Great Basin National Park, Nevada – named a National Park in 1986.
This park is not one of the more “popular” parks by any stretch of the imagination and although it is close to the Nevada/Utah border it really isn’t “close” to anything. Our journey began in Reno traveling across the “loneliest” Highway in America (Highway 50) we found our destination to be well worth the effort.
First of all, Highway 50 may be lonely, but it is far from the “loneliest” and it is diverse in scenery. For one thing, we learned Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state, and after traveling Highway 50 you become a believer! We crossed so many mountainous roads only to come into another valley. We both found the trip well worth it and fun to boot. Yes, we did stop at the cottonwood tree to add a pair of old shoes to the tree! What a hoot! The last stretch seemed the furthest southeast, out of Ely where we had stopped to look at few of the exotic cars passing through on one of their runs.
The road stretched out before us with Mount Wheeler glaring down at us, and it was easy to see this was the spot we were looking for, because of the tree line ending and this monster looming above. The road did weave around and come to a very dry stretch on the north side, and eventually we found our way into this newest National Park. There is no entry fee, so we came directly to our camp ground which is at 7,200 ft. The sites are nice enough, but don’t think any of them are level. We had a heck of time getting level. We did find a lovely spot right next to Lehman creek though and on a walk through the campground we spied two deer. A young buck with velvet looked up at me from the bushes and we both were a bit startled, but fortunately he did not run off and I gained my wits so as not to scare him off!
Later we took a drive over to the Visitor Center to get acquainted with the parks features and took a long dusty road out to see the “gray cliffs”. These marvels are a bit of a freak – just a long stretch of gray cliffs with aspens tucked in below to give off some color.
The start of our first full day here at this park we were overjoyed to see a group of about 5 or 6 deer in our campsite. Again this young buck and I looked at each other and he backed off towards the creek, but I gained my wits about me and was able to snap a few pictures of his mates. How cool is that? Afterwards we headed off once again to the Visitor Center to get in line for our tour of the Lehman Cave.
The cave was discovered in 1885 by Absalom Lehman. This guy crawled around in this vast cave and broke off columns and led tours and promised people a piece of the stalagmites, etc. Although the cave was abused by him and the next two people, the “Rhodes”, who took over selling tours in the 1920’s, the cave came into the National Park system in the 1930’s and the cave was soon on the right road to recovery.
We have been in a number of caves and we both felt this was one of the very best, if not the best. Not because the columns, shields, draperies, soda straws, slabs of bacon, and turnips were so cool, which they are, but you get right up close and personal in this cave. There are railings and they do not want you to touch anything if at all possible, but there are sections very narrow with low ceilings that make it tight. It is colorful and varied and still alive and absolutely a wonder. Mostly a wonder to me is how the water seeps in and goes to work in a cave like this as a work of art when we are in the driest and harsh areas of the country. Truly amazing and the tour guide was excellent. One of the best features is this tour was very reasonable at only $10.00 per person for the 90 minute tour and you get half off with a senior parks pass! Can’t beat that and you get to see all the areas. Children are somewhat restricted on this tour due to the length of the tour.
After the tour, we took the scenic drive up to Wheeler Peak Campground trailhead and began our 2.7 mile hike beginning at 9700ft. This was loop trail that took us through aspen groves and old bristle cone trees and past lake Stella at 10,238 ft and lake Teresa at 10,230ft. This hike was awesome! Well worth the time and effort walking up through that thin air! I thought I was in trouble not being in the best of shape, but goodness sakes alive what a beautiful walk! These trees have been reported to live as old as 4900yrs! If that isn’t awesome enough, seeing these two small alpine lakes that are so high no fish can live in them is a real treat. Besides all that, when we came around the bend and spotted lake Teresa we also spied two deer on the edge of the lake taking a drink and nibbling at the forest floor. They both looked up and went on eating so don’t think they thought they were in danger. It was one of the prettiest sights I have ever known. Talk about serene and remote!
A truly wonderful experience and so thankful we took this hike, although I must say I could feel those muscles in my legs before we reached the car to wind our way back down this scenic mountainside.
Our timing was good here being early fall with the aspens in the higher elevation taking on their fall dress and dancing in the sunlight to the breeze passing by. They were a truly marvelous sight all by themselves and not being familiar with this type of tree was a wonder too. They have to live in very harsh winters and dry hot summers and through it all their leaves dance to a tune all their own.
