Pony Express Trail
National Backcountry Byway
&
National Historic Trail
Personal Notes
This page presents our personal notes on our trip along the Pony Express Trail National Backcountry Byway and the Pony Express National Historic Trail in Utah.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Pony Express Trail National Backcountry Byway
2:33 p.m.
At some point before we reached the town of Calleo the road begins to follow the old Pony Express Trail. Along in this area we could see great expanses of the Dugway Testing Grounds to the north. This is where the government tests various aircraft and probably some other secret weapons. One never knows. In the near distance we could see targets set up, looking quite a bit like a caravan of military vehicles and perhaps small buildings. Along in here we also spotted several small fighters of some type flying maneuvers above the target. We stopped to spot them better and to listen to the roar of their engines.
Calleo, Utah
2:57 p.m.
Calleo is a very small town scattered around the relatively barren landscape. This whole area used to be beneath ancient Lake Bonneville. The town was established 1857, and as you enter the town from the west there is a large wooden sign indicating the names and locations of the residents on a rough map. As you pass through the town on its dusty dirt roads you'll notice lots of tall trees around the dwellings. Some houses are made of wood or brick, while others are double-wide trailers. Some dwellings seem to be more like cabins or summer (or maybe winter) homes than year-round living quarters. Some yards looked lived in, while others seemed empty by comparison. But all of the houses looked like they are occupied and kept up.
The road winds through town toward the east, past a modern one room school house. The teacher and the kids of various ages were out on recess in the front yard. We felt bad driving by, because even as slow as we were going we were kicking up quite a bit of dust, that seemed to be blowing their way. Perhaps they are used to it, although I can't imagine that they have much traffic through this remote area.
There weren't any visible stores or gas stations or other businesses of any kind. Just homes.
Boyd Station
3:16 p.m.
We stopped at Boyd Station, on the Pony Express Trail. There is a small shaded area with informational signs near the ruins of a Pony Express station. The ruins are fenced, but the gate is open, so we looked around a bit and took several photos. There are no other facilities here of any sort.
Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge
Simpson Springs Station
6:11 p.m.
After the Wildlife Refuge we continued to follow the Pony Express Trail. The road is in excellent condition and is passable with a normal highway vehicle. There are rough spots here and there, with washboarding now and then, but nothing that couldn't be handled at slower speeds. There are places where the sand and gravel is fairly thick, but over all the road was easy to drive. When we were in the open areas we were driving along at a good 40-45 mph. I'm sure the locals drive much faster. It should be noted, though, that any vehicle will kick up quite a bit of dust. We didn't meet many vehicles heading in the opposite direction, but when we did we made sure to roll up our windows. Fortunately, the wind, in most cases, was blowing away from us.
After long miles of driving, and passing only the occasional Pony Express marker along the side of the road (we spotted at least three different types of markers) we came to Simpson Springs. At this location we found more ruins of a Pony Express station. There is also a reconstructed station, giving a better idea of what sort of facility was built on the location. There is also a BLM campground nearby that, no doubt, has drinking water available. At the Pony Express station there is a vault toilet, but no water.
It was just before this location that we began to encounter quite a few vehicle headed west, in the opposite direction. Obviously people getting off of work and 5:00 p.m. and heading out for a camping weekend. But with increased traffic one must be more cautious on the curves, especially when reach a pass. Some folks just don't think ahead or believe that there may be another vehicle heading their way, just out of sight.
Dugway Geode Beds
We came to a sign for the Dugway Geode Beds. There is a narrow dirt road that leads off toward the north. We would like to spend some time out there, poking around, but we were running out of daylight and decided to come back some other time to explore more. Apparently there are geodes lying all around the surface. I suspect, though, that the serious collectors get out there quite often and have gathered up the best samples. It would still be fun to explore, though.
Lookout Pass
6:45 p.m.
As we got closer to Lookout Pass we ran into more and more folks headed west. There were also large camps of people off to the sides of the road, in tree surrounded meadows. Because of the large number of young boys, I suspect they were some sort of Boy Scout activities. We climbed up to Lookout Pass, where there are some nice views in both directions, then we descended. Near the bottom the road suddenly becomes paved. The pavement was in bad shape, but it was faster than the gravel road.
We drove on through Faust and Fairfield and along the west side of Utah Lake and then up through Bluffdale and Riverton and headed east on 126th Street, toward Draper and Sandy. We got home just before 8:00 p.m.
