GOLDEN SPIKE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
5 STARS- Get up and Go! Few Steps Needed, Very easy with wheels
Have you ever wanted to visit someplace you have heard all about, but because of physical limitations you didn’t know if you could? We do too! Between arthritis, bad backs, and surgeries we just can’t walk and do all of the things we used to.
With limited steps, and taking photos and videos, we will investigate the best ways to see this beautiful world we live in. So, come with us to National and State Parks, Hawaii, Disney® and other theme parks, and everything in between as we search for the most convenient, but slow-paced, ways to explore.
We hope you are as excited as we are to embark on this journey!
We are Mark and Cheryl from Utah. We have been married for 37 years and love to travel. As we were raising our 4 children, we went to the places they would like to go and and our travel life was very fast paced. In the past few years, as we started traveling without kids, we have slowed down and tried to enjoy the places we are going, without a break neak pace. Now we want to share these trips with you.
In the next few months we will be journeying to the Redwoods and coasts of California and Oregon, Disneyland and, Walt Disney World. We are very fortunate to live in Utah, and be so close to so many parks, and we will be taking you to many places there also.
Our latest trip was to the Golden Spike National Historical Park in Northern Utah. This year is the 150th anniversary of the meeting of the rail lines and the driving of the golden spike which signified that historic meeting.
From the east came the Union Pacific line which started in Omaha Nebraska and construction began December of 1863. They laid 1,776 miles of track. From Sacramento in the west came the Central Pacific line. They had the harder task of laying track through the Sierra Nevada mountain range. They started in January of 1863, but only laid 690 miles of track. They also had to make 15 tunnels compared to the 4 that the U.P. made. Congress declared the meeting place of the tracks to be Promontory Summit. On May 10, 1869, 2 locomotives, Central Pacific’s Jupiter and Union Pacific’s No. 119, pulled up to the gap in the track facing each other. After the symbolic golden spike was driven in, the lines were connected.
Having this rail line meant a huge change in life for America. Now you could reach the west by train rather than covered wagon or handcart. The immigrants came and the rail workers built up cities for them to come to. There was the hope that Promintary, where the trains met, would become the “Chicago of the West”, but they soon found that water and other resources were limited and the main train station was opened in Ogden.
We had a great visit on the Friday after the 4th of July. By checking out the website for the park we discovered that at 1pm they would have a locomotive demonstration with replicas of the Jupiter and the No. 119. When we arrived the Jupiter was on the track right behind the visitors center. The 119 soon joined it and we were able to see both trains in action along with hearing the whistles and bells and smelling the steam. A park ranger did a great job of telling us the story of the rails and trains. His words were broadcast from speakers so that even those who chose to sit in the shade closer to the visitors center could hear what was said.
We also had the chance to go up onto platforms to see inside the cabs. It gave us a unique experience to see the trains up close.
One of our main purposes of writing this blog is to explain our experience with mobility and accessibility at each destination. By sharing how far we have to walk, how many steps we had to take, and what the trails and paths look like, we hope you will have information that will help you to know whether you should plan a trip.
We found Golden Spike an extremely easy place to get around on foot or if you were in a wheelchair or mobility scooter. Throughout the day there I took 1300 steps total. We had no problem walking on the paved paths.
By the actual trains there was a gravel area where you could sit. One could easily see the trains if they didn’t want to go on the gravel.
To be able to get to the platform to see in the cabin, you did have to cross the train track and climb 8 steps to the top. If you chose to stay back by the visitor center in the shade, the 119 would still have traveled right in front of you as it pulled forward and then back again on the siding right there to make sure everyone had a good view. There was quite a bit of parking for the crowd that was there. We would definitely recommend a visit there for anyone.
The following are how we will rank the accessibility of the places we go.
- 5- Get up and Go! Few Steps Needed, Very easy by foot or with wheels.
- 4- It Can Be Done! Within your comfort steps and with wheels. Also can be seen from the car.
- 3- Many Steps- Charge UP! Take water, eat a snack and get ready for a longer walking or wheeled journey.
- 2- Wheels Only! Too far to walk but you could take your wheels.
- 1- Find A Better Place! Keep on going to a more accessible place. Watch our video instead.
**Wheels = wheelchair or scooter
On our next blog we are going to talk about how we count our steps to know the distance to where we have been and how that could help you know if this trip is right for you. We will also talk about our “wheeled” scooter as this will be a way Cheryl will get around in many of our journeys.
Please check out the photo album of all of the photos we took!
Make sure and check out our video of the trip on youtube!
And look for us on Instagram and Twitter.
Thanks for joining us on our JOURNEY!