The Ford Barn

Old Henry · 04-12-2015, 04:10 PM

It was 155 years ago yesterday, April 14, 1860 that the first letter was delivered by the pony express. Last Friday I took a new riding partner - dear old dad that bought Old Henry in 1959 for $100, on the trail. It was just a day trip but totaled 497 miles in the seat for 16 hours (is there an Iron Butt award for driving classic cars?) Here's the story:

The Pony Express ran for 18 months in 1860-1861 until the transcontinental telegraph took its place. 80 riders riding 100 miles at a stretch between stations 10 miles apart where they'd quickly switch to a fresh horse. 1,900 miles from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express 26 of those stations were in Utah from Needle Rock just coming in from Wyoming to Deep Creek just before the Nevada border. 126 miles of the original trail remains across the western desert of Utah from Fairfield to Ibapah. That's what we drove. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFMBq4sS_s

We began in Eagle Mountain, a few miles east of Fairfield.

Our first stop was at the restored Stagecoach Inn in Fairfield that served as a pony express stop as well as hotel for stage riders.

After a few more miles of pavement we left it and headed out across the desert.

At one point along the way we came across this old material handling structure in an area of previous surface mining.

One of the more interesting features we came across was this pet cemetery at the Lookout Point station. The station operator's wife could not bear children so felt toward her pets as she would have children and buried them with honor in this fairly elaborate pet cemetery.

About every 8 miles along the way there was a monument marking the site of a station. One of the more significant stations was at Simpson Springs because of the water there. The station has been rebuilt and the ruins of a home made of the original station stones is preserved. Here's the video inside the station, Anderson home ruins, and CCC camp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIGG67uFhOA

At Simpson Springs there are also the remains of a CCC camp that was there in 1939 (shown well on the video). This is a great shot of the Simpson Springs station from the CCC camp showing the desolate setting that they are in. A retaining wall for the camp is on the right.

Then we carried on down the road.

Dad was pretty excited when we came upon a heard of sheep on the road. (He was actually excited about everything he saw and did, especially for 89 years old)

The Black Rock station looking north toward Dugway Proving Grounds.

The location of the Fish Springs station looking out at the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge.

Ruins of the Boyd station.

Then we arrived at Callao, the largest inhabited area on the trail, still just a few ranches. But they do have a small school (shown in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo3FC8xxdG8) It was originally the Willow Springs station.

One of the abandoned log houses (dad at the car door). Tour of these buildings on the video.

The old one room school house that was still in use when I first drove here 20+ years ago. This and new one on the video. This one now used by county road department.

One of several old abandoned houses.

From there we continued on the trail but left it for a little detour to the old mining town of Gold Hill that had this one old store and a couple of abandoned homes.

Inside the store.

After Gold Hill we got back on the trail and ended up at Ibapah, originally the Deep Creek station, and the main public facility that we had been looking for much of the trip.

The other that we hoped for was a gas station. My internet research the previous night showed a trading post with a gas pump in front but it was closed. We had gone 145 miles at an average of 30 mph since the last available gas station in Cedar Fort and had 63 miles to go, total of 208, on a 15 gallon tank. Could we make it to Wendover was the question.

We headed for Wendover and made it within a few miles before running out of gas. So I put most of the two gallon can in (I say most because a quart or two probably leaked onto the ground from the spout not sealing well.) Then we made it to the outskirts of Wendover before running out again. So, I pulled out the big 5 gallon can and put enough in to get us to the gas station.

The sun was going down as we left Wendover for home. But, we decided to take the little detour out to the Bonneville Raceway to see if we wanted to go there this August for the speed trials.

