Part 3: Running With The Ponies

[roadhound]

Part 3: Running with the Ponies

 

In July of this year my father, son, and I took a journey across the deserts of Nevada and Utah following old trails, railroads, and highways. This is the second part of day 3 of that journey and takes place approximately between 10:00 am and 4:30 pm.

 

 

We continued south past the entrance to the Dugway Proving Grounds leaving the comfort of paved asphalt for the adventure of gravel roads. Proving the theory that faster is better on washboard roads we cruised at a smooth 45mph south on Ericson Pass Rd. for 9 miles until we met up with the Pony Express Trail and then turned west.

 

As we drove over the low rolling hills we encountered small groups of antelope grazing along the roadside. Further along as we neared Simpson Springs we came upon a sizeable herd of horses blocking our path. My son said that he saw brands on them but I can find no evidence of brands on any of the pictures that I shot. In any event, once we got them to move aside for us to pass we continued on and stopped briefly at Simpson Springs.

 

An antelope eyes us carefully as we pass by.

 

A pair of the many horses grazing along the Pony Express Trail

 

 

Simpson Springs was once a Pony Express Station and later a stop as part of the Overland Stage. In recent years (1930's) it was home to a CCC camp. Simpson Springs also hosts a campground that was originally going to be one of our overnight stops but since it was only 11:00 a.m. we all felt that it was to early in the day to start pitching the tent and so we continued westward toward Dugway Pass.

 

The Pony Express stations were spaced out at a distance of approximately 14 miles, depending upon availability of water. During the 30's stone obelisks were built by the CCC as part of the WPA. The stone monuments still stand although not all of them still have the bronze plaques that were originally placed to identify the stations. There is currently an effort underway to replace the plaques that are missing.

 

Monument for the Riverbed Pony Express Station

 

It is difficult to describe the feeling of driving across the Great Salt Lake Desert. If I had to come up with 1 or 2 words it would be "vast isolation." In the distance that we traveled between Timpie Point and Schellbourne, Nevada, we would see only a handful of vehicles. The air in the Salt Lake Basin became noticeably clearer with infinite visibilities. For all we knew we could have been the last three people on earth.

 

As we headed across the Dugway Valley I came up with the idea of giving my 14 year old son a turn at the wheel. He had never driven my truck before and was somewhat shocked when I offered him the opportunity. As he put it in gear he immediately stepped on the gas pedal, spinning the tires in the gravel. The acceleration on second attempt was much smoother as I coached him along making sure that steering and speed were kept within acceptable limits. As we began the ascent up Dugway Pass we once again switched seats and passing each other in front of the vehicle I could tell by the look on his face that he had a story to tell his friends when we got back home.

 

Dugway Pass looking east

 

On the west side of Dugway Pass we stopped at the Dugway Geode Beds for lunch and a bit of mineral hunting. We had thought ahead and brought a pick and shovel with us and after a quick lunch we found an open bit of dirt and started digging away expecting to find geodes to take back home. After 45 minutes of sweating in the 95 degree sun we gave up and decided to look for some that might be lying on the surface. For some reason I was expecting that the geodes would be plentiful and easy to find. Another 30 minutes passed before we decided that we needed to continue on westward without our prizes. Now I would have to find a gift shop to bring a present back for my wife and daughter and there were no gift shops in sight.

 

View from the Black Rock Pony Express Station looking toward Granite Peak.

 

Just west of the Dugway Geode Beds the original Lincoln Highway rejoins the Pony Express Trail. We continued on across a short section of dried lakebed and around the southern end of the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge. We rounded the north end of the Fish Springs Range, past the ruins of Boyd's Station and then across a larger section of dried lakebed towards the town of Callao.

 

Roadway near Fish Springs with Granite Peak in the distance.

 

Fish Springs Pony Express marker

 

When we reached Callao it was 4:30 in the afternoon and although we still had a few hours of daylight left there were a couple of things that concerned me. First was the remaining miles we had to cover. Since my goal was to "see" the Lincoln I did not want to be driving any part of it after dark. Second concern was navigation, I didn't want to be navigating my way after dark. Fuel situation was still good and no reason for concern. The third item of concern was the weather. Looking westward we could see the thunderheads building. I did have some concern about being caught in a thunderstorm from the aspect of road conditions. Although most of what we had traveled during the day was a hard packed, graded, gravel I had no way of knowing what the rest of the road was like.

 

I would have preferred to stop and camp near Callao for the night but not finding a campground, or anybody we could ask about pitching a tent for the night, we pushed on...

 

Up Next: Part 4; Does Your GPS really know the right way to go?

[mobilene]

Thank you for letting me live vicariously through your road trip writeup! What an exciting view of Dugway Pass. I love how the road stretches and then curves back. The section in the left of the photo is saying, "If you drive me now, you can be all the way out there soon enough, you know." A road in the middle of a photo is like a good, strong verb in the middle of a sentence.

 

When I read your "Up Next" tag, at first I thought you were going to ask whether your GPS loses its flavor on the bedpost overnight.

 

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

jim

[roadhound]

Thank you for letting me live vicariously through your road trip writeup! What an exciting view of Dugway Pass. I love how the road stretches and then curves back. The section in the left of the photo is saying, "If you drive me now, you can be all the way out there soon enough, you know." A road in the middle of a photo is like a good, strong verb in the middle of a sentence.

 

When I read your "Up Next" tag, at first I thought you were going to ask whether your GPS loses its flavor on the bedpost overnight.

 

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

jim

 

Thanks Jim. If my pictures are talking to you then I must be doing something right.

 

rick

[Keep the Show on the Road!]

Rick,

 

Those photos brought tears to my eyes...really. I was so pleased to see them. Boy I wish I had been there!

 

I think I have been as far east as Callao. Is there a nice ranch home there? Kind of out of place in the desert? It seems to me at one time the owners ran a bed and breakfast.

 

Boy, I’m salivating to see the next section. I love Tippets and Stone House.

 

You don’t mention any road problems, other than washboard. It looks like a freeway in the pictures, actually better than the section between Tippets and Ipabah in my experience. I want to see more soon!!!

 

And rain is a threat. The road between Tippets and Ipabah turned to a yellow mud as slippery as snail spit in a thunderstorm.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

[roadhound]

Rick,

 

Those photos brought tears to my eyes...really. I was so pleased to see them. Boy I wish I had been there!

 

I think I have been as far east as Callao. Is there a nice ranch home there? Kind of out of place in the desert? It seems to me at one time the owners ran a bed and breakfast.

 

Boy, I’m salivating to see the next section. I love Tippets and Stone House.

 

You don’t mention any road problems, other than washboard. It looks like a freeway in the pictures, actually better than the section between Tippets and Ipabah in my experience. I want to see more soon!!!

 

And rain is a threat. The road between Tippets and Ipabah turned to a yellow mud as slippery as snail spit in a thunderstorm.

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

Callao is out of place in the desert. It is a patch of green surrounded by barren earth. The town, if you could call it that, is surrounded by irrigated fields which are in turn surrounded by the desert. Logically, it shouldn't be there. There are a couple of ranch homes that look like they are well cared for. I was looking for the Kearney Hotel that is listed in the Lincoln Guide, which is supposedely now a barn, but didn't see a building that looked like what I thought a hotel should look like. There is a Pony Express marker that identifies the stop as Willow Springs.

 

The road through all of the route was in good condition with one exception, which you have already alluded too, and I will explain in more detail in the next installment. The whole route could have been traveled in a sedan, without to much problem as long as you were careful, but having the high clearance was a definite comfort. Not to give to much away about the next installment but we did hit rain and it was between Ibapah and Tippets.