Here's a couple of pictures: The original marker, a closeup of the 1957 USGS marker that's on top, and the sign commemorating the original... https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/60391566/WheelerSurvey1.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/60391566/WheelerSurvey2.jpg https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/60391566/WheelerSurvey3.jpg Dan On Aug 28, 2013, at 3:20 PM, Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote:
Dan, What was the Wheeler Survey marker like? Thanks, Joe
________________________________ From: Daniel Holmes <danielh@holmesonics.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 2:37 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Concrete Arrows
I drove the old Transcontinental railroad bed from Promontory to Lucin last summer. Dad was riding shotgun looking for holes and other terrain that'd kill the Jeep and Mom was writing down GPS coordinates of the water stations, sidings and ghost towns along it--almost nothing left of most of them--they were company owned and were in most cases physically picked up and moved to Nevada when the railroad moved south over the GSL. We stopped in Lucin for a while and looked around, saw the old watering hole that was fed from a 4" pipe from a spring up in the mountains 10+ miles away. Up until a few years ago, there were a few people living there, now it's only Ivo. We did see a UPS truck making a delivery (or a pickup, I guess) to the buildings to the side of the airstrip.
It took the better part of the day because of the mapping, but it was a great trip. Hot and dusty, but the railbed was in remarkably good shape (could hit 45 mph in parts). Most of the bridges have had bypasses installed so you can't drive over them, but there are still plenty of ties, spikes, metal parts, etc left. I found the remains of a firehouse, and took a couple of the firebricks. I was amazed at how light it was, even with some of the slag still attached. The old cemeteries for the various towns are still there, but only a few readable markers. I also found the 1869 Army survey marker put in by 1st Lt Wheeler on his 'Survey west of the 100th Meridian',the 1957 USGS marker and a more modern marker--he was off by only about 10 feet.
We finished the trip by driving down to the Sun Tunnels, and had dinner at the Salt Flats Cafe. I've never had better, or cheaper Mexican food, and make it a point to always eat there when I can.
Dan
On Aug 28, 2013, at 1:37 PM, Brent Watson <brentjwatson@yahoo.com> wrote:
His name is Ivo Zdarsky and is an escapee from the communist blok - literally. That's how he got his start in aviation. He built his escape machine. Here is a story about him.
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/state-and-regional/airport-owner-is-only-res...
It says he cleared the airstrip. I think I remember there being an airstrip when I was a teenager. I'll have to check out my old sectionals.
But, I almost like your story better, Chuck.
Brent
From: Chuck Hards <chuck.hards@gmail.com> To: Utah Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 1:22 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Concrete Arrows
I bet Larry remembers the days when you could meet the Tuesday autogyro at the Lucin airstrip to pick up your mail. The dirigible came one Saturday a month, unless the wind was blowing. ;-) _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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-- Daniel Holmes, danielh@holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin
_______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy
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-- Daniel Holmes, danielh@holmesonics.com "Laugh while you can, monkey boy!" -- Lord John Whorfin