04-12-2015, 04:10 PM	#1
Old Henry Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Orem, Utah Posts: 5,781	155th anniversary Pony Express ride It was 155 years ago yesterday, April 14, 1860 that the first letter was delivered by the pony express. Last Friday I took a new riding partner - dear old dad that bought Old Henry in 1959 for $100, on the trail. It was just a day trip but totaled 497 miles in the seat for 16 hours (is there an Iron Butt award for driving classic cars?) Here's the story: The Pony Express ran for 18 months in 1860-1861 until the transcontinental telegraph took its place. 80 riders riding 100 miles at a stretch between stations 10 miles apart where they'd quickly switch to a fresh horse. 1,900 miles from St. Joseph, MO to Sacramento, CA. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express 26 of those stations were in Utah from Needle Rock just coming in from Wyoming to Deep Creek just before the Nevada border. 126 miles of the original trail remains across the western desert of Utah from Fairfield to Ibapah. That's what we drove. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFMBq4sS_s We began in Eagle Mountain, a few miles east of Fairfield. Our first stop was at the restored Stagecoach Inn in Fairfield that served as a pony express stop as well as hotel for stage riders. After a few more miles of pavement we left it and headed out across the desert. At one point along the way we came across this old material handling structure in an area of previous surface mining. One of the more interesting features we came across was this pet cemetery at the Lookout Point station. The station operator's wife could not bear children so felt toward her pets as she would have children and buried them with honor in this fairly elaborate pet cemetery. About every 8 miles along the way there was a monument marking the site of a station. One of the more significant stations was at Simpson Springs because of the water there. The station has been rebuilt and the ruins of a home made of the original station stones is preserved. Here's the video inside the station, Anderson home ruins, and CCC camp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIGG67uFhOA At Simpson Springs there are also the remains of a CCC camp that was there in 1939 (shown well on the video). This is a great shot of the Simpson Springs station from the CCC camp showing the desolate setting that they are in. A retaining wall for the camp is on the right. Then we carried on down the road. Dad was pretty excited when we came upon a heard of sheep on the road. (He was actually excited about everything he saw and did, especially for 89 years old) The Black Rock station looking north toward Dugway Proving Grounds. The location of the Fish Springs station looking out at the Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge. Ruins of the Boyd station. Then we arrived at Callao, the largest inhabited area on the trail, still just a few ranches. But they do have a small school (shown in the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fo3FC8xxdG8) It was originally the Willow Springs station. One of the abandoned log houses (dad at the car door). Tour of these buildings on the video. The old one room school house that was still in use when I first drove here 20+ years ago. This and new one on the video. This one now used by county road department. One of several old abandoned houses. From there we continued on the trail but left it for a little detour to the old mining town of Gold Hill that had this one old store and a couple of abandoned homes. Inside the store. After Gold Hill we got back on the trail and ended up at Ibapah, originally the Deep Creek station, and the main public facility that we had been looking for much of the trip. The other that we hoped for was a gas station. My internet research the previous night showed a trading post with a gas pump in front but it was closed. We had gone 145 miles at an average of 30 mph since the last available gas station in Cedar Fort and had 63 miles to go, total of 208, on a 15 gallon tank. Could we make it to Wendover was the question. We headed for Wendover and made it within a few miles before running out of gas. So I put most of the two gallon can in (I say most because a quart or two probably leaked onto the ground from the spout not sealing well.) Then we made it to the outskirts of Wendover before running out again. So, I pulled out the big 5 gallon can and put enough in to get us to the gas station. The sun was going down as we left Wendover for home. But, we decided to take the little detour out to the Bonneville Raceway to see if we wanted to go there this August for the speed trials. From there we were still 4 hours from home and got home at about 11:30 P.M. 497 miles and 16 hours of driving. Good time had by all. Previous trips: Mexico in February 2015: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162633 Ghost towns of Modena, UT and Pioche, NV in November 2014: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=155331 Million Dollar Highway, Durango to Montrose, Colorado in June 2014 https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=142975 Transcontinental Railway Grade in May 2014: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139471 City of Rocks, Idaho in April 2014:https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=137684 Capitol Reef National Park in March 2014: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=133018 Grouse Creek and the AAA garage in February 2014: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=130966 Grand Canyon in January 2014: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128820 Moab, UT in December 2013: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127222 Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument November 2013: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123694 Across Nevada on US 50, "The Loneliest Road in the Country", October 2013: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120098 Mount Evans (the highest paved road in North America) August 2013: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115013 Canada in June 2013: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109872 Monument Valley in March 2013: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99523 Bryce Canyon in February 2013: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97822 Milford, Utah in December 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93137 Nevada and Idaho in November 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=89080 Rocky Mountain National Park in September 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83966 Yellowstone National Park in May 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72864 Death Valley in February 2012: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62705 Pike's Peak in July 2011: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=19141 Route 66 in April 2010: https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57511 __________________ https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162633 __________________ Prof. Henry (The Roaming Gnome) "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” Ursula K. Le Guin in The Left Hand of Darkness Last edited by Old Henry; 04-15-2015 at 10:07 AM.*