May 10, 2013 - At Great Basin National Park

Thursday was mostly a travel day, traveling to Great Basin National Park outside of Baker (population 54) just inside the Nevada state line. This area is called the Great Basin because all the rain and the snowmelt drains into the basin and does not flow to the sea. The Great Basin itself includes parts of California, Utah, Wyoming, Oregon, and almost all of Nevada—20 percent of the land mass of the lower 48 states! Great Basin National Park is just a small part of the entire Great Basin ecosystem. We had time to take the scenic drive up...

Jun 20, 2012 - Great Basin NP, NV (Day 4) - A Relaxing Day at Home in Great Basin NP

(Ron Writing) We spent most of the day relaxing at home and enjoying our beautiful campsite today. We did take a short hike on a trail that runs between Lower Lehman Creek campground and Upper Lehman Creek campground. This trail is only about 1 ½ miles round trip and there is about 450’ of elevation gain. It’s a nice hike right along the creek through a forested area with a wide variety of trees and wild flowers. It was good exercise and very enjoyable. Along the trail we picked up some dead and downed firewood that we brought back so we...

Jun 19, 2012 - Great Basin NP, NV (Day 3) - A Hike Among VERY Old Trees

We are staying at the lowest campground in Great Basin NP, Lower Lehman Creek, which is at 7,300’ elevation. This morning we drove on up the park road to explore the higher country. A short distance up the road is the Upper Lehman Creek campground at about 7,750’. We drove around that campground just to see what it is like. It’s a larger campground but the sites are smaller than where we are camped. The park road is very steep with an 8% grade that goes on for several miles. Our next stop was the Mather Overlook where we had a nice view of...

Jun 18, 2012 - Great Basin NP, NV (Day 2) - Lehman Cave Tour

(Ron Writing) I think we’ll always remember our campsite here in Great Basin NP as one of the very nicest we’ve found. We love the sound of the water flowing through Lehman Creek just a few feet from the trailer, the wildflowers, the large variety of grasses and trees, the variety of birds and the widely separated sites. This morning we drove over to the Lehman Cave Visitor Center. Lehman Cave is within the park but was operated as a tourist attraction long before the surrounding area became a national park. Today we took a 1½ hour tour of...

Jun 17, 2012 - Great Basin National Park, NV - A Great Campsite

(Ron Writing) It was pretty warm yesterday at Border, NV where we spent the night. It was forecast to be several degrees warmer today and by mid-morning it was getting hot. We left Border, which is a little below 5,000’ elevation and headed for nearby Great Basin National Park. This is one of those parks that just doesn’t ever seem to be along the way to somewhere else and has always seemed to be so far out of the way when we’ve been in this part of the country. This time we decided to spend some time there. We stopped by the visitor center...

Jun 19, 2011 - Great Basin NP NV 6/8/2011

We drove into Nevada today and could see snow capped mountains ahead of us. Pulled into a campground in Baker UT near the Great Basin today and are about 4700'. We went into the park by driving part way up the mountains to about 6000'. Went thru Lehman Caves - amazing, extensive, underground caves with beautiful stalagtites, stalagmites, and shapes unique to Lehman Caves - shields and some called parachutes. The shields are formed when water, under pressure, comes thru a crack and fans out like when you put your thumb over the end of the...

Apr 24, 2011 - Virginia City to Great Basin NP

Reno does not have the pazazz of Las Vegas/Fremont Street! The sidewalks are overshadowed by an abundance of "raw earth"-vagrants! Desiring to leave town on a more upbeat memory, we revisited Virginia City. A few days earlier the winds were strong and cold. Sunday, April 17, the weather was sunny and pleasant. The town focuses on historical preservation, complete with period docents strolling the board sidewalks. This area is more noted for silver and copper mining. Every direction there is evidence of continued mining. We did not get an...

Oct 19, 2010 - More Great Basin

Woke up early this morning, before the sun rise and was treated to a star filled sky, the clouds covering the peaks were gone. Although 34 degrees outside, I stepped out to view the stars, yes in my PJ, but I did not lock the trailer door. However after enjoying the view, briefly, I returned to the warm bed. One advantage of traveling through 3 time zones, no guilt feelings for sleeping late, as I have no clue of the time of day when I awake. The views this morning were entirely different than yesterday as the clouds on the peaks had...

Oct 18, 2010 - Great Basin National Park

Surprise I am not in Zion, UT. I arrived at Great Basin NP this afternoon, after a conversation with a waitress in Nephi, UT (her sister lives in Nemo, TX, small world) is wonderful, a real surprise. I was doubtful on the way over through the desert, but it is a wonder. I don't have a NV fishing license or I would stay another day and fish the streams. If Cousin Milton and Shirlene were here we could do the Wheeler Peak Trail, 8.2 miles with a 2,900 ft gain in elevation. The summit is at 13,063 feet, and there is snow on the ground. I have...

Sep 24, 2010 - Great Basin Nat'l Park

A very busy day. We drove to Baker, NV and visited the information center for Great Basin National Park. The fall colors were in their peak and the golden aspens stood out in glorious splendor. We drove the scenic drive to near the top of Mt. Wheeler which rises an impressive 13063 feet. We drove to about 10,000 feet on a whipsaw narrow two lane road which wound for 12 miles. We passed through several vegetation zones unique to each altitude range-from dessert barren sagebrush to sub alpine forest. Each layer has its own unique flora and...

Sep 11, 2010 - Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Drove to the "Great Basin National Park" in just 60 minutes from Ely so we parked/camped overnight close by, went into the park and drove the scenic route around a portion of the park and went 10,500 feet high - truly wonderful drive with breath taking vista's. After the drive we went back to the visitor center to take a 90 min. ranger tour of "Lehman's Caves" that are part of the park. Had a great time walking through the small tunnels and seeing the caves decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, flowstone, popcorn, and over...

Jun 17, 2010 - Freezing Night Camping

We spent a FREEZING Night camping! It got down to 35 degrees! It was quite remarkable and beautiful, just what camping should be like! The site was perfect and the boys explored everywhere and playing freely! I will post pictures soon and more updates. We made it to Stockton and have been enjoying our time here. It may be tomorrow or Wednesday before I get to post updated stuff and pics, but I didn't want to leave you hanging! We are headed to Yosemite today and ready for more great scenery and fun! Talk to you soon!