East Rush Valley Pony Express Site
Today we would like to share with you an excerpt from our book. On April 4, 2016 we made many stops, this is just one. At the end of the day...oh what a view we were blessed with!
We were in the heart of the Utah desert. We had just left the Faust XP Station and was in search of East Rush Valley…
“Next Stop: East Rush Valley XP Station
Well, the pavement sure didn’t last long. After a short drive on the road heading to Faust, we were back on yet another gravel highway.
As we were searching for our next station, the clouds were coming to life with color. The sun was starting to set behind us, and the glorious twilight hour was beginning to glow over the valley. There were brilliant shades of orange and deep purple…We pulled over a few times so I could capture the cloudy sky with the mountains as their canvas.
Upon reaching the next CCC monument, off to our left, we found this location was apparently too remote to keep the varmint thieves away. It had been damaged and the description plaque stolen. Only the top round plaque remained.*
The sun was still illuminating the rain clouds with exquisite colors…it was stunning. Though there were no remnants or ruins left at this site, I captured the sky with the monument in the foreground. I sure hope one of my shots will share with ya’ll what we witnessed!
2016_ut_east rush-0416-2mbEast Rush Valley Utah Pony Express Station site
*(Later found on the Utah BLM website there was a photo—submitted by the public, I am guessing—with the plaque intact; it was a Centennial plaque, though, and not a CCC. The plaque is hard to read, as some jerks had shot it up, but it showed the name as “Rush Valley” and stated that it was also an Overland Stage stop until 1869.)”
We hope you enjoyed this little snippet from our book; "Rider on the Pony Express Trail"
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PONY EXPRESS!
Howdy! Thank you for choosing to follow along with us!
In order to catch you up to speed, if you are just joining in, I want to let you know about my personal project. My faithful companion, Rider (a gorgeous Australian Cattle Dog) and I, have been traveling on an Adventure, for a few years now… following the Central Overland Pony Express Trail.
Carla and Rider at Round FortRound Fort is between Ibapah and Callao Utah. It is also called Canyon Station. The Pony Express Canyon Station was further West of here though... This rock fortress was built the year after the Pony Express had ended.
Currently we are working on a Photo Journal, that will be an Ebook, with our personal experiences on the road. I started this journey, due to a visit to Fort Churchill, with my family in 2014. I read how it was built to protect the Pony Express Riders and the California Emigrant Trail. I have always been fascinated with the old West, and that of course included the Pony. On that day, surprised to find such a fortress still standing, I wanted to know if there were more! The photos I have captured, of these gems in the desert, will be in a Photo Book/Coffee Table Book. There will also be some History of the Stations, Station Keepers, Hostlers and the Riders.
Very naively I started this journey with the thought that the Pony Express "Auto Route" would drive me conveniently near all the ruins... Well, that was silly, and now I know better!
Please continue to "Ride Shotgun in Spirit" with us as we visit Historical Places along the route, and visit many Museums that house Archives of the daring young, and some not so young, Riders of the Infamous Pony Express!
Occasional we will also share with you many of the other sights seen along the way while traveling through California, Nevada and Utah.
We have decided to stop the book and journey for the time being at Salt Lake City, UT for a couple of reasons;
- One) We have thousands of Photos with just these 3 States alone.
- Two) The History of the Riders is pretty much split as Salt Lake being the middle. Though geographically that is not so. The 2 Divisions that will be included in our first book, are at the most Western end of the Trail.
There are 3 more Divisions from Salt Lake City to St. Joseph Missouri. Lord Willing, we will make a book Two!
We are so blessed to have YOU to share this Journey with us.
THANK YOU!