DE VI - The Pony Express Trip Report

Scott B.

SE Expedition Society
Another very successful Desert Expedition trip!

5100 miles driven (500+ on dirt), 16 states passed through, 15 nights in the teardrop. Great company, great food, great trails - and snow! And let's not forget the metric ton of dust on everything!

Like last year, we kept a daily log and will be posting it one day at a time with pictures. I'm sure the other participants will add their photos, and I would not be surprised if Frenchie added a truth thread like last year.....

Here we go...
 
Last edited:

Hun

Expedition historian
Days One & Two - St. Joseph MO

Our Pony Express exploration began in the great city of St. Joseph MO founded by Joseph Robidoux, 4th generation fur trader. In St. Joseph, we first admired the Pony Express monument and then strolled by war veteran memorials in the park.

IMG_0050.jpg

IMG_0051.jpg

The Pony Express Museum at the original pony express stables was well attended and quite informative. The house where Jesse James was murdered was a short walk away. We interrupted our Pony Express exploration for lunch at Ground Round. The Patee Museum, home of the original Pony Express offices, offered a stroll through bygone times, including a carousel, an old steam engine, a grand ballroom visited by Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, and countless others, and a showcase of the Robidoux Hotel, which had been demolished in the 1970s.

IMG_0055.jpg

IMG_0052.jpg

Last stop of the day was the Ferry boat monument along the Missouri River where Pony Express riders crossed to begin the 2000 mile westward ride.



The next day we had a quick breakfast, closed camp, and headed west across the Missouri River into Kansas following the Pony Express route along KS 36.

IMG_0001.jpg

IMG_0002.jpg

Stopped for a walk around the Hollenberg station outside of Hanover. Developed and operated by an innovative German settler to sell goods to westward bound emigrants and provide rest and provisions for Pony Express riders, the weathered six-room building constructed in 1858 still stands atop a hill overlooking flat campgrounds, farm fields, and stream beds. This building is in fact, one of the last original Pony Express Stations standing today.

IMG_0003.jpg

Next stop, northward into Nebraska was the Rock Creek station where we mused through the museum and then walked the grounds finding a reconstructed cabin and post office amid the wagon trail ruts.

IMG_0004.jpg

IMG_0005.jpg

IMG_0021.jpg

We piled back into the trucks to find present-day Dickey's Barbeque in Troy NE. Onward to Sidney we ran into a sudden storm that we later found out displayed 5 twisters visible outside of Cabela's home store. The rain pelted and we wondered if the wind would pick us up and throw us back into Kansas. After the storm subsided, we arrived safely at the Cabela's camp. Luckily we hit free-pie Monday at Perkins and brought pie slices back to camp to enjoy sometime in the next day or so.

Total distance traversed was 525 miles in 10 hours drive time including Pony Express stops.
 
Last edited:

Scott B.

SE Expedition Society
The original Pony Express stables in St. Joseph

PE1.jpg

The house where Jessie James was shot (moved from its original location)

PE2.jpg

The monument, at the place in the river where the mail crossed by boat and was carried by horse to Sacramento, CA.

PE3.jpg

Another view of Hollenberg Station

PE4.jpg

Another view of Rock Creek Station

PE5.jpg
 
Last edited:

4x4x4doors

Explorer
St. Joseph surprised me in a couple of ways. It was a major "jumping off point" for the migration west. One of the signs said that over half a million people passed through on the way to the west coast during the gold rush years of 1849-1851. The California and Oregon Trails basically started here.
There seemed to be a lot (25-30) people going into the Pony Express Museum when it first opened at 11:00(?) but after the initial rush, there didn't seem to be that many people.
c_DSCF6886.jpg
I thought the "fence" at the Fire Museum was interesting.

Downtown St. Joseph was almost eerily quiet on both Saturday and Sunday during the day, this was a three-day holiday weekend (Memorial Day).
c_DSCF6773.jpg
There were signs of much demolition of old buildings whose sites could be rebuilt but very little sign of reconstruction. Are they preparing for a resurgence or just hoping for one? Several of the buildings had fresh murals covering recently exposed exterior walls.
c_DSCF6790.jpg
There is also a Walter Cronkite Memorial at Missouri Western State University which was open as its not officially part of the campus (as the University was closed.) c_DSCF7044.jpg
The weather burst made for an interesting sky before it let loose.
c_DSCF7067.jpg
Our campsite at the Cabela's.
 

