The Road to Carp
It was on Saturday, a beautiful cool morning, that we left the Fun N Sun RV park in Overton, Nevada with my brother and his wife, Juliana, headed for a rondevue with Juliana’s, newphew and his wife, Mike Miller and Judy. Our plan was to join them and ride with them in their two ATV’s to visit an old farm stead which rested in the Meadow Valley Wash. To get into the wash from Moapa, we turned north on road 168 and traveled 3 miles until we reached the Union Pacific Railroad underpass where we turned onto the Meadow Valley Road to the right. At this point we met our host’s the Millers and traveled with them in our pickup until we reached a commercial building where we parked the pickup and joined them in their ATV’s. My brother and I rode with Mike in his four seater while Juliana rode with Judy in her two seater. At eleven miles we came to an end where the UPRR does not allow trespassing. At this point, one can go under the Railroad to the left and proceed on the road t o Carp and Elgin. The road to the right passes over the stream of the Meadow Valley Wash and leads to an old farm stead known as the Huntsman Kane Springs Ranch where the old ranch home still stands. A month earlier we had visited this location and thought it to be an old Pony Express way station. Recent research has proved this old home as being the home of David and Emeline Huntsman who built this home in 1891 having moved from St. Thomas. The Kane Springs Ranch was located along the Upper Muddy River in the Moapa Valley of Clark County,
Nevada. In 1891, David and Emmeline Huntsman moved onto the property to homestead. The Kane Springs
Ranch, as it came to be called, was known for its large orchard and mining operations. The ranch became
well known after 1905 when the railroad to Caliente, Nevada was completed. The tracks crossed over the
Huntsman property and trains often made unofficial stops to taste Emmeline's cooking and receive medical
treatment. David Huntsman died in 1907, leaving Emmeline to look after the property until her death in
1920. Emmeline Huntsman was especially well-loved by the people around her, most notably after she rode
into the Muddy Valley Wash to rescue those injured in a disastrous flood in 1910. G.W. Birnie purchased a
portion of the property in 1929 and the entire property was purchased by Bradley Stuart in 1947. He passed the Stuart Ranch on to his son Robert and his daughter-in-law Joan. Joan Stuart was the last private owner of
the property before she sold it to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Today, the property is still owned
by the BLM and is a tourist destination because of its historic buildings and Native American petroglyphs. That trip is the subject of another story that was guided by Judy Miller.
The Meadow Valley Wash empties into Lake Mead via Glendale and the Muddy River which passes through Overton, Nevada,
where we live. Flash floods in the wash are not uncommon. Rain occurring in the mountains around Caliente, Nevada, provide the perennial source of water for the Meadow Valley Wash that runs through Elgin and Carp. Although we did not plan to go as far as Carp it is interesting to know that this Meadow Valley Wash road where we started passes through Carp and Elgin and ends in Caliente as shown on map above.
The travel by ATV was mostly uneventful accept for UPRR trains passing by.After an hour riding in the ATV, Mike pulled off the road for a stretch and rest. I stayed near the vehicle while Mike and Loren scanned the area near the railroad track. When we got ready to go, Mike said lets take a short cut. Since the tracks were very close to where we were parked, he drove the ATV over the tracks ans we crossed a bridge parallel to the bridge for the train tracks. It was a little scary but we made it across and were now east of the railroad which was where our destination was located. A view of the bridge and tracks are shown here from Google Earth.
About 12 or 13 miles south of Carp, we arrived at our destination. The site was an old farm stead with corals, water supply tank that had toppled over, a house that was partially constructed of old ammunition boxes and a well that brought water into the home and coral.
As I strolled around the coral area, I spotted an egret in the field. No doubt she was nesting close by.
Our return to Overton was uneventful, but the excursion was most interesting and enjoyable
RHB
