Tuesday (6/2)   We are leaving Salt Lake City today but before we go, we must visit a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives restaurant. The Blue Plate Diner is know for their biscuits and gravy and corn beef hash.  We tried both and they were outstanding.  A funky place with a great waitress - a fun experience.

Stopped at Antelope Island State Park which is bounded by the waters of the Great Salt Lake. The lake is a remnant of pre-historic Lake Bonnieville which was ocean water. The salt in the bottom of the lake is three to four feet thick.  In 1893 a dozen buffalo were introduced to the island and today there are 600 in the herd.    There is a lone working ranch on the island that has been there since 1848 and is Utah's oldest Anglo-built structure still standing on its existing foundation.  It was very basic and built to feed many ranch hands. There was a chuck wagon there that had as much room as our T@B and just as much character (see picture.)  I tried to talk Rich into getting it but he was having none of that!   There are sand beaches that are at least 500 feet wide and as clean as can be.   A very beautiful place to visit.

Our next stop was Promontory Summit to see the Golden Spike National Historic Site.   This site is called "The End of the Frontier" because it is the place where the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads were joined.   The last spike made of gold was driven on May 10, 1869. This linked the east and the west and turned a six month journey into a six day journey.   The news that the last spike had been driven was sent across the country by telegraph and caused much celebration among the U.S. citizens.  The first train to run on the joined tracks was the Jupiter (see picture.)   A replica of it performs the historic run many times each day.  The driving of the spike is re-enacted each Saturday during the summer.