Great Basin National Park

We have spent the last two days (Saturday and Sunday, October 1 & 2) in Great Basin National Park. We learned it is called the Great Basin because it is a vast region of sagebrush- covered valleys and narrow mountain ranges in which almost all the water flows inland and none flows to the sea. Therefore it is a region of shallow salt lakes, marshes, and mud flats formed when the water evaporates in the hot desert air. This area is a series of broad basins hung between craggy mountain ranges. The National Park is a beautiful park and I would highly recommend it. Unfortunately, we did not have the best weather – it was quite cold and extremely windy.

The two main things to do in this park are to drive the scenic road to almost 10,000 feet up Wheeler Peak and to tour Lehman Caves. So, on Saturday we did the drive up the mountain. We went from pinyon-juniper woodlands to an aspen lined creek bed.
The aspen trees are all turning yellow and quite spectacular. Other trees we passed were mahogany, Manzanita, Englemann spruce, and Douglas fir. We had vista views into the valleys and of the small glacier still left on Wheeler Peak.

Don at Wheeler Peak

At the top of the scenic drive are several walks. The most intrepid can hike up to the top of the mountain. Others can walk in and see a grove of 3000 year old bristlecone pines or view two alpine lakes. However, we were feeling the altitude and decided to just enjoy the drive.

On Sunday, we got to the visitor center early to purchase tickets for the 10 a.m. cave tour. The hills in the lower elevations are mainly limestone and there are many caves. This one was discovered in 1885 by Ab Leyman and is the most highly decorated. We learned about all the formations – stalactites, stalagmites, columns, helictites (look it up), draperies, flowstone, cave popcorn, soda straws, and shields. We spent 90 minutes underground and it only seemed like minutes. How do you like that – from 9000 feet up to 200 feet under ground!

We also got involved in hunting for pinyon pine nuts. This is the season when the pinyon pines drop their cones which are filled with these delectable treats. Unfortunately, the squirrels seem to have beat us to the best ones, but we did find a few to try. Somehow, it seemed like more work than it was worth and we soon gave up.