28 - Citizenship in the Nation

Merit Badge:  Citizenship in the Nation
Counselor:  Joseph Goodman
Sponsor:  BYU Pow Wow
Earned:  March 19, 2011


                       WEB: What did I have to do to earn this merit badge?

For this merit badge I was required to visit a
National Historic Landmark.  My mom had been wanting
to visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site
for years, so we drove 2 hours north of Provo, UT to the
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.

On May 10th, 1869 the Union Pacific Railroad and the
Central Pacific Railroad joined right here!! A golden
spike (it really was made of gold) was driven into the final
 tie to celebrate the USA's first Transcontinental Railroad.
My sister and I were freezing.

I'm holding a replica of the Golden Spike in my hand,
but mine is made of chocolate...yum!
Don't expect to see the actual Golden Spike when you
come out here.  The original Golden Spike is on display
at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, CA.

If you visit during the winter months, be sure to ask for
a private tour of the Union and Central Pacific engines.
The engines are gigantic and awesome!
Our Park Ranger knew everything about each engine.

These are working replicas of the original steam engines
that touched on May 10th, 1869.  The original engines
were scrapped for metal.

See what I mean by
GIGANTIC?!!

Believe it or not, an engine full of
wood would only produce enough
steam to pull the train 15 miles.

In addition to visiting the Golden Spike
National Historic Site, I also toured the
Utah State Capital.  I'm standing on the
capital steps with my sisters,
Hailey and Abigael.

My sister Hailey and I are standing on the 2nd
floor of the capital across from the chandelier
hanging from the center of the capital rotunda.
The paintings in the background represent Utah's heritage.

Do any of you know who this is?
Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor extraordinare
of the technology critical to the development
of the first television.
A Utah native.

Abraham Lincoln is my 2nd favorite U.S. President.
I guess it is fitting to have a bust of Lincoln in the Utah
State Capitol- considering Utah is perhaps the
most Republican State in the U.S.

To top off our tour of the Utah State Capital, we stopped
by my neighbor, Becky Lockhart's office.  Madam Speaker
Lockart, is the the first woman to serve as
Utah's Speaker of the House.
Her son, Stephen, is in my scout troop.