Day 17-July 28

Comments about Day 16:

We checked out of our campground after 3 great days.  We were in a tent loop and for the last two days, Sunday and Monday nights, most of the sites were empty, whereas the RV loops was almost full.  

Heading north, we followed the Pine Canyon Road up to Guardsman pass, elevation 9717 ft., and then descended passing the Solitude and Brighton ski areas. Our descent was through the Big Cottonwood Canyon which have used a lot of dynamite when the road was built.

We arrived in Salt Lake City and stopped for breakfast in a Scandinavian restaurant called Finns.  We had a great meal and ordered sandwiches to go.   

We then headed to Temple Square to check out the Mormon buildings, which were impressive, although the main Temple was covered in scaffolding which limited our views.  It was actually smaller than I had always imagined.

Leaving SLC, we drove to the northern end of the Great Salt Lake to Promontory Point where the Golden Spike National Historical Park is located.  The park commemorates the spot where the westbound  Union Pacific and the eastbound Central Pacific railroad finally connected on May 10, 1869 to complete the first transcontinental railroad.  

The magnitude of this achievement is overwhelming when you consider the geographic challenges that had to be overcome.  The 30 minute film at the visitors' center acknowledges that this achievement was at the expense of Native Americans whose land was stolen, and the Chinese immigrants whose working conditions were horrendous.  When the tunneling through the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Union Pacific progressed at a rate of 8 inches per day!  Promontory Point is truly in the middle of nowhere as a result of the railroad relocating its lines, so the desolation of the area really communicates what the railroad workers experienced.

Our route on Day 16

Photos from Day 17