Golden Spike National Historical Park

North America’s first transcontinental railroad was a 1,912-mile continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail network at Council Bluffs, Iowa with the Pacific coast at the Oakland Long Wharf on San Francisco Bay. The railroad opened for through traffic between Sacramento and Omaha on May 10, 1869, when CPRR President Leland Stanford, ceremonially tapped the gold “Last Spike” (later often referred to as the “Golden Spike”) with a silver hammer at Promontory Summit. This National Historical park is the site where that final spike and final section of rail was completed. Thanks for a tip from a couple in our RV park we found out that they would be performing a reenactment of the ceremony held in May 1869 the day after we arrived in Tremonton. So of course, rather than taking a day to rest and relax after our drive from Heber Valley we had to go.

We were so glad we were able to see the reenactment as it made the whole historical event much more personal than just looking at some empty railroad tracks and a few plaques.

Great Salt Lake

After visiting the Golden Spike site we headed out along a bumpy, dusty dirt road out to an art project called the Spiral Jetty. The Jetty was developed in 1970 by artist Robert Smithson in just 6 days and was made of over 6,500 tons of black basalt rock and earth. The spiral’s coil is 1,500 feet long and approximately 15 feet wide. The jetty disappears and reappears depending on lake water levels–drought years bring it out for all to see. Right after it was completed, lake levels rose and it was underwater for about 30 years. Smithson died in a plane crash in 1973, at age 35, while he was surveying another land art site in Texas.

The west is suffering from several years of extreme draught and in 2021 the jetty is not only clearly visible its about 1/2 mile out to the water line. Of course, being that close, we had to hike out there in the heat of the day to see the Great Salt Lake up close. Neither one of us decided to actually put a foot in the pinkish water though!

ATK Rocket Garden

Literally in the middle of nowhere in the desert there is a large complex that now belongs to Northrup Grumman. Prior to Northrup purchasing the complex it was owned by Orbital ATK who built the rocket garden here to show off some of the space projects they were associated with. Before Orbital it was home to Morton Thiokol who you might remember developed to solid rocket boosters for the space shuttle. The interesting thing about this complex is that it is right across the street from the Union Pacific rail line that joined the Central Pacific line near Promontory creating the first transcontinental railway in our country. The route of the first immigrant train overland passed through here as did the Oregon trail passing just 80 miles north of here. Some much transportation history within miles of this site.

Bear Lake / Logan Canyon

The trip to Bear Lake through Logan Canyon is a popular route for people to take when near Logan, UT. US highway 89 passes through the canyon and along the Logan river and there are numerous turnouts to enjoy the scenic views along the way. After about 35 miles you arrive at Bear Lake Overlook which offers visitor information about the area as well as stunning views of Garden City below as well as Bear Lake. Bear Lake is known as the “Caribbean of the Rockies” because of it’s vivid turquoise-blue water. It contains abundant microscopic particles of white-colored calcium carbonate which reflects the waters natural blue color back to the surface giving it this color. Bear Lake is one of the oldest lakes in North America and is at least 250,000 years old but may likely be twice that and could even be several million years old.

The end of the road for our travel partner – Purdy

On a personal note, during our stay here we had to put our cat Purdy to sleep. We woke up on Wednesday, August 4th and she was doing ok or so it seemed. I put her down to eat and take her morning dose of Thyroid medicine and she walked away then started to run away but it was obvious as she ran that her back legs were not working. We both knew that her health was going down hill but still this was a bit more sudden than we anticipated. We thought she had hip dysplasia causing her to be unstable on her feet but it appears that many of her symptoms were likely due to heart disease. On that morning her heart threw off a clot that followed her main artery down to a branch at her rear legs and then it lodged there cutting off blood supply to both of them. Although there has been some success in breaking down clots in that area it is both painful and requires a lot of rehabilitation. Purdy was nearly 19 years old and likely all that would not have been successful and we did not want her to suffer. It was difficult to leave Tremonton as we felt like we were leaving her behind but it was the right thing to do. She grew into our life on the road but still let us know she did not like riding in the truck. She was a sweet girl and we miss her.

Park Review – Aspen Grove RV Park

Rating: 1/2
Site Quality: Picnic tables at each site, concrete pads, asphalt roads.
Type: Commercial
Access: Relatively easy access off I-15 (exit 381) if going south or exit 40 from I-84 if going north on I-15 (you have to fork onto I-84 from I-15 just before the exit. The park is in town on Utah 102.
Staff: Check-in was smooth and efficient and the staff was friendly. Staff working in the park were also friendly.
Amenities: Laundry, restrooms and showers. Large dog park. A couple of the sites have electric car charging stations (a first for us in an RV park)
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is available in the park although we didn’t use it. AT&T and Verizon were decent.
Restaurants: Golden Spike Burgers – Descent but really no more than fast food. The Pie Dump – This place has been around for nearly 100 years and is apparently a local favorite. We stopped by for breakfast and service was slow even though it wasn’t particularly busy when we arrived. Food was OK but it’s hard to imaging they will be around for even 10 more years unless they can add a few people. Tamashi Sushi & Ramen Bar – The sushi was surprisingly good, other entrees were OK but not great.
Nearby parks: We didn’t investigate other parks nearby.
What we liked: Decent park with concrete pads. We were in site 18 which had plenty of space for the Fifth Wheel and our truck. We had room to park in back of or in front of the RV.
What we didn’t like: Several of our neighbors left for work in the middle of the night and early morning. Very small amount of train noise. They allowed washing rigs but the water left the trailer dirtier than before we started.
Verdict: Good place for a night maybe a few if you’re in the area.

