Great Basin National Park

As a testament to how exhausted we were after an all-day drive, we slept obscenely late (6am) and missed hearing heavy downpours overnight. By the time we finished our excellent breakfast at the Lectrolux, the skies were bright and blue. Perfect weather to...go underground!

So we drove into Great Basin National Park to tour Lehman Caves. We have been in quite a few cave tours, so had a pretty good idea what we would see. However, Lehman has some quite spectacular features we have not seen in any other caves, such as Shield Formations and Bulbous Stalactites...both of which are created by causes unknown. Another difference we really appreciated was how up close and personal you can get with all these wonderful cave creations. Although there are some large spectacular rooms with thousands of stalactites/stalagmites of all sizes, there are many passageways where you are carefully inching past these fantastic formations. So you can see the delicate and intricate works of nature much more intimately than in other caves.  This tour was also particularly interesting to Colleen because my mom lived in Ely as a child in the 1920's.  She loved the caves and our guide included some interesting history of the caves and the area on our tour.
One item of amusement: when Mr. Lehman first started promoting visitors to the cave over 100 years ago, he offered the following deal: For $1 you would get a rough map and a candle lantern, and the promise that if you weren't back in 24 hours, he'd come looking for you. His policy regarding the formations in the cave would horrify any conservationist. Basically it was "If you can break it you can take it". Consequently, there are quite a few broken stalactites that show about 100 years more growth on the bottom.

Shield Formations

After our cave tour we drove into the park climbing through spectacular scenery to above 10,000 feet elevation.

Our objective was the hike to see Bristlecone Pines.

Some individuals of this species are considered to be the oldest living things on earth.  We saw one today, still living, that is 3300 years old.

These trees survive in the most adverse conditions.  The trees we saw today live 2.8 miles and 600 vertical feet from the parking lot and the parking lot is above 10,000 feet.  For creatures like us who live barely above sea level the elevation was quite noticeable, but the climb was well worth it, and a good start for us to acclimate to the higher elevations we will be visiting over the next month and a half.

On our way into the park we had noticed some odd objects attached to fences, so on our way back down we investigated more closely. Someone has created a whole series of whimsical artworks along the roadside. We're not sure if it the work of one playful soul, or a community project. But there are dozens of these displays, all crafted from junk.

Speaking of junk, one thing that really impressed us with Great Basin National Park is the absence of it. We saw no litter, no graffiti, no human detritus at all during our time there. One would expect that on the Bristlecone Pines, some moron would have felt compelled to carve his name or initials or his undying love for someone he breaks up with next week. But surprisingly, we saw none of that. It is a beautiful park, and (so far at least) the visitors seem to be keeping it that way.

Our host made us a fantastic pizza for dinner, and the remnants shall make a fantastic lunch tomorrow when we head into Utah.