by Clint Thomsen
GUEST COLUMNIST
The valley was empty. I studied a distant mountain range through the dirt-caked rear window of Tyler's old jeep. Canisters of gas and water jerked and bounced as we rambled along the bumpy road -- the air inside saturated with the heavy scents of oil and earth. John, Tyler and I had set out for the Nevada desert to explore ghost towns. The lonely road wound southward through 80 miles of canyon and valley, crossing terrain that few people ever see.
As I watched the dusty wake billow behind us, I realized this was the closest I may ever come to experiencing backcountry America the way early motorists did along then-revolutionary roads like the Lincoln Highway.
In this age, it's tough to imagine a country full of cities not seamlessly interconnected by smooth freeway networks. But in the early 1900s, long-distance automobile travel wasn't so easy. The only improved roads in the country at the time were city streets. Rural roads were still geared toward horse and stage travel, and proved too rugged for early cars. Long distance travel was best done by rail with the car parked at home.
As the popularity of automobile travel increased, so did the already growing demand for more car-friendly routes. Entrepreneur Carl Fisher dreamed of building a continuous transcontinental highway, and began promoting the idea in 1912. In 1913, the Lincoln Highway Association was formed and the first section of the highway was completed. By 1919, the "improved" dirt highway connecting Times Square in New York City and Lincoln Park in San Francisco had cut a highly anticipated auto route through nearly 3,400 miles of rugged America.
Much of the eastern half of the Utah stretch is now a combination of major freeways and highly-traveled roads. But Utah favored the more practical Victory Highway (present I-80) for travel through the western half of the state, and civilization gravitated northward. Thus, like the Pony Express Route, much of the Tooele County stretch of the Lincoln Highway has preserved its historic, middle-of-nowhere uniqueness.
For the early 20th century motorist, traveling from coast to coast on America's first transcontinental automobile road might have been better labeled a safari than a road trip. And stories of the cross-country trek would probably feel more at home in an outdoors magazine than in Car and Driver. The Lincoln Highway Association's 1916 Official Road Guide called the trip "something of a sporting proposition." The recommended gear list was essentially the same as my camping lists today. In fact, from Nebraska westward, travelers almost exclusively spent their nights under the stars.
Recent trips to Skull Valley rekindled my interest in the Lincoln Highway, so my wife and I loaded the kids into the van last weekend for a good old-fashioned Sunday drive to explore a few stretches of the old road.
The route originally ran across the north end of the Tooele Valley, around the north end of the Stansbury Mountains to Timpie, then south to Orr's ranch in Skull Valley, running parallel to present SR-196. Most of the Timpie-Orr's Ranch route is visible on Google Earth, and one still-prominent section can be easily seen from Burnt Spring at the north end of the valley.
In 1919, the road was re-routed south through Tooele and Stockton, then into Skull Valley and past Orr's Ranch via Johnson's pass. The drive through the snowy mountains was beautiful, and we turned off at the summit to look down at Rush Valley and the Oquirrhs in the distance. Continuing west, we passed the Willow Springs Lodge, which was built on an old campsite used by inmates from the State Prison when they built the road.
Emerging from the pass, we caught our first glimpse of the flat and barren valley below. The view must have been a welcome relief for drivers after the tough climb through the mountains, but the boundless empty distance ahead may also have been daunting to the motorist driving the likes of a Ford Model T, whose speed topped out at 40 mph.
The road descends sharply into the small town of Terra and juts west just south of town. Aside from a modern ranch here and there, Skull Valley looks mostly the same as it did during the Lincoln Highway's heyday. A tall group of trees near SR-196 stands in stark contrast to the scrubby, homogenized terrain surrounding it, marking the location of Orr's Ranch, a major pit stop along this stretch. The old highway ran right past the ranch gates, where travelers bought gas for 45 cents, a full meal for 75 cents, and a night in the log cabin for a dollar.
The cabin still stands in remarkable condition, given its age. Several years ago I stopped by the ranch and spoke at length to owners Dennis Andrus and his wife, Shirley, daughter of William Orr. They regaled me with tales of the famed highway -- how Dwight D. Eisenhower camped at the ranch as a young Army officer, and how the legendary Wright Brothers once overnighted in the cabin. The Andrus family still operates the ranch and they're accustomed to visits from Lincoln Highway enthusiasts.
The route continues to the north edge of the Dugway Range through Dugway Proving Ground and continues to the Black Rock Hills, where it joins the Pony Express route and crosses into Nevada. We turned around at Dugway's east gate and drove back over Johnson's Pass. When we emerged from the mountains, our cell phones began buzzing, pulling us reluctantly back into the present. While I appreciate today's modern roads and cars, I thought fondly about that Jeep ride on the dusty Nevada road, and wondered how it would have felt to ride the Lincoln Highway in its heyday with all of its excitements and perils.
Clint Thomsen is a Stansbury Park resident who grew up climbing mountains, wandering desert paths and exploring Utah's wilds. He may be contacted via his Web site at www.bonnevillemariner.com.
TRIP TIPS
The Tooele County stretch of the Lincoln Highway is easy to follow in many places. See the LHA's Web site at www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/info/ut/ for detailed directions.