Alpine Loop Scenic Backway

For a day trip we drove through the Alpine Loop Scenic Backway. Although this byway is called a loop, it is really a straight highway through the mountains from US highway 189 to Cedar Hills Utah north of Provo. This 20-mile drive winds through rugged alpine canyons of the Wasatch Range offering stupendous views of Mount Timpanogos and other glacier-carved peaks. The route follows Utah Hwy. 92 from Provo Canyon through Uinta National Forest and then through American Fork Canyon. Along the route, we also took a short detour over to Cascade Springs. This mountain spring is crisscrossed by a 1/4-mile boardwalk, leading out over clear natural pools and cascading terraces filled with fish and aquatic plants. Timpanogos Cave National Monument and Robert Redford’s Sundance are also located along the route. Most of the route is through a National Forrest area and an entrance fee of $6 will be collected unless you have a valid National Park pass.

Heber Valley Artisan Cheese

We found that there was a small family dairy farm and creamery located in the quaint community of Midway just outside Heber City and decided we needed to take a trip there to buy some of their ice cream and cheese. We learned they also had daily tours of the dairy farm and we thought that would be interesting and might take us out of our comfort zone. Well, at least the smells of a farm will take you out of your comfort zone!

We learned that the Kohler family has run this farm for nearly 100 years. When they started out there were nearly 200 similar farms in the Heber Valley and now there are only 2 left. With the price of land in the valley skyrocketing, expanding is not an option so they invested in some of the first robotic milking machines in the western US. Being in high tech most of my career, I thought OK this is right up my alley! Of course there is a lot of technology behind a machine that can use a 3D camera to automatically place the teat cups, sanitize the teat before milking and even analyze the health of the cow every time they come to milk but that wasn’t even the most interesting thing.

The cows come to the milking stations whenever they want to. There is no need for a person to guide them there or do anything unless the equipment detects something wrong. Then it will send a text to the person on call to go handle whatever situation they need to take care of whether it be medical care or artificial insemination of the cow. Cows are tracked by a tag attached to each animal so that the computer knows who they are. The computer tracks everything about each cow in real time and can provide a wealth of statistical information back to the dairy farmer. After a cow is milked it gives them a small treat to reinforce the behavior. Some cows get wise to that and try to re-enter the system for another treat but the computer recognizes that and releases the cow without giving her another treat. Who knew dairy farming had become so sophisticated and that the cows do a lot of the work.

Oh yeah, the ice cream and cheese curds were also yummy!

Memorial Hill

Memorial Hill is a small park on a hill near Heber Valley Artisan Cheese that is dedicated to those who have served in any United States military conflict while a citizen of Wasatch County Utah. The original project was completed about 1927. It was humbling to see how many of the locals participated in various wars many of them giving their lives for our country. From the top of the hill you can see the entire Heber Valley.

Provo Canyon Train Ride

Just before leaving the area, we took a train ride from Heber City, down Provo Canyon to a place called Vivian Park. Although the rail cars were from the steam engine days, we were pulled by a modern diesel locomotive. The trip passes Deer Creek reservoir and then runs alongside the Provo river until you reach Vivian park for a short stopover before returning back along the same route. The scenery was gorgeous even though the area has been subjected to sever drought for the last few years. The lake is visibly low including large areas that are completely dry that should be under the lake.

2024 Update

We returned here in September of 2024 and were greeted with beautiful fall colors. The maples were bright red and the aspens were yellow. We also visited Bridal Veil Falls which we missed during our first trip.

Park Review – Mountain Valley RV Resort

Rating: 
Site Quality: Picnic tables at each site, concrete pads and asphalt roads. Well landscaped for a commercial RV park.
Type: Commercial
Access: Easy access off US-40 on the south side of Heber City.
Staff: We had minimal interaction but check-in was smooth and efficient and the staff was very friendly.
Amenities: Laundry, restrooms and showers. General Store onsite with RV supplies, and camping goods. Dog park as well as a playground for kids. On-Site Propane. Three pools including one for adults only with a hot tub. RV wash area.
Cellular/Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is available in the park although we didn’t use it. AT&T and Verizon were good.
Restaurants: Back 40 Ranch House Grill – A farm to table restaurant on the north side of Heber City offering everything from Burgers to fish to tacos. Definitely worth a visit in the area. Don Pedros Family Mexican – Decent mexican food although we didn’t care much for the seafood enchiladas. OG Cafe – Although we didn’t eat there we did stop by for coffee. What’s unique about them is they offer 6 different sizes ranging from 8 oz. to 32 oz. and the coffee was great. My kind of place!
Nearby parks: We didn’t investigate other parks nearby.
What we liked: Convenient access. Nearby Walmart and other stores and restaurants.
What we didn’t like: Our site was a bit short for our rig and truck.
Verdict: Great place for a short or long term stay in the summer but book early.

We stayed on site M2 which was a bit tight for us because of trees beside the site that limited where we could park. When the truck was parked it was actually just barely in the road in front. Sites U1-U17 are longer and would be better but they are still in the family section. The section to the bottom and to the right of the map are the adult long term sections and would be ideal for a long term summer stay but you have to book early! Other areas would likely be too small for our 40′ Fifth Wheel and the truck.