Souvenirs From The Road: Day 23 - Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Day 23 - Great Basin National Park, Nevada

We haven't seen our National Parks passport since getting it stamped at Mt. Ranier. I sure hope it will show up.

Coming into Great Basin you wonder at the on set - how could this be such a great place? It looks like mountains and desert. We stop at the Visitor Center in Baker. Then I convince Ron that we will drive up the scenic road at least as far as the 2nd campgroud and then we'll see what feels right.

What was right was Camp site #1 at the Upper Lehman Creek Campground. It backs up on the creek. We off loaded the camper to head up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive- 10,000 feet. Where's the air????? Heck, our campsite is at 7,752 feet. Haven't camped this high the entire trip.

We did some easy trails. Heck - can't breathe good enough for anything else! There are aspen trees up here and they are all turning fall colors - gorgeous!!

Came back to the campsite to enjoy this little piece of Heaven on Earth. Put our chairs by the tumbling creek. Brought our books to read. I decided to sit on a rock in the creek and soak my feet - man, was it cold!!! Then Ron gets my attention. There is a whole herd of mule deer walking between us. This young buck, still in velvet, stands 5 feet from me trying to figure out why I'm in his watering hole, I guess. I couldn't decide if he was going to be my friend or not. Awesome! He finally jumps the creek. Such a nice evening.

This park is young, established in 1986. It includes much of the South Snake Range. From sagebrush at it's base to Wheeler's Peak, 13,063 summit, there are lakes, streams, wildlife, varied forests and caves.

And - this is the best place to star gaze! They say they have the least amount of light pollution here in the U.S. Unfortunately, the moon is about 3/4 full. We'll check during the night.