We stopped for two nights at the Border Inn and Campground in Baker, Nevada. After driving 300 miles south from Twin Falls, we followed US 50, aka "The Loneliest Road" to this tiny town in the middle of nowhere.
Great Basin National Park is a great little place. The National Park is so named for its lack of drainage. Its streams and rivers mostly find no outlet to the sea. The actual basin, centered on Nevada, stretches from California's Sierra Nevada Mountains to Utah's Wasatch Mountains. Founded as a National Park in 1986, the park offers two main activities; the beautiful Lehman Caves and the 12 mile Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive.
LEHMAN CAVES
We made reservations online for the 90 minute Grand Palace Tour of this ornate marble cave.
Lehman Cave Natural Entrance, discovered in 1885.
This is a cave shield called a Parachute.
WHEELER PEAK SCENIC DRIVE
View of 13,063 foot Wheeler Peak from the Mather Overlook.
BRISTLECONE TRAIL
The scenic drive ends at the base of Wheeler Peak. From that point, at over 10,000 feet, there are several trail heads. We decided on the 4.5 mile Bristlecone/Glacier Trail. This trail ascends into an ancient tree grove. These Bristlecone pines have twisted trunks that have been carved and polished by wind-driven snow and ice. Some of these trees are over 4,000 years old. The oldest one, Prometheus, lived for almost 5,000 years until it was cut down in 1964 as part of a climate study before this was a National Park.
The dead Bristlecone Pines may remain standing for over 500 years.
Even after most of its trunk and branches die, a Bristlecone pine can continue to survive.
Bristlecone Pine Interpretive Trail.
The tree holds onto its needles for 20 to 30 years.
We saw this mule deer as we started down the mountain.
No comments:
Post a Comment