Breaking in Your New Used Car
Explore the Ghost Town of St. Thomas at Lake Mead as a way to break in your new-to-you-used car.
One of the first things most people look forward to doing when they purchase a new used car is to take it for a longer or more challenging drive. Especially when that used car is a crossover SUV, a used pickup truck, or a more off-road capable SUV. You want to put your new to your new used car to the test.
We hope you found the car of your dreams. Whether is was a used Subaru Outback, a Ford Bronco, or a Jeep Wrangler you purchased. We also hope you found the car you were searching for at Stephen Wade Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram. If you did, you know the vehicle has been thoroughly inspected and is ready for its first adventure.
And we have a perfect suggestion for where to head on your first trip in your new used car.
An unexpected positive result of climate change and the drought that’s currently gripping the southwestern United States has been the reemergence of the ghost town of St. Thomas from beneath the waters of Lake Mead. Fall and spring are the perfect times to visit this amazing piece of history and for that reason, we’re featuring it as our Sunday Drive this week.
The History of the Ghost Town of St. Thomas
St. Thomas was settled by Mormon Pioneers in 1865. The town was built on relatively fertile land at the confluence of the Virgin and Muddy Rivers, 22 miles north of the Colorado River.
Unfortunately, the pioneer settlers believed they were still in Utah when they established their new town. A few years later, it was discovered they were actually residents of Nevada. After the discovery, Nevada authorities demanded five years worth of back taxes from the settlers. Unwilling to pay, most of the original settlers left St. Thomas and headed back to Utah.
The town continued to flourish, however. Until the construction of the Hoover Dam was completed in the 1930s. As the waters of Lake Mead began to rise, the residents of the town were forced to leave their homes. Eventually, when Lake Mead reached full pool, the town of St. Thomas was under 60 feet of water.
The Reemergence of St. Thomas
As the levels of Lake Mead have dropped in recent years, however, the town has reemerged from the depths. Today, you can walk amongst the ruins and the National Park Service has even installed interpretive signs to provide details of what life was like in St. Thomas.
It does take a bit of a hike to get down to the old townsite from the parking area. And during the summer months, the heat of southern Nevada can make the journey exponentially more difficult. But in the fall and spring, it’s a very pleasant hike with a ghost town at the end of the journey.
The road trip to St. Thomas in your new used car will give you a chance to see how the vehicle performs on the freeway, on graded dirt roads, and how it handles on some winding two-lane roads from Overton down to the shores of Lake Mead.
It is a great way to get a feel for your new used car and discover what it’s capable of.
How to Get There
To get there, head south on I-15 to the Moapa Valley exit, Exit 93 in Nevada. Travel south to the entrance station for the Overton Arm of Lake Mead. Just past the entrance station, there’s a dirt road on your left, the Old St. Thomas Road. You’ll travel a little over three miles east on what is a pretty well-maintained and graded dirt road to reach the trailhead. For more information visit nps.gov/lake/learn/nature/st-thomas-nevada.htm
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