First a little review: here is a map of the area of interest taken from an old Lincoln Highway guidebook.
We are headed to Tippett Ranch from Tippett Pass (lower dot) and the Stone House (see previous post.)
Tippett Pass
There are two roads to the pass: the newer one heads east then southeast from Stone House, the other is the 1913 road and is four miles south in Spring Valley and leads northeast to the summit. If you are coming from Salt Lake City you will find the junction just past the summit proper. In this case, the left road (looking west) is the original LHW and the right road is a later iteration. Frankly the older road has been widened and graded beyond recognition. In addition it once passed through a ranch and that route has been bypassed. I recommend avoiding the southern road and go from Stonehouse to the pass.
Tippett Ranch
Frankly this is my favorite location in the Great Basin. For one, it’s so beautifully isolated and that makes for great panoramas. Secondly it was an important stop on the LHW for so many years. Even after this section was bypassed, it still operated as a store and post office.
I don’t have the date of this photograph but it was after the dedication of the highway in 1913. Already the ranch was catering to the automobile traveler. Today the ranch is not quite abandoned, with farm machinery visible in a tall shed. As for people though, I saw none. Enjoy the few shots below.
This is the same adobe building seen in the left of the old photograph above, but taken from the end.
I did not venture beyond the fence. It obviously is a place that does want visitors.
Below is a view from my camera plane which gives a good idea of the layout of the ranch. The field is being actively irrigated and there are cattle grazing in the hills across the highway. In this shot the road looks paved – don’t be deceived. The Beasleymobile is in the lower left.
Finally, I leave you with an image that seems to me to be the essence of the Lincoln Highway in the great Basin. This the road just north of Tippett heading towards Ibapah.
Up Next: Ibapah, Gold Hill, and Overland Canyon
Resource note: there is a fabulous and well researched website robertwynn.com that just cries for your attention when traveling in the west. Please look it up and become as happily lost in it as I was.
Excellent photos and descriptions. I’ve passed this way but once and it was at a point when I was starting to watch the clock and gas gauge. Because of that, “pass” is a fairly accurate word. I hope to return and I’ll certain benefit from your reports when I do.
And yes, that Robert Wynn site is quite cool.