Jupiter – Rockets – Geothermal Evening – August 19, 2020

We got on the road today at 9:00am under cloudy skies and warm temperatures. Turning northwest from Ogden, we traveled up toward Promontory Summit. This is where the Golden Spike National Historical Site is located. The two lane road goes around marshy salt flats and passes through ranch land on its climb up to the historic site.

 The website told us the visitor center was closed, so we were expecting to find an empty parking lot and a few informational placards, and maybe some old railway tracks. Much to our surprise, when we pulled into the parking area, we saw a few cars and a NPS Park Ranger giving a talk to a small group of tourists. When we walked over to see what was happening, we heard a loud steam whistle and saw a plume of black smoke coming toward us on the rail tracks.

 Once a day at 10:00am, one of two replica steam locomotives comes out for display. It returns to its storage shed at 4:30pm. We happened to arrive just in time for the morning appearance. It’s quite a sight (and sound) to hear the locomotive coming down the track.

 

The train we saw was the Union Pacific No. 119 (the one that pulled Union Pacific’s Vice-President, Thomas Durant, to the golden spike ceremony in 1869). We did not see the Jupiter (the one that pulled Central Pacific’s Leland Stanford to the same ceremony). Each of these trains was built as an exact reproduction of the originals by a company in Costa Mesa, CA back in 1975. After four years of construction, they were shipped out here in time for the 110^th anniversary of the completion of the first transcontinental railroad.

 

On the way back from Promontory Summit, we drove a short distance on a dirt road that followed the old rail bed through the local hills. We went through road cuts and past the so-called ‘Chinese Arch’, which was likely named for the workers of the Central Pacific Railroad. The arch itself is the result of wave action produced when the prehistoric Lake Bonneville reached the base of the Promontory Range.

 

 

While still on the remote two-lane highway, we came upon the Northrop Grumman test area. Just off the road is a display of their rocketry hardware. Everything from Minutemen Missiles to Space Shuttle fuel boosters is there for you to see if you happen to travel this part of the road.

 

 

 

Back on the interstate, we headed north and made a stop at Idaho Falls to see if there really is a falls there. Sure enough, there is a cascade right in the middle of town where the Snake River flows through. It’s no Yosemite Falls, but it’s what they’ve got there.

 

When we got close to West Yellowstone, we started to climb again in elevation. The temperature, which had been in the mid-90’s all day, quickly began to drop until it was in the low 50’s. The sun went away and the wet roads showed signs of a thunderstorm that had hit just before we got there.

 We checked into the Three Bear Lodge at 5:00pm and learned that it had rained so hard the hour before we got there, the motel pool had overflowed. We grabbed some rain gear and umbrellas and got back in the car to see if we could catch Old Faithful Geyser before dark.

 The drive into Yellowstone National Park from the West Entrance to Old Faithful is only about 35 miles, but it takes over an hour to get there. With a few photo stops along the way, it took us just over an hour and a half.

 

 

Karen has never been to Yellowstone, and the last time I was in the geyser basin was back in the early 1970’s, when George Blakely and I used to come here in the winter to cross-country ski. In those days, there was almost no one else (especially in the dead of winter when access is limited to over-snow vehicles) in the basin. So it looked a little more crowded today than I remembered. However, given that this is the height of the summer season, there really weren’t that many people around. It was easy to keep a social distance, and most everyone was wearing a face mask.

 

Just before Old Faithful erupted, we could hear thunder and see lightning in the distance. As a light rain began to fall, Old Faithful shot off some steam and then pushed large spouts of boiling water into the air. By this time it was after 7:00pm and it was getting dark.

 

 

 

The ride back took us nearly two hours, since everyone else was also leaving the park at the same time. We saw a herd of elk, and Karen saw a moose. We hit the motel restaurant at 9:00pm for dinner and then came back for some rest from a long day on the road.

 

Next:  Back into Yellowstone for more geothermal fun!