A Ghost Town & Goat Friends - UT/NV

Snowville, UT
Earp & James Hitching Post


After leaving Idaho, we barely crossed over the border in Utah to overnight at Snowville.  With a population less than 200, there isn't much here.  The area is known for Deep Creek which provided much water to the area even in years of drought.  Later the railroad had a stop here.

 

 

There is a nicely run private campground on the main drag called the Earp & James Hitching Post.  Very simple, long pull throughs surrounded by grass.

Since it was a short drive we had a few hours of daylight left and I wanted to find the Kelton Ghost Town I'd read about. 

There isn't much left of the old town except a small cemetery with a few graves.  Even the old transcontinental railroad tracks have been removed.

We walked around a bit and found some geocaches but it was very hot and the stickers were ridiculous!  Very hard to pull out of your shoes so we didn't stay long.  Hurley couldn't even get out because of the stickers.

The other interesting object out here is the Wheeler Survey Marker. In 1872, George Wheeler was authorized by Congress to direct the United States Geological Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian, a seven-year project that would be known as the Wheeler Survey. The survey’s main goal was to make topographic maps of the southwestern United States.  He was charged with identifying the physical features of the region; discovering the numbers, habits and disposition of Indians in the section; selecting sites for future military installations; determining routes for rail lines and roads; and making notes about mineral resources, climate, geology, vegetation, water sources and agricultural potential. Wheeler Peak in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park, Wheeler Peak in New Mexico and the scenic Wheeler Geologic Area  in southern Colorado are named for him.

Pretty cool to find.

 

The next morning we headed out to meet up with some old friends from our dairy goat days that live in Eureka, NV.

We really enjoyed taking different routes along the way.  The roads were in very nice condition and the scenery was beautiful.

We made a stop at the border to find a cache.

These overpasses are for deer, not cars. In states where mule deer migrate between winter and summer feeding ranges these are built over busy highways to prevent accidents.

These folks must really like isolation.  Nothing around for miles and miles.

The "L" is for The Lincoln Highway.  It was the first transcontinental road for automobiles in the United States, dedicated in 1913. It winds its way over 3,000 miles between New York City and San Francisco.

We hadn't been through Eureka before and it was a very cute town.  It's got a very eclectic mix of rough and tumble types with lots of history.  There is still a lot of mining going on.

We were lucky to find a spot at a tiny RV Park that we couldn't find a name for.

Steve and I with old friends, Kay and Gary.  We had a great dinner at the Old Owl Club.  Great food!  My French Dip was delicious!  It has probably been about 10 years since we've seen each other.  It was great to catch up and when we drive through the area again we will definitely stop by for another visit!

We walked through town and looked at some monuments, shops and murals.

Austin Summit was an easy drive in the truck.  Four more hours and we'll be near the border of California.