Reby's Weight Loss and Breast Cancer Journey: Reno to Cheyenne

Monday, September 5, 2016

Reno to Cheyenne

In 2010 when we drove Evey's car across country for her, we drove from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City in one day and then SLC to Reno in a second day. SLC to Reno is about 565 miles, which is why we did NOT do that this year and stopped in Elko as a halfway point. That made it possible to go to the Golden Spike National Site yesterday. It was super exciting for us as we had recently finished the TV show Hell on Wheels about the building of the transcontinental railroad and finishing at Promontory Summit in northern Utah. We left Elko later than we planned in order to take care of some chores, and then there was a detour that cost us nearly half an hour of time as we got very close to the National Site. We literally had to drive up, down, and around another mountain to get to the Golden Spike visitor center. We arrived at 4:05 and it closed at 5. Even so we did everything we wanted: I got a passport stamp and bought souvenirs; we saw the Golden Spike site and final tie; we watched the video. We also listened to a ranger talk about the two locomotives that were there that day. Both are recreated and running today, so we saw them both retire for the evening. After the Visitor Center closed, the outdoor exhibits remained open, so we took the two mile Eastward Auto Tour, which allowed us to drive over what was the railway for two miles to see the final cut, some trestles filled in, and some blasting through the rock as well as the Chinese Arch, a natural phenomenon that has been designated a monument to the Chinese workers who helped build the railroad. We learned that 138 miles of track in Utah, from Corinne to Lucin, was torn up in 1942 to send the materials to the war effort. By that time, those towns were no longer serviced by the railroad.

In 2010 when we were starting in Cheyenne and driving to SLC, a distance of 444 miles, we took the time to go through a museum in Cheyenne in the morning first. We are not doing anything today except driving, so we should be on the road by 9:30 and in Cheyenne by 6:30 or so. As I recall, it's a pretty boring drive, but maybe I'm wrong. Also we will finish James Michener's Texas today! That's exciting. It was a 65 hour audiobook, probably the longest one we have ever done.

I have finished four books on this trip: Texas, Undaunted Courage (the Lewis and Clark Expedition), The Raven (Sam Houston biography), and a paperback novel about a Navajo Indian police chief but I can't remember its name. I am now halfway through the Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe book, too. If I finish it soon, I'll start the next mystery novel that I bought, which takes place at Lake Tahoe. There has been a lot of time for reading on this trip despite all the driving and touring. Mark has not read as much because when I'm reading, he is usually practicing his lines for the play Art, which will begin rehearsals right after we get home.

It's Monday and Labor Day. I don't know what to say about my weight because I checked it about 8 times and got 8 numbers. The lowest was 261.1 and the highest was 263.4. I don't know what to believe, but they are all acceptable at this point. I had a good day the last two days and expect today to be good as well.

Stopped for this picture at the border because we loved the sign with the two trains facing each other.

Finally made it here at 4:05 p.m.

Got my stamp!

The spot of the final tie and spike. The Golden Spike was ceremonial only and immediately replaced with an actual spike.

Mark is at the final tie and in front of the re-creatinon of the locomotive Jupiter of the Central Pacific coming from Sacramento. The No. 119 of the Union Pacific coming from Omaha had been there and was already retired for the night.

A replica of the Golden Spike. The actual one is in Stanford University in the art museum, founded by Leland Stanford who was the president of the Central Pacific railroad.