Hun

Expedition historian
Day Three - I-80 road trip

Cool rain showered us through the night. We are mightily thankful for our hard sided tent - teardrop- on such nights as we slept warm and dry. Upon awakening, we packed up and hit the highway westbound for Wyoming. First sighting of snow fence was at the Nebraska /Wyoming state line. Speed limit jumped to 80 mph so as long as the highway is clear of snow, you can really get down the road in good time. It wasn't too much later that we saw snow piled along the snow fences here in May! Sometime past Laramie weren't we surprised when seeing another teardrop-like trailer approach that it was our expedition buddy Martin and his wife returning home to Denver from a trek to Washington state. We pulled into Green River WY to grab some tacos not far from the visitor center we had stopped at 2 years prior on our Flaming Gorge trip. Continuing into Utah we made the pass through the mountains overlooking Salt Lake City. Once past Salt Lake City traffic we slipped around the southern tip of Salt Lake. The salt flats continued all the way west across the state to the Nevada state line. We made a quick stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats to fulfill one of Scott's dreams, seeing the track where speed records were set.

IMG_0037.jpg

IMG_0038.jpg

Crossing into Nevada at West Wendover, we found the KOA campground where we joined up with Sib and Gary. We dined together at one of the many casinos and retired for the night expecting Frenchie's arrival by midnight.
Total distance traversed 600 miles in 12 hours.
 

Hun

Expedition historian
Day 4 - Group convenes and off we go

We arose early, counted heads to make sure all were present, grabbed breakfast at the local casino (only game in town), got provisions, and studied the maps.

IMG_0067.jpg

Agreeing on a path, we headed out westward bound on I-80 to Elko to get off paved roads. We turned north on 225 in Elko and then west onto the road to Swales mountain. Here the adventure began. Six vehicles, six gps's and not much agreement among them. The drive through mountains and valleys, around hills and through open pastures afforded us many views of Swales mountain but we never found the road up to the mountain itself. We did see several ranches few and far between. And the fields were in bloom!

A179B4A8-43DF-4F9E-979F-49CEE311292A.jpg

So there were lots of cows in the open range and they must not be used to seeing teardrops in their neck of the ranch because they always stopped to get a good look at us as we passed.

FullSizeRender.jpeg

After lunch, and note -- it's always hard to tear away from Frenchie's stories, as you can see how engrossed we all were -- but we did and headed onward to Swales mountain.

IMG_0047.jpg

Lucky for me, Scott got sleepy and after remarking he could use a nap, I offered to drive and was afforded the opportunity. My first trail driving on our expeditions and oh -what fun it was. Sure, it takes focused attention on path conditions, ruts, tire placement, 3 axles, gear shifting, keeping off the brake and being in the right gear, but I had the best instructor sitting at my side. After yet another choice in route and upon deciding to turn around, we happened upon the perfect campsite flat and roomy enough for us all. We called it quits for the day, set up camp, and settled in for some snacks, cranberry drinks and light-hearted conversation. Then came my favorite part of every day -- watching Scott prepare dinner which tonight would be grilled steaks and mushrooms with zucchini and onions, while sipping on Keith's cranberry juice and partaking in the storytelling.

IMG_0048.jpg

We retired after showers under a beautiful star lit sky. Camp was at 5700' altitude, we had traveled some 35 miles off road in 4.5 hours.
 

gwittman

Adventurer
It is my turn to show more views from my perspective.
.
This is a shot of the Salt Flats from the West side with considerably less water.

P1010004.JPG
.
This is a picture of an over landing family that stayed near the motel I slept at before our adventure started. That must be fun to pack up and unpack every day.
P1010012.jpg
.
Here is Frenchie getting back into his vehicle after frolicking in the flowers.
P1010016.jpg
.
Here we are searching for Swales mountain.
P1010018.JPG
.
Our fist campsite was fairly flat for camping and not very inspiring but did have a great view into a small valley and beyond.
P1010020.jpgP1010021.jpg
.
Of course, I always must include some of the beautiful flowers.
P1010022.jpgP1010023.jpg
 

Martinjmpr

Wiffleball Batter
Great report, can't wait to see the rest of it.
.
Keith did you get rid of the Little Guy in favor of an RTT?
 

gwittman

Adventurer
Laura, You are right about being thankful for finding this location after a hard day of searching for Swales mountain. There were not too many places to chose from. Indeed, the conversation was inspiring, especially after the cold drinks. Again, my perspective.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,541
Messages
2,875,674
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top