I’m not really sure if anyone is following my little previews of what will be my travels. But if you are, you’re in for a one-two punch of a look-see.

After a short stint in Salt Lake City (yeah, I know, I vowed to never set foot in that town again, but hey, I’m unpredictable), I’ll take a wee lil ride through Ogden to a spot that I’ve always wanted to visit for as long as I can remember.

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love trains. I just do. No idea why, but from before I could speak, I loved them. When I was in elementary school, I thought the Trans-Continental Railroad was the coolest thing ever. You know, where one group of railroaders started at the west coast and another group started on the east, meeting in the middle. When they met up, they had a ceremony and drove a golden spike into the ties.

Where that happened is now the Golden Spike National Historic Site near Logan, Utah. Here’s a bit of info on it.

At first, I didn’t plan on going there. Honestly, I sort of forgot about it. I didn’t even know where it was. That changed, however, when Sarah (Smartz) suggested (insisted) that I visit something called the Spiral Jetty, I stumbled upon the Golden Spike Site.

I still wasn’t convinced to visit either. Actually, the name “Golden Spike National Historic Site” didn’t even ring a bell with me until a few days of looking into the Jetty.

So what’s the Spiral Jetty? The Spiral Jetty was created by a fellow named Robert Smithson in 1970. It is an earthwork sculpture build in the Great Salt Lake during a drought. Several years after it was created, the drought subsided and the Spiral Jetty was submerged. That is, until 1999 when a new drought kicked in and the Jetty was revealed once more.

And so I shall visit it. Why? Well, why not? Smartz is unhealthily in love with this Jetty. She has created a MySpace page for it and wrote a rather lengthy paper on it. She claims that she has never visited it… physically. Whatever that means. Anyway, I will be there.

It wasn’t till after a bit of research on Mr. Jetty that I decided to make the stop at the Golden Spike site. I even added an extra day to my trip to do both! I feel sort of bad for getting there before Smartz. She’s the one obsessed with the thing. But hey, it’ll be neat to see.

The more I plan the “return trip” of Scoot 66, the more I’m looking forward to getting out there. With the first leg of the trip, Route 66, I’ve seen most of it once or twice before. But with nearly everything I’m seeing on the return trip, it’ll be my first time. Woo!

Here’s a shot of it from google maps!

View Map

Maybe, just maybe, I spoke too soon about being elated about the return trip. Maybe. Ned mentioned this yesterday – it’s pretty sobering.

Why? Well, after I leave that lovely Austin, NV town, it’s 148 miles to the next gas station. No big deal, right? Sort of. The range on a Vespa GTS is about 120 miles per tank. That’s usually fine. Here it is not.

I guess I’m going to have to invest in a gas can. I’ll buy one in California and should be ok. With a full tank and a gallon can of gas, I can get around 175 miles.

At 148 miles, I can fuel up in Ely. That should be able to take me the remaining 151 miles to Delta, UT, where I’ll be staying the next night. They have a gas station there. Just one. I’ll have to cross my fingers.

This is a little nerve-wracking. One whole day of wondering if I’ll run out of gas.

I’m betting there will be more days like this through Montana and North Dakota.

This is the route for that day.
View Map

I’m not really sure if anyone is following my little previews of what will be my travels. But if you are, you’re in for a one-two punch of a look-see.

After a short stint in Salt Lake City (yeah, I know, I vowed to never set foot in that town again, but hey, I’m unpredictable), I’ll take a wee lil ride through Ogden to a spot that I’ve always wanted to visit for as long as I can remember.

Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I love trains. I just do. No idea why, but from before I could speak, I loved them. When I was in elementary school, I thought the Trans-Continental Railroad was the coolest thing ever. You know, where one group of railroaders started at the west coast and another group started on the east, meeting in the middle. When they met up, they had a ceremony and drove a golden spike into the ties.

Where that happened is now the Golden Spike National Historic Site near Logan, Utah. Here’s a bit of info on it.

At first, I didn’t plan on going there. Honestly, I sort of forgot about it. I didn’t even know where it was. That changed, however, when Sarah (Smartz) suggested (insisted) that I visit something called the Spiral Jetty, I stumbled upon the Golden Spike Site.

I still wasn’t convinced to visit either. Actually, the name “Golden Spike National Historic Site” didn’t even ring a bell with me until a few days of looking into the Jetty.

So what’s the Spiral Jetty? The Spiral Jetty was created by a fellow named Robert Smithson in 1970. It is an earthwork sculpture build in the Great Salt Lake during a drought. Several years after it was created, the drought subsided and the Spiral Jetty was submerged. That is, until 1999 when a new drought kicked in and the Jetty was revealed once more.

And so I shall visit it. Why? Well, why not? Smartz is unhealthily in love with this Jetty. She has created a MySpace page for it and wrote a rather lengthy paper on it. She claims that she has never visited it… physically. Whatever that means. Anyway, I will be there.

It wasn’t till after a bit of research on Mr. Jetty that I decided to make the stop at the Golden Spike site. I even added an extra day to my trip to do both! I feel sort of bad for getting there before Smartz. She’s the one obsessed with the thing. But hey, it’ll be neat to see.

The more I plan the “return trip” of Scoot 66, the more I’m looking forward to getting out there. With the first leg of the trip, Route 66, I’ve seen most of it once or twice before. But with nearly everything I’m seeing on the return trip, it’ll be my first time. Woo!

Here’s a shot of it from google maps!
View Map

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