Green River to Floy, Utah, via Old Hwy. U.S. 6 & 50 in 2010

 

 

Green River to Floy, Utah, via Old Hwy. U.S. 6 & 50 

In 1965, when I first visited the City of Green River, Utah, completion of nearby Interstate I-70 was still five years away. At that time, the Utah Launch Complex of the White Sands Missile Base lay just south of town. With Cold War missile testing ongoing there, the population of Green River was rocketing towards its all-time high of 2000 in 1970.

 

To watch the Green River Video, click on the arrow button, above.

 

For much of its history, the Green River itself served as the county line between Emery County to the west and Grand County to the east. When the missile launch facility closed in the 1970s, the combined population on both sides of the river soon fell by half and had not recovered by the year 2000. In 2003, the State of Utah redrew the county line, thus placing all of “greater” Green River and its 1000 residents in Emery County. In the early days and even now, the name “Elgin” describes the portion of the city lying east of the river. The 2000 census listed over one hundred residents in Elgin. Today, several websites indicate that Elgin is a ghost town. Perhaps the residents of Elgin can comment here and let us know if they are still around.

 

Continuing my search of the Green River and Crescent Junction area, I found several anomalies in the Google Maps database. According to Google, a westbound drive on I-70 from Crescent Junction to Green River covers a distance of 20.4 miles. If you reverse your course, Google Maps directs you east to Thompson, and then back again to Crescent Junction. That journey east, with a double back to the west covers 31.1 miles. I reported the problem to Google. Perhaps it will be fixed before any readers attempt the trip.

 

To make things more confusing, Google misidentifies a stretch of unmaintained “Old Hwy. US 6 & 50” as “Business I-70 & Business US 191". The misidentification continues from Green River to I-70 (Exit 173), near a long abandoned rail stop named Floy (pop. 0), or Floy Station (pop. 0). Interestingly, MapQuest gets the “Old US 50” designation correct, but misidentifies the nearby railroad line at the old “Denver & Rio Grande Western”. Google Maps does not identify the name of the railroad at all.

 

After driving the old highway eastbound from Green River, I can assure you that it is not a business route. With only a few dirt crossroads and only a single tree standing along that route, it is one of the loneliest and least traveled paved roads in the state. During my transit, encountered not one other vehicle traveling in either direction. At Green River, signs warned that the old highway is not maintained, which is true. Although navigable in a standard passenger car, be prepared to drive slowly over the many rough spots and minor washouts.

 

Looking back on my brief adventure on Old US Highway 6 & 50, I realized what a treasure it is. If you like to get away from it all, yet be only a few miles distance from an interstate highway, this is the route for you. To the north, the Union Pacific Desert Main Line runs largely unseen from the road. Likewise, I-70 to the south is visible only as you approach Floy. Traveling the old highway in either direction takes less than an hour. There, you can recreate a cross-country adventure from the era before the advent of interstate highway travel. Please remember, if you run out of gas or get a flat tire, Floy is abandoned and it could be a long walk back to Green River.

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By James McGillis at 10:50 AM | Travel | Comments (0) | Link