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Stateline is a ghost town that sits on the border of Utah and Nevada.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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Many of the old buildings are still standing in Fay.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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Riding through Modena, almost a ghost town in far western Iron County.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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At the entrance to Fay, Nevada.

Courtesy Lynn R. Blamires

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In my 34 years of riding ATVs and side-by-sides, I have some stories to tell. I have told some of them over my 21 years of writing ATV Adventure articles, but more have bubbled up in my memory worth relating. You can’t ride that many years without having some relatable adventures.

A snake on the trail

I was riding an ATV on the Paiute ATV Trail System, near the Fremont Anasazi Museum on the frontage road by I-70. A little east of the museum, trail #01 turns north off the frontage road on a steep climb on a 50-inch trail.

As the trail leveled off a little, I ran over a huge black snake. It had to be over six feet long because it stretched across the entire trail. I felt a bump when I ran over it because of its large girth.

It slithered off the trail behind me. I stopped my machine and ran back to see if I could find where it went. As I was running, reality hit like a brick, “What am I doing? Why would I want to come face-to-face with a snake that big?” I ran back to my machine and quickly left.

Riding in the desert in August

I enjoy a desert trail when the mountain trails are covered in snow, but the worst time to ride in the desert is in the summer. The Utah ATV Association holds an annual Ride for Life, a ride aimed at raising money for worthy causes. The ride begins at Lake Point, south of Tooele, and ends in Wendover, Nevada, 125 miles west. We spent the night and rode back the next day. Note: it is also 125 miles back to Lake Point, in August.

The first 25 miles took us through Grantsville and over a ridge cut to allow I-80 to pass. The next section was a combination of frontage roads and dirt trails until we reached The Knolls. The rest of the ride was on the salt flats to Wendover.

There were 200 riders, all on ATVs. Twenty years ago, there were no UTVs. They were all trying to pass each other – the dust cloud was more than a mile high and could be seen at great distances. One Polaris had an air filter that got so clogged with dust that it quit running.

Once past The Knolls, there was no single file. Riders spread out and put the pedal to the metal. We had to be careful in this section. Roads cut across perpendicular to our course of travel, spaced about a half mile apart. They were built up at least ten feet.

We were warned about these raised roads before we started this section. On another ride, a guy on a sport bike hit one of these, doing about 70 mph, and flew quite a distance. After he landed, he was flown out by helicopter.

We tried to ride fast to cool down from the heat. My wife thought I was crazy to take such a ride. I can’t believe I did it twice!

Visiting Ghost Towns

I love visiting ghost towns. Each one is unique – some are only the places where towns once stood, with little evidence that they ever existed. Others still have buildings standing, but they all have stories about their heydays.

I have enjoyed visiting Grafton, south of Zion National Park. It has several well-preserved buildings, including a schoolhouse that also served as a church. Silver Reef near Leeds is another on a trail I have taken. The old Wells Fargo Bank still stands along with the walls of some other buildings.

Frisco, near Milford, has little to see as far as the town, but the old charcoal kilns that once produced charcoal still stand. I loved getting a close look at the kilns. Modena is another I have visited. This one isn’t quite dead – it still had 15 residents as of 6 years ago, and many buildings are still standing. I noted these as I rode through town.

I have ridden the old Transcontinental Railroad bed west of Promontory Point to the ghost town of Terrace. While the railroad served there, the population was 1,000, without Chinese workers, who were not counted in the census. There isn’t much to see, but there is a spirit I could feel, as with other ghost towns I have visited.

When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down, and have your own adventures on the trail.

Lynn R. Blamires can be reached at quadmanone@gmail.com.