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Day 12 - Rock Springs WY to Salt Lake City UT
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From the Diary of Eagle Scout Bernard R.
Queneau Member of the 1928 Lincoln Highway BSA Lincoln Highway Promotional Tour Monday, July 30, 1928 - (Continued) We went on to Rio Verde and Green River, the real starting point of the Colorado River. We gave a life-saving demonstration there, but nearly passed out on account of the cold and the current. Before this, we gave a regular land demonstration. Wednesday, August 1, 1928 - We drove in first up Echo Canyon with Reese cursing away. Then after leaving down the mountain, we suddenly came into full view of the plain, and beautiful Salt Lake City. On account of us being late, we had to see the Governor first. He, however, sent his Secretary of State, H.E. Crockett, to meet us instead of doing it himself. Then we went back to City Hall and saw the real nice mayor, John F. Bowman, who was 6 1/2 feet tall in stocking feet. After dinner in Hotel Utah, a wonderful building, we drove out to Saltair and took a swim. We found it would cost us 95 cents each, so by finding the manager, we only had to pay 35 cents each. However, we did not stay long in the water, since it was real torture to us who had cuts, etc., from traveling. It is 22% salt. We had great fun, however, on the roller coaster and watching Mr. Lombardi in the barrel of fun. I forgot to say we enjoyed a wonderful concert in the Mormon Tabernacle. Utah is a fine state and I certainly like the Mormons. This is the best Scout state in the Union, having more Scouts per capita than any other. That is because the Mormons back it to the limit. We are sleeping in the Newhouse Hotel tonight, and it is certainly fine to hit a good bed. |
| Thursday -
August 28th Our 12th day on the Tour and 14th day on the road is clear and cool as we pack up for the run into Salt Lake City. This is a short segment, about 180 miles that will have to be largely on Interstate 80. There are a lot of sections of the Lincoln Highway in Nebraska and Utah that were never paved. While co-hosts Bob and Rosemary are taking their loaner Lincoln and some of the newer cars along the gravel and dirt sections, most of the older cars are sticking to main highway. I get a surprise on the way out of the hotel – my picture on the front page of the local paper! Even more of a surprise was reading in the caption that Sophie was mine! While real owner Bill Wilcox takes it all in stride, I am warned that a repeat offense will have me riding on top of the luggage trunk. |
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Mark Marguettes is loading up his 1941 Buick Century – the car is mostly original except for some reliability maintenance on the brakes, bearing, hoses, etc. The car has been doing well, but he has a backup plan – wife Vickie is following behind with a motor home and a car trailer just in case. Speaking of trailers, two of the nicest guys you never want to meet are also getting ready to go - Harold Woods and Louie Sabatino in the chase trailer. As great as they were to us, we’d rather not have to deal with them in their official roles again. Our first stop this morning is Green River, a location where Bernie Queneau almost drowned giving a lifesaving exhibit 75 years ago. “The water was cold and moving pretty fast – maybe 3 miles an hour, and a person can only swim 1 mile per hour. We were giving a demonstration, and they used me as the rescuer for showmanship – the other fellow was much bigger. The current sorta caught me by surprise. I didn’t think I was going to make it.” He and wife Esther are planning to check out the river today – probably to thumb his nose at it 75 years later. |
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Green River has prepared a continental breakfast spread for us, with a huge selection of fresh-baked soft bagels and flavored spreads, coffee, and juices. The mayor welcomes us all and invites us to check out the town’s museum and other sights in the area. We also get goodie bags with pins, pens, and brochures. |
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| The town museum has some fascinating displays – one of which is outside. A rocky projection called Castle Rock looms over the museum building. Inside, they have a cross-section of the region’s history, as well as displays showing elements of everyday life. Toys, furniture, household gadgets, and other items are mixed in with photographs to provide a look into different eras in Green River. There is also a section on the Lincoln Highway, which includes political cartoons and original signs. |
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Leaving Green River, we hit Interstate 80 West to Little America. This is where the Tour will separate the men from the boys – and perhaps some paint from your car. Little America is a West Coast version of North Carolina’s South of the Border – hotel rooms and a large souvenir shop with all sorts of unique and junky stuff to buy. They also have excellent 35 cent ice cream cones, which Bill treats us all to. After all, we haven’t eaten for 35 miles! As an added attraction, the Ferrari racing team has two huge car transports parked in the lot – no windows, sadly, so we can only imagine what exotic machinery lurks inside. The Lincoln Highway actually starts in a back section of the Little America parking lot – you drive over grass and dirt to a cattle grating to begin the unpaved original highway section that will carry the more adventurous Tour members 32 miles over rugged terrain. Then they will take another 22-mile unpaved stretch before reaching the lunch stop at Evanston, Wyoming. Sophie, however, is not a trailblazer. She and most of the other Tour cars resume the trek on I-80. |
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| Evanston is a railroad town that is working to preserve their past. Like many of the other towns we have been in, they have restored their old rail depot into a community center and park. They have reserved parking set aside for us, and a really nice box lunch in a huge activity tent. The museum next door contains a good display on the Lincoln Highway, including the first photo I have seen of a Boy Scout setting up one of the marker posts. Speaking of which, I find Bernie and Ester near the restored terminal. They did make it to the Green River, and walked all the way up and down the bank to explore the spot where Bernie gave a too-realistic lifesaving demonstration 75 years ago. He grins. “It is still very fast and very cold.” |
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While not the only town to restore the rail depot, Evanston has gone a lot further. The area around the depot has been turned into a beautiful park area with several sculptures, and the town is also restoring their huge rail yard! The former Union Pacific facility includes one of the only complete 28-bay engine houses and machine shops in the West, as well as a working turntable! The city’s assistant coordinator gives us an enthusiastic and informative overview of the restoration projects, and takes the Tour group on a walking tour of the rail yard itself. The town is planning to turn the rail yard buildings into office space with a railroad motif. The machine shop has already been restored on the outside, and is undergoing extensive work inside. It should make some unique space. As a final treat, the Tour group gets a ride on the turntable itself. |
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