The Golden Spike and Us

This spring we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans in the United States. Since our ancestors participated in the building of the railroad, we thought it would be nice to go relive some of the events.

My great grandfather John McLean came from Scotland to help survey the railroad. Another ancestor David Moffat and his sons helped to do the grading for the track as it came down Echo Canyon and along the Weber River in Utah.

Surveyors had to be adventuresome types. They rode the rails to the end of the line, 

then rode horses,

 hiked,

or paddled canoes

 through mountains

and deserts,

in snow

 and rain

 to find the gentlest way for the thousands of workers behind them to lay the grade and the track for the train and to establish new towns.

There were plenty of new things to delight them--especially wild flowers and small animals.

At night they gathered around the campfire and sang songs and told stories. It's fire season out west so we couldn't build a campfire but we did picnic outside on a blanket, watched the movie ET, and listened to the Utah Symphony play the sound track live.

We did make stops along the way to talk to the "old timers" to hear their versions of the family pioneer stories--though I did warn them that if I like my version better, that's the one that will be passed on to my posterity. I might include in a footnote or two their "alternative" versions.

As Floridians we wanted to have a snow experience like our surveying ancestor had. We found some snow banks,

but the snow makers were not turned on. (That's the modern Mother Nature.)

We discovered an alternative to sledding in the snow and decided it might be even better since most of us were wearing shorts and sandals.

To finish off the adventure in the land of our ancestors, we rode the train from Salt Lake to Sacramento. The views from the dome car were spectacular.

Of course grandma made pioneer style rag dolls for the granddaughters so they would get the pioneer spirit.

My professional cake making daughter even remembered that it was my birthday during the adventure.

It was a great spiritual adventure. Who says that researching your family history can't be fun?