT . . . I wanted a better view than we got at the Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint. My youngest rebelled and chose to wait in the small amount of shade available at the bottom while my older son hiked the short (0.5 mile), but steep climb to the Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint.

By this point in time, the rebellion spread, and I was lucky to get a drive-by photo of Balanced Rock.
Balanced Rock

To satisfy my “arches” obsession, I had to settle for sending myself a picture postcard of the last set of arches I wanted to see . . . the famous North and South Windows . . .

North and South Windows
Memo to self and other parents: One hike per day, then send the kids to the swimming pool!

Sixty-four places visited, 436 to go!

Photo of North and South Windows courtesy of Dave Boyer via Flickr.

Fiery Furnace Hike in Arches National Park

  By Anne Patrone | September 7, 2011 - 10:40 am | , , , , , , , , , ,
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Call me naive, but I didn’t realize that hiking the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park was going to be as amazing an experience as it was . . .

The Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park

Of course I was super prepared and had reserved a ranger-led hike through www.recreation.gov months before . . .

Our ranger for the hike into Fiery Furnace

. . . which had us walking in a single-file to avoid damaging the fragile ecosystem . . .

Heading into the Fiery Furnace

And I knew about the tight spaces and scrambling up and around rocks that might occur . . .

Squeezing through an arch

Tight spaces were everywhere

But I was unprepared for the enormous amount of information our guide supplied about this special desert environment, like this watering hole which supplies precious water for a wide range of animals . . .

Watering hole in Fiery Furnace

. . . the unbelievable arches formed from wind and erosion . . .

Arches within the Fiery Furnace
Kind of looks like a face???

. . . and the general beauty and silence we found in this special spot within Arches National Park. 
The quiet canyons of Fiery Furnace

Just be warned, though . . . hiking in the Fiery Furnace is ONLY allowed with a hiking permit or with an authorized guide . . . 

Hiking only with permits in the Fiery Furnace

. . . as a French family learned when they were discovered and then escorted out by our guide and fined.

Best Western Canyonlands – Family Comfort

  By Anne Patrone | September 6, 2011 - 7:46 am | , , , , ,
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Best Western Canyonlands in Moab, UT

One of the hardest things for me when planning a trip is deciding where to stay. I take so many factors into account – price, location, room size, and amenities. 

Fortunately for me, the choice was easy when we stayed in Moab, Utah – I picked the Best Western Plus Canyonlands Inn.

After a disappointing stay at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas and a charming (but cramped) overnight at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, the Best Western Canyonlands Inn was a welcome relief.

We chose to stay in one of their three family suites – large two bedroom apartment-style rooms that as comfortable as they are large.

Kids’ room in the Best Western

When my kids were younger, it was easy for them to share a bed (or a pullout couch). But now that they’ve gotten older (and bigger), they need the extra space that a separate room provides both for their clothes and general detritus AND because they like watching sports and/or cartoons nonstop.

The family suites (which were less than reserving two separate rooms) gave us tons of space and more.
Small living area (and kitchen) at Best Western Canyonlands

The kids and I each had separate bedrooms with huge high-def TVs. A small kitchen area with microwave and fridge allowed us to heat up leftovers from a previous dinner for lunch as well as keep our water bottles nice and cool.

The wi-fi in the room, like all Best Westerns, was FREE and easy to access. I made use of their well-lit laundry facilities while the kids enjoyed the pool.
And last, but not least in my book, we enjoyed a hot, FULL breakfast (eggs, waffles, biscuits, bacon, and fresh fruit) each morning. We are breakfast eaters – as in, if we don’t eat something in the morning, we’re cranky all day. So having such a nice one provided as part of our room charge was a pleasant change of pace from all the higher-priced resorts where everything extra is charged (hey, Four Seasons, are you reading this???)
The Best Western Canyonlands in Moab, Utah, is a “Plus” hotel, which I gather is a step up from their usual hotel. Having said that, I’ve never been disappointed with Best Westerns and their service – they’re clean, comfortable, a good value for the money, and best of all . . . they always serve some type of breakfast.