This park is not one of the more “popular” parks by any stretch of the imagination and although it is close to the Nevada/Utah border it really isn’t “close” to anything. Our journey began in Reno traveling across the “loneliest” Highway in America (Highway 50) we found our destination to be well worth the effort.
First of all, Highway 50 may be lonely, but it is far from the “loneliest” and it is diverse in scenery. For one thing, we learned Nevada has more mountain ranges than any other state, and after traveling Highway 50 you become a believer! We crossed so many mountainous roads only to come into another valley. We both found the trip well worth it and fun to boot. Yes, we did stop at the cottonwood tree to add a pair of old shoes to the tree! What a hoot! The last stretch seemed the furthest southeast, out of Ely where we had stopped to look at few of the exotic cars passing through on one of their runs.
The road stretched out before us with Mount Wheeler glaring down at us, and it was easy to see this was the spot we were looking for, because of the tree line ending and this monster looming above. The road did weave around and come to a very dry stretch on the north side, and eventually we found our way into this newest National Park. There is no entry fee, so we came directly to our camp ground which is at 7,200 ft. The sites are nice enough, but don’t think any of them are level. We had a heck of time getting level. We did find a lovely spot right next to Lehman creek though and on a walk through the campground we spied two deer. A young buck with velvet looked up at me from the bushes and we both were a bit startled, but fortunately he did not run off and I gained my wits so as not to scare him off!
Later we took a drive over to the Visitor Center to get acquainted with the parks features and took a long dusty road out to see the “gray cliffs”. These marvels are a bit of a freak – just a long stretch of gray cliffs with aspens tucked in below to give off some color.
The start of our first full day here at this park we were overjoyed to see a group of about 5 or 6 deer in our campsite. Again this young buck and I looked at each other and he backed off towards the creek, but I gained my wits about me and was able to snap a few pictures of his mates. How cool is that? Afterwards we headed off once again to the Visitor Center to get in line for our tour of the Lehman Cave.
The cave was discovered in 1885 by Absalom Lehman. This guy crawled around in this vast cave and broke off columns and led tours and promised people a piece of the stalagmites, etc. Although the cave was abused by him and the next two people, the “Rhodes”, who took over selling tours in the 1920’s, the cave came into the National Park system in the 1930’s and the cave was soon on the right road to recovery.
We have been in a number of caves and we both felt this was one of the very best, if not the best. Not because the columns, shields, draperies, soda straws, slabs of bacon, and turnips were so cool, which they are, but you get right up close and personal in this cave. There are railings and they do not want you to touch anything if at all possible, but there are sections very narrow with low ceilings that make it tight. It is colorful and varied and still alive and absolutely a wonder. Mostly a wonder to me is how the water seeps in and goes to work in a cave like this as a work of art when we are in the driest and harsh areas of the country. Truly amazing and the tour guide was excellent. One of the best features is this tour was very reasonable at only $10.00 per person for the 90 minute tour and you get half off with a senior parks pass! Can’t beat that and you get to see all the areas. Children are somewhat restricted on this tour due to the length of the tour.
After the tour, we took the scenic drive up to Wheeler Peak Campground trailhead and began our 2.7 mile hike beginning at 9700ft. This was loop trail that took us through aspen groves and old bristle cone trees and past lake Stella at 10,238 ft and lake Teresa at 10,230ft. This hike was awesome! Well worth the time and effort walking up through that thin air! I thought I was in trouble not being in the best of shape, but goodness sakes alive what a beautiful walk! These trees have been reported to live as old as 4900yrs! If that isn’t awesome enough, seeing these two small alpine lakes that are so high no fish can live in them is a real treat. Besides all that, when we came around the bend and spotted lake Teresa we also spied two deer on the edge of the lake taking a drink and nibbling at the forest floor. They both looked up and went on eating so don’t think they thought they were in danger. It was one of the prettiest sights I have ever known. Talk about serene and remote!
A truly wonderful experience and so thankful we took this hike, although I must say I could feel those muscles in my legs before we reached the car to wind our way back down this scenic mountainside.
Our timing was good here being early fall with the aspens in the higher elevation taking on their fall dress and dancing in the sunlight to the breeze passing by. They were a truly marvelous sight all by themselves and not being familiar with this type of tree was a wonder too. They have to live in very harsh winters and dry hot summers and through it all their leaves dance to a tune all their own.
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