Trains – Kline Road Trips

A gorgous day, and the scenery got more and more beautiful (gas mileage went down as we went into the mountains though)
We stopped for Lunch at Crowne Point State Park. This bridge crosses from New York to New Vermont.
At the state park we walked around and learned about the French and British Forts that were here back when waterways were the highways, so strategically Crown Point was an important place to control.
The ruins you see are the officer’s quarters. As you can tell, the boys were really impressed.
The other building was the soldier’s barracks where it was once a two story structure.
Fortifications in case soldiers invaded.
Before the British defeated them, the French had a fort here too. Parts of the wall outline was all that is left.
This bridge is pretty new. They took down the original bridge (first highway to connect New York with New England) in 2009 when it was deemed structurally unsafe. They built the new one to resemble the first bridge.
We even ended up on a dirt road at one point. Love our high clearance camper!
Ben & Jerry’s had a big display about John Lewis and his March graphic novels and the importance of voting.
Selfie time! It was hot outside waiting to order ice cream.
Obligatory Carson selfie to send to his friends. I am the advisor of their Destination Imagination group and still on their group chat and they asked for updates since they probably won’t read the blog.
Definitely not as treacherous as the Rockies, but still some steep roads that required Jeff to shift in a lower gear.
At the campground, there were pretty decent shower facilties.
Some places charge for showers and some are free. This one is not free.
The beach area of the campground. It is sandy with a lot of pebbles in it.
Close up of an especially pebbly area.
Sunset at the beach. Saco River is very shallow here and is a place to put in for tubing and kayaking.
We stopped at the Conway Train Depot. Here is the working round house. Brings me back to Thomas the Train memories!
Lots of people at this time because they were loading for
Ice cream selfie!
They had RV and camper parking. Nice!
Getting the campsite set up.
Jeff enjoyed talking to the guys who made this layout.
The details in the scenery were impressive!
Train selfie!
There was a little musuem in the train depot.
I got a selfie with Carson yesterday, now it’s Spencer’s turn.
Josiah Bartlett was the second person to sign the Declaration of Independence. We also know him as the main character in “West Wing TV series. Jeff had to get a selfie when we passed by this elementary named after the founding father.
Instead of getting fast food all the time on our driving days, we are trying to just stop and eat sandwiches, with a side of sausage and cheese and sometimes fruit.

This was our last big driving day for a while. We mostly took state highways so while our gas mileage was a lot less, the roads were absolutely beautiful. We drove through the Adirondacks, and the Green Mountains. Amazing! Each turn was more breathtaking that the previous view. We really do live in a gorgeous country.

It was getting time to stop for lunch when we happened to drive by Crowne Point State Historic Site, where there are ruins of forts from the French and the British from colonial times. The museum was closed, but it was a great stretch break to walk around the area and read the info on the signs (and google things to fill in the blanks).

Our next stop was Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. Unfortunately, they were sold of out tours for the day (when we went in 2005, it was March so didn’t have to worry about that). But the ice cream was delicious and it was a nice stretch break.

We arrived at the campground and got all set up for the next couple days. It caters to a swimming/tubing/kayaking family crowd, so there are lots of activities in the campground that are available and a rocky sand beach to do all of those things.

Thursday was a relaxing day. It was supposed to rain and storm, so we mostly hung out in the campground and read, swim, and play board games. In the afternoon, we went exploring in the truck and found Hart’s Location, one of the two boting precincts in New Hampshire where everyone comes to vote at midnight. We also went to the Conway Scenic Railway Depot and walked around looking at all the train cars and the roundhouse. There was a small Ben & Jerry’s there so of course we got more ice cream.

Here are pictures with descriptions. Enjoy!

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Utah Exploration

August 18, 2019July 15, 2022 Amy Kline

We stayed at a hotel in Ogden for 2 nights, since it has been a while since slept in real beds and had decent showers. Our adventure for the day was to make a quick stop at the Ogden Train Museum to take some photos, then head out to The Golden Spike National Historical Park to see where the final spike of the transcontinental railroad was placed. It is a fascinating bit of history of our country. We also discovered a Rocket testing facility nearby where they tested rockets for the NASA space program and for the military. Very cool!

A photograph taken back in 1869 at the ceremony. Promontory was a tent city that popped up as the railroad was built, which was common at the time. Some cities like Laramie and Cheyenne continued to grow into permanent cities, but Promontory did not.
One of the cool train cars that we stumbled upon that was outside the museum was this one. One of 48 cars that was gifted to the US from France after World War I. Each state at the time got one and there is a website now where you can find out where each one still in existence is located.
Ogden is a nice little town. The boys and I went hunting for bookstores (which were disappointing) while Jeff took some photos.
The trend of painted animal sculptures must not have been just a northeastern WI thing. Ogden had horses, and we have seen cowboy boots too.
The Patriot Missile was developed here.
About 40 miles away, in the middle of the desert, this company appeared. They had a display rocket garden so we jumped out to walk around and explore it. They test the rockets and engines that go into the rockets for NASA and the military.
A few miles away from the rockets, we finally made it to Promontory, UT which only consists of the Golden Spike Historical Park.
There were actually 4 ceremonial spikes laid at the final tie. Here are replicas and descriptions for each one.
They had extremely detailed replica engines made to depict the scene of this even which joined the east and the west coasts of our country together.
Due to the coal and heat bellowing from the engines, we couldn’t get any nearer to them than the barrels.
We happened to get there just as they were doing a Ranger talk and demonstration so we got to hear the engines moving on the track and tooting their horns.
The actual spot where the spikes were driven.
Pretty flowers!
Some of the locomotives that have been restored and are now on display. This is Union Pacific area which helped to expand the American West as the railroad was built.
Salt Lake City hosted the Olympics in 2002 and the torch was on this rail car as it made its way around the country before the games.
It’s Cranky the Crane! (Thomas The Tank Engine reference).
We didn’t pay to tour the museum today, but it was located in the historic Union Station.
One of the pieces was so large the boys could play in it.
There was a museum inside that explained the race to complete the transcontinental railroad. As the competition heated up between the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railways, the track was laid as quickly as possibly. The companies were paid by the miles, so it actually passed by each other for 250 miles before the federal government stepped in and decided where the connection would be.
Jeff is in his happy place!
There was a steak and rib restaurant right next to our hotel and while it was good, it was definitely not the best. An empty restaurant at 5 pm on a Friday should have been our clue.
Some of the hotels we have been staying at have parking for semis, but this one did not, so we just gave the camper it’s own spot. When we do this, Jeff puts a “boot” on the camper wheel and a lock on the hitch, so no one can drive away with it overnight.

