Utah State Quarter is featured! Did you know that the quarter is also called two bits?  Well, that’s based on the division of the Spanish peso.  A bit back in time.  But, quarters are still sometimes called two bits.  There’s a lot of history in coins and trivia too.

Quarter Miles was first introduced on my radio show Travel With Annita, along with Olivia Varnson we shared information about the state quarters in the 4th quarter or last segment of the show.  Over the next couple of Quarter Miles – Two Bits I’ll share some of the segments from our first shows featuring the quarters and all the information inspiring you to plan and organize trips based on the quarter designs.  After all –  when you check your pockets or your sofa cushions you may just find a quarter  Waiting for you.

Flip it over and Quarter Miles Travel Will take it from there

Here’s two bits of trivia about the Utah State Quarter which was first produced and issued in 2007.

Replacing the eagle on the reverse side of the quarter is two locomotives moving toward the golden spike that joined the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads, linking East to West; with the inscription “Crossroads of the West”

In May 1869 there was a ceremony in Promontory, Utah to mark the joining of the railroads and celebrate the completion of the transcontinental route; this union made cross-country travel much easier and allowed for more widespread western expansion especially after the mining boom.

Information about Utah State Quarter

• Released in 2007, engraved by Joseph Menna
  
• Features two locomotives moving toward the golden spike that joined the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads, linking East to West; with the inscription “Crossroads of the West”
  

Places to visit in Utah related to the quarter

• Golden Spike National Historic Site
  
  • Home to two replica locomotives – Jupiter and No. 119 – they operate daily in the spring and summer months and are also used for demonstrations
    
  • There are reenactments of the driving of the last spike ceremony also in the spring and summer months
    
  • There are two auto tours of the site
    
  • There is a hiking trail
    
  • Visitors can also tour the engine house where the replicas are taken care of during the offseason
    
  • Nearby attractions include: The Spiral Jetty (Robert Smithson’s monumental earthwork on the Great Salt Lake – he used black basalt rocks to create 1500-foot long coil that stretches out onto the water); Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (protects freshwater marshes that provide an interesting picture amidst a desert backdrop); Transcontinental Railroad Backcountry Byway (this portion of the transcontinental railroad was abandoned in 1938 and was converted into a road where you can take in beautiful landscape)
    
  
  
• Western Mining & Railroad Museum in Helper
  
  • Helper was ranked the #1 True West Town of the Year by True West magazine in 2007
    
  • This museum tells the story of how Helper began as a coal town and how it quickly became a central hub for mining camps in the surrounding area
    
  • It includes a simulated coal mine that shows visitors early mining methods; tools and equipment used in mining; a blacksmith shop; a display of a robbery by the Butch Cassidy gang; photographs; a typical mining camp kitchen and much more to showcase life in mining camps
    
  
  
• Four Corners Monument
  
  • Marks the quadripoint where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet
    
  • Managed by the Navajo Nation as the marker is located in Native American territory
    
  • Visitors can learn more about Native Americans in the area at the visitor center and by checking out the booths belonging to local craftspeople
    
  • Nearby is Monument Valley where Navajo guides can lead tours starting at the Monument Valley Visitor Center; these can be horseback rides, hikes or Jeep excursions
    
  • Other places nearby: Hovenweep National Monument (known for six groups of Ancestral Puebloan villages); Edge of the Cedars State Park and Museum (largest collection of Ancestral Puebloan pottery in the region, hosts archaeology and art exhibitions, home to an ancestral Puebloan village, there is an interpretive trail and outdoor sculptures)
    
  
  

The post Episode 24 – Two Bits – Utah State Quarter appeared first on Travel With Annita.