This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Lincoln Highway, and that has generated more traffic. "One fellow and his daughter from France came through recently," said Dennis. "And there was a man in a wheelchair who was going out to Fish Springs and wanted to see Orr's Ranch. There's a lot of interest in the old road still."

As you drive down the old Lincoln Highway from Johnson's Pass into Skull Valley, you might think that nothing much has changed in the past 90 years. Skull Valley is still sparsely populated, with only scattered clumps of trees. It's still pretty isolated. Tooele, the nearest big town, is 45 minutes away.

When the girls were growing up on the ranch, they moved into Grantsville in the winters to go to school. "Mother taught us to read using the newspaper," said Charlotte. "When I first went to Grantsville, I started in the third grade. Mother taught us well."

Doris, who came after her, didn't get to skip any grades. "We always kidded Doris that she wasn't as smart, but she had more fun," said Charlotte.

But during the summers, the girls helped on the ranch. "We used to go round up wild horses," said Doris. "There were four or five bands of them to the west."

In those days there was no electricity, no phone, no indoor plumbing. In fact, it wasn't until Shirley and Dennis moved back from Washington in 1964 to take over the ranch that some of those things were added.

Dugway changed things though, said Charlotte. Once the government put in the proving grounds in 1942, it brought schools and jobs closer to home.

The house where the girls grew up is still on the property, and as the women walk around it, they remember how an outside staircase led up to the second floor and argue about where the apple trees used to grow.

But it was a good place to grow up, they said. "Our day was way back, quite a while ago," mused Charlotte.

It's still a good place to live, said Dennis and Shirley. "We ran cows until 1995, when I had a heart attack. I loved that; I loved working cows." Now, he mostly raises alfalfa hay. "We have about 70 acres of alfalfa; the rest is sagebrush, grass and cow droppings."

The best thing about the valley? "I like the silence," said Dennis

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Contributing: John Clark

E-mail: carma@desnews.com