Walking Box cavern and Wolfhorn ranch

Nightstalkers are fearsome nocturnal predators created by splicing together coyote and rattlesnake DNA.
Fallout: New Vegas loading screen

In game, this area was an enemy minefield for me. Between the re-spawning Vipers to the Legion safehouse and raid camps being right on top of each other – plus the waves of four man assassin squads coming at me over and over – it was hard to get screenshots of these places, and those for the previous entry.

In real life, it is much less dangerous and quite lovely. Just this last December around Christmas we had a bizarre snowstorm! The entire area was covered in snow, which was really weird. I have driven through and hiked all over this area many times, but when there is snow on the ground, it is really disorienting. As if I was looking at a completely different place.

Locations

# 164 – Walking Box cavern
# 165 – Legion raid camp
# 170 – Wolfhorn ranch
# 171 – Raided farmstead
# 405 – Viper Gang ambush

Location Details

# 164 / 170 / 171 – Walking Box cavern / Wolfhorn ranch / Raided farmstead – This location, in name, is a sort of amalgamation of Walking Box Cavern and Wolfhorn Ranch and is located in the same physical place as the raided farmstead. It is called the Walking Box Ranch, and it was the former vacation home of two Hollywood stars from the 1930s – Rex Bell and Clara Bow. The rooms in the Nipton Hotel are named after these individuals as well. At least rooms 1-4. The room I request, room 5, has no name on the door.

You can visit it and have a tour of the main house and outbuildings, if you call ahead of time – you can click here for more information. If you do not need the whole tour, you can drive up to the gate and get a lay of the land. No 4×4 required, the dirt road is flat and smooth. Just hang a right off of Nevada 164 on to – you guessed it – Walking Box Ranch Road.

In in-game location is poised just south of the aforementioned curve of 164, but in our world it is farther east, inhabiting the in-game raided farmstead location instead.

Comparing the actual location Wolfhorn Ranch to our world reveals another set of ranches, to the south of NV-164 on what is called 7 Mile Road. From the state line heading east, you will travel almost 7 miles before turning left. Hmm. 7 miles. I wonder if this is a coincidence. This road goes in a loop through the Crescent Range, putting you back out on NV-164, but I only clocked 6 miles in this loop. So, I dunno! For this loop, it is a good idea to have a 4×4 vehicle.

A few other items of interest include a broken windmill in the similar location of the ranch, almost visible from the highway.

# 165 – Legion raid camp – I looked for the raid camp in the rolling foothills between Powerline Road to the west and the Highland Mountain Range to the east. Especially when comparing to the elevation of broc flower cave, it seems that it would be somewhere in the foothills as opposed to the valley.

About a mile west of the turn off to Walking Box Ranch, you will see another turn off to the north as opposed to the south towards the ranch. You will know you are in the right place when you see a sign that says Wee Thump and beyond that, a cattle guard and the remains of a ranch.

Continuing north, the road runs parallel with the foothills for about 4 miles until there another road intersects from the left (Wee Thump North Road). Continue straight into the wash and enjoy a bumpy and scenic ride through the foothills. You can see a handful of old wells (?) covered with corrugated metal to the right as you drive along. This is about where the raid camp would be.

The road continues to loop west and then south around another abandoned ranch, and meets up with Powerline Road once more thereafter.

# 405 – Viper Gang ambush – Towards the end of the game, these b-holes become more of a nuisance than anything. I am trying to look at the blue trucks and skelebones on the ground and they do nothing but distract me. In my current playthrough, I delighted in waiting for them to come down from the cliffs and fighting them with the fire axe I found in Searchlight.

In our world, this location is the combination of NV-164 and two hills surrounding it – to the north behind Bullion Spring and Golden Calf Mine and to the south behind Surveyors Spring. You will see a sort of turn off or shoulder on the right hand side, with Joshua trees poking up like little Viper heads. Although it is less canyon-like in our world, the elevation is accurate, steadily increasing as you move towards Searchlight.