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Hiking in the Cascades and Dinner with Tracy

August 5, 2019July 8, 2022 Amy Kline

We secured the camper at the hotel and drove up into the Cascades on Hwy 2 (the same highway that eventually goes through WI) on Stevens Pass. Our goal was to go find the site of the Wellington Avalanche, which knocked 2 trains off the mountain in 1910. We both read

The White Cascade: The Great Northern Railway Disaster and America’s Deadliest Avalanche by Gary Krist. It is a true account of what happened and it was a fascinating read. Well, we found the site and had a great hike at the same time as you can see. Jeff even had to use a rope to go down a steep trail at one point, and found some wreckage still at the crash site.

Next, we went to Leavenworth. Jeff and I passed through there on our first road trip in 2005, and wanted to explore this town more. It is a town that is completely Bavarian themed, in a very cheesy way. After finally finding a parking spot, we stopped at a bookstore and the ice cream shop. We read the history of the town, which voted to do the Bavarian theme in order to bring in tourists (and there were people everywhere so it worked).

And then the highlight of my day. I got to see Tracy!!! Tracy and her son met us for dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant and then Jeff went back to the hotel, while we took the boys to a cool playground where the boys could play while we had a chance to catch up a bit. It was so wonderful and I wish we could have talked for hours more!

Jeff puts a “boot” on the camper, plus locks the hitch down so there is no way someone can drive away with the camper.
Screenshot of a webcam in the town of Skynomish (where the survivors of the wreck were taken). And yes, Jeff was pretty proud of himself for finding the webcam and waving to it. Goofy man.
A restored caboose at the beginning of the trail system that leads to the snowsheds and original Cascade tunnel and the wreckage. Lots of signs here explaining the whole thing. We didn’t see this until the end of our explorations though.
Avalanches are very common here in the winter and spring. This sign talks specifically about Wellington, but we could see evidence of former slides all over the mountains. Once the mountains got logged, there is nothing that is holding the snow back from sliding off the mountain face.
This is the first Cascade tunnel, that the steam trains did not use to hide out from the massive snowstorm because the danger of inhaling too much exhaust from the engines was huge. The conductor thought it was safer to keep the trains out on the track since there hadn’t been an avalanche in the spot nearby.
On our hike. Pretty steep drop off. Beautiful too!!
The trail entered a concrete snowshed that was built to prevent future avalanche catastrophes. Once the railroad built the second Cascade tunnel at a lower elevation, this section of track was no longer used.
Huge leaves (18”) on this bush that looks like a maple leaf.
We kept the boys in between us and the bear spray handy, just in case.
Summary of the disaster. Almost 100 people died.
Gorgeous photography opportunity and a great shaded trail to hike. Two trains could use this shed and be protected from avalanches. It is designed so the snow can just slide over the roof of it.
Jeff is about 20 feet below me in this photo and the trail is very very steep. While Jeff went down to investigate the crash site, the boys and I hung out in the shade under the snowshed.
Down at the actual crash site of the avalanche, there is lots of wreckage still there.
The snowshed were expensive to build and to keep up, so the railway built a new tunnel with venting capabilities that was cheaper and faster.
Is this a banana slug? The one on the left looks squished but the one on the right is about 3” long.
On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at the second Cascade Tunnel which is ventilated and still used today.
This is the Second Cascade Tunnel which is still used today.
Lots of wildflowers by the tunnel and fuzzy little bees pollinating them. Though if a thistle is found in my garden I call it a weed!
Carson saw the No Trespassing sign and “arrested” Jeff for walking past the sign.
Levenworth is hilarious and extremely over the top (think along the lines of Disney’s It’s a Small World Bavaria). Even their Banks and McDonald’s had a Bavarian theme.
There were huge pots of beautiful blooming flowers everywhere.
Real ice cream. Carson got mint chocolate chip, and I got a scoop of coffee and a scoop of salted Carmel in a home made waffle cone (I remember making those myself when I worked at Randall’s Custard which became a Culver’s)
The boys were being silly at the restaurant.
Carson hamming it up at the playground. How is he going to be 11 already?
I have missed Tracy so much. I love that we could have some time to catch up while watching our kids play together. I wished we lived closer so we could do this much more often. ❤️❤️❤️