When we set off on this journey to visit national parks in Utah, I did not plan to do a blog about it, mainly because I didn't think we'd have much high speed internet time, and we haven't. But, as time has gone on and we've seen so many amazing sites, I decided I wanted to share some of our adventures. So I decided to work on a blog when I could. Most of it will probably be done when we get home.
September 9, 2015
Although my focus was on the five national parks in Utah, it meant traveling through Nevada, so what better place to begin than at Nevada's one and only national park - Great Basin. Something else I had always wanted to do was drive on U.S. Hwy. 50, on the section dubbed the "Loneliest Road in America" in 1986 by Life magazine. So a drive across Nevada on Hwy. 50 brought us to Great Basin National Park. I had no idea what to expect. Hwy. 50 , with very little traffic and very few towns across high desert, was rather desolate but an enjoyable drive.
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| Hwy. 50, somewhere in Nevada |
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| Austin, Nevada. Population: 192 (in 2010) |
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Eureka, Nevada. Population: 610 (2010 census)
the largest community in Eureka County |
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| Along Hwy. 50 in Nevada |
Great Basin National Park was established in 1986. The altitude of the park ranges from about 6,800+/- feet to 13,063 feet at Wheeler Peak. It is home to an ancient bristlecone pine forest and to the spectacular Lehman Caves.
We had hoped to stay in one of the campgrounds at the park but after finding only one site that we could fit in (there were others but they were taken), it was impossible to level the motorhome. Well, if you count ALL but one tire OFF the ground and the step about 2 1/2 feet above ground, then I guess you could say we were level! Needless to say that wasn't going to work so we packed it up and went to Whispering Elms RV Park and Motel in Baker, Nevada. The next two pictures are a couple of the "finer" sites in Baker!
Now, back to Great Basin National Park. One of the hikes we did was the Bristlecone Trail, a 2.8 mile round-trip hike with an elevation gain of 600 feet. It doesn't sound like much but when the trail starts at 9,800 feet, it was quite breathtaking, literally!
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| An ancient bristlecone pine |
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| Another ancient bristlecone pine |
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| And yet another, I was fascinated by the patterns in this tree. |
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| On the Bristlecone Trail |
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| On the road to Wheeler Peak, the aspens were changing colors |
Lehman Caves was discovered in 1885 by Absalom Lehman, although Native Americans knew about the cave long before that. Lehman Caves became a national monument in 1922 when President Warren G. Harding issued a presidential proclamation. In 1986 when Great Basin National Park was created, it included Lehman Caves National Monument.
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| Lehman Caves |
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| Lehman Caves |
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| Lehman Caves |
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| Lehman Caves |
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| Lehman Caves |
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| Lehman Caves |
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| Lehman Caves |
We took another hike on the Baker Creek Loop trail which was 3.1 miles round trip with an 870' elevation gain, starting at 8,000 feet.
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| Baker Creek |
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| Baker Creek Trail |
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| Baker Creek Trail |
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| Baker Creek Trail |
And last, but not least, a couple of miscellaneous pictures from the area.
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That's a horse head skeleton behind the wheel, thus the horse
with no mane! |
It looks as if each park is going to have its own post, so stay tuned. I'll get to the next park when I have high speed internet again.
