Our annual NP road trip took us to the great state of Nevada this year;)
Bailee's nomination won the most votes. Typically these excursions are planned for the summer months, but there was far more appeal to traveling there in the fall.
Great Basin NP was different from our past parks in that it isn't abundant with attractions and things to see or do. We were looking forward to a slower paced road trip.
We camped at Grey Cliffs, the only campground in the park that takes reservations.
Lehman Caves is really the big attraction in the park. Waiting for our tour to start and trying to get the guide in the pic for Bay to send to her friend;)
The cave (single cave despite the name) was discovered around 1885 by Absalom Lehman and extends about a quarter mile into limestone and marble.
It is one of the most decorated caves in the region with formations like, stalactites, stalagmites, columns, draperies, flowstone. popcorn, soda straws and shields.... just a little science for you!
Gramma Cheryl was super excited about us going here since she visited when she was a child. She told us at that time they just drove right up to the entrance. It was pretty all around amazing!
Exiting the cave
What the park lacked in exciting attractions, it made up for in solitude and fall colors.
For a fall lover like myself, it was a dream
We did a fair amount of hiking and ended up combining two of the hikes we had planned on when we realized they overlapped each other. The Alpine Lakes trail is about 3 miles took us to both Stella and Teresa Lakes.
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| taking a break at Teresa Lake |
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| I think this one is Stella ... |
A view of all the color from up high
The trail loops and at one point veers off joining Bristlecone and Glacier Trails for a couple more miles. These trees are AMAZING!!
They are the longest living-trees and are known for their ability to survive in adverse growing conditions.
We had planned to go further to see the only glacier in Nevada. Some hikers who were coming down told us that the trail gets pretty rocky and they weren't able to get a great view of the glacier. Honestly, we were pretty wiped out by then, so we took their word for it.
We returned from our day of exploring to find our camp nearly blown away. Apparently (since we didn't experience it where we were), it had been windy enough at the campground to blow our tents over ... which were staked and full of sleeping gear. We had the most insane ... and unbearable windy night in the tents. So intense that it made sleep impossible. You could actually feel the sand/dirt blowing in from under the rainfly. In the morning everything/body was covered!!
Our last day we decided to hike the Osceola Ditch Trail.
The 18 mile ditch was dug in 1889 for the purpose of transporting water for mining in Osceola. Mining efforts failed and by early 1900 it was no longer in use.
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| remnants of an old flume |
We had a day of driving ahead but we had heard about the town of Frisco at the Visitors Center.
We were all pretty caught up in the mining history and decided to check out this Ghost Town.
It took us out of the way and it is not easy to find without some specific instructions. It was cool and a little creepy ... as ghost towns generally are.
Although not a soul in site or any sign of life, I thought it was interesting that many of the graves at the cemetery were decorated with flowers or other objects.
The town started as a Silver Mine and was prosperous until 1929 when it all but shut down.
Littered with remnants of what used to be, it's hard to believe that this was once a thriving town of 6,000. I loved walking around and imagining the lives of those that called this place home. Glad we took this detour.
One part of our trip I didn't get pictures of, but is part of what GBNP is famous for is the night skies. It has been designated the International Dark Sky Park. We went to an astronomy program one evening at the Visitors Center where we were able to look through high powered telescopes. The area boast some of the darkest night skies left in the United States.
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| not my photo;) |
We traveled home through Heber, my dads hometown and where my grandparents spent their entire lives. We made a stop at the cemetery.
And drove by their house. Funny how I almost feel sad/angry that someone else is living there. It's like they(the new owners) have taken something that doesn't belong to them. I love Heber, but the more it grows the less familiar it feels to me. I am so glad I can return to the original part of town, their home and surrounding blocks to relive my memories.
