If you've already checked out the Golden Spike post, go back and see the new pictures that I added. Somehow the photo transfer did not complete properly. Also, forgive my forgetfulness for leaving this post as a draft yesterday and not pushing the “publish” button!
Today, the 3rd, we slid south on I15 and US6 168 miles to the little town of Helper, Utah. Helper was a huge coal mining area back in the day, and in fact, is named for the little "helper" steam engines that were temporarily attached to trains to "help" them pull coal cars up steep grades. Main Street in Helper is a living, breathing mining museum, and showcases a mining museum detailing the hard life miners endured underground, including this story about the Loma family that lost 9 family members in one single mine disaster.
In 1920, narrow canyon roads near unstable rock formations sometimes meant disaster for motorists!
The Mining Meseum on main street houses an organ brought overland to Utah on a Mormon handcart.
And an early "skateboard".....
At Kenilworth Mine, miners would descend the steep tramway by way of small metal boards that gripped the tramway rails. Controlling their speed with their feet and traveling with a friend for stability, they made it to the depths of the mine much quicker than the cable driven trams.
At one point this area was known as Castle Gate, named for the abrupt rock formations north and south of the valley.
One of the six largest coal mines was also named for the entrance to the valley.
Helper is also the home of two completely restored gas stations. One was unavailable, but the Sinclair station on the north side of town was interesting, not only for the neat old gas pumps, but also for the collection of vintage vehicles stored "out back".
Along with it's coal mining history, and historical buildings and gas stations, Helper also has another claim to fame: On April 21, 1897, the payroll for the Pleasant Valley Coal Company was stolen in broad daylight by Butch Cassidy and Elza Lay! As the story goes, two cowboys were loitering near the train station when the train from Salt Lake City rolled into town carrying three bags carrying $7,000, mostly in gold and paper money. Before the paymaster and two guards could reach the company office 75 yards away from the train, one of the cowboys held the three at gunpoint and took the largest bag. The other cowboy relieved them of another bag. The two robbers had horses nearby and escaped, followed by townsfolk on foot and in buggies who soon were lost in the dust. The two "cowboys" rode south into Robbers Roost, cutting telephone and telegraph wires as they went. The Wild Bunch was hard to track in such hostile country, partly because they didn't put shoes on their horses, thereby blending their tracks with those of wild horses in the area.
In most Februarys these days, Helper holds a commemorative Sundance Film Festival in honor of Butch.
We have settled in space 116 of Castle Gate RV Park, a very nice place. While the sites are not very level, they are surfaced in asphalt grindings, which makes the surface extremely solid.The spaces are far apart and the roads easy to maneuver. We haven't hooked up the sewer hose tonight, primarily because the connection is 20 feet back of the motorhome. We're only here for one night, so not a huge deal.
Looks like it’s going to be a windy, chilly night in Helper. We decided to have dinner at the only restaurant in town that is open: The Balanced Rock. Donna put away a nice taco salad, and I treated myself to chicken fried steak! Time to go sleep off a great meal!
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