Box Elder County is fun — and educational

Birds, boats, trains and rockets . . . . If there were four words that would best describe Box Elder County, those would be the four.

They would, of course, be making reference to Bear River Bird Refuge, Willard Bay State Park, Golden Spike National Historic Site and Thiokol's Rocket Display.

What you know:

Willard Bay is one of Utah's most popular state parks and waterways. One reason is convenience. Both the north and south marinas are easily accessed off I-15 just north of Ogden.

The bay itself features a dike that is 15 miles long, built on the Great Salt Lake flood plain, that separates the salty waters of the Great Salt Lake and the fresh waters that feed the bay. The result is a 10,000-surface-acre impoundment that offers a full range of watery activities, including boating, swimming, fishing and a steady supply of birds for avid birdwatchers.

The park itself has been improved over the years and offers modern restrooms, sandy beaches, camping facilities (for single families and groups) and hot showers.

After years of drought and low water, the bay filled this past summer and offered excellent boating and water recreation.

Anglers are especially attracted to the bay for a number of reasons, including the opportunity to fish for wipers and catfish. The wiper is a hybrid between a striped bass and white bass. The combination has created a fish that grows rapidly, is relatively easy to catch, puts up a great fight and is well known for its dining qualities.

The Golden Spike Historic Site was, of course, the historic meeting place of the transcontinental railroads back in 1869. The Union Pacific and the Central Pacific railroads, one coming from the West Coast and the other from the East Coast, met at this location on May 10, 1869. To commemorate the event, four spikes were driven alongside the finished rail — two of them gold.

This event, even today, is considered one of the most important accomplishments in the 19th century.

On site there is a visitors center, showing pictures and artifacts of the time and working replicas of the 1869 steam locomotives Jupiter and 119. There is a 9-mile self-guided auto tour along a section of the historic railroad grade. There is also a shorter 1 1/2-mile tour.

It would be 100 years later, in 1969 that another landmark accomplishment occurred that involved Box Elder County — the first man landing on the moon.