Valliceto Station

Tale from Cynthia

"Though we did not see the the ghosts that are reported to have been seen here we did see one. We went to the station on Halloween night in 2000. We were the only ones there except for the Ranger who was some distance from our camp spot. We stayed up most of the night just talking and hoping to see the white lady the most famous ghost of the area. Not long after our arrival a pay phone close to our site started ringing. Joking I went and answered it with of course no one on the other end. This happened many times through the night making me look at the phone from time to time. At about 3:00 in the morning I looked over and right next to our camp I could see a man on his knees with a lantern in one hand and a short handled shovel in the other. He was wearing a white peasant type shirt and what looked like riding breeches. With tall boots. He was digging and kept looking over his shoulder, like he was worried someone would come up behind him. He looked nervous and furtive. Behind him we could see what looked like a burlap type cloth tent. We do not know how long it lasted for but suddenly he stopped and looked right at us. Then diappeared. The next day we found out that Years before it was a station it was a camp for the spanish conquistadors. Perhaps it is a ghost of one of them. We also learned the little hill that has the three graves on it is actualy where many people are buried that died there over the years. From Indians that lived in the area to the spanish and many others. And that is how the little hill was formed.

Here is the full story on the station.
One of the ghostly tales is the specter of the White Horse of Vallecito that allegedly began with a stage robbery long ago. When the stage was traveling on its way to Vallecito Station, four men on horseback held it up just before it reached Carrizo Wash. With guns pointed at the stage, the driver gave up a box containing some $65,000 and the bandits imme diately fled. However, as they were fleeing, the stage driver fired one shot, hitting one of the bandits. Once the rest of the robbers were gone he carefully approached the man he had shot and was surprised to find not one, but two dead bandits. The driver concluded that the gang leader had perhaps shot one of his own men in order to keep a greater percentage of the loot.

The two remaining bandits rode on towards Vallecito Station, stopping somewhere in between to bury their ill-gotten gains.When they arrived at the stage station, they stopped for food and drink and while there began to argue. According to the tale, the bandit leader then excused himself for a moment, promising to continue the discussion when he returned. A few moments later, he rode through the doorway mounted on his big white stallion and shot the other bandit. However as the wounded man returned fire and the leader fell dead from his horse. Spooked by the blasts of t he guns, the white horse ran through the door and out into the nearby hills. Today it is said that the ghost of the White Horse continues to roam the hills near where the bandits buried their loot. Usually appearing around midnight, the White Horse seemingly appears out of nowhere, before galloping through the sand and disappearing once again.