Rambling

Days 55 &56-July 23 & 24

Up and out as we head for another national park. Our plan was to ride through the park and then head on into Utah for the last week or so of our trip. When we arrived at the visitor center in Baxer our plans changed abruptly. The educational area at this visitor center is one of the best we have seen at any of the parks we have visited this summer. It was full of very interesting information about what we would find at Great Basin. When I read the display about stargazing I knew I had to stay at least one night in the park. This area is one of the best locations in the continental U.S. for viewing the night sky. Let's face it we are out in the middle of nowhere, so there is not very much artificial light to effect star viewing. The very helpful ranger encouraged us to try to get a campsite and spend a couple of days seeing the park. This is a holiday weekend for residents of Utah so we were very lucky to find a site available at Lower Lehman Creek campground. The creek runs right beside the campsite and with the snow melt it is so loud you can hear it even inside the camper.
In the south end of the park there is an arch that can only be reached by a dirt road and then a 3 mile hike. Sounds like fun, so off we go. Jess has a few new scratches on his truck where the bushes grew so close to the road that we rubbed on both sides as we squeezed by. He swears it was worth the trip. The hike was a little more strenuous than our usual, but the view from the top was amazing. We are at such a high elevation that breathing going up steep hills can be a challenge. The best part of the whole excursion was that we were entirely alone. Of course a heart attack at this point may be a problem since we have had no cell coverage since arriving in the park. Anyway Lexington Arch was beautiful and it was all ours for this moment in time.
After getting back to camp we discovered that there was going to be a Stargazing program offered by rangers at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center that evening. They provided telescopes that enabled us to see Saturn, some double stars, and even galaxies beyond the Milky Way. What a wonderful evening as we joined other campers for this amazing show.
We began Sunday with a tour of Lehman Caves. We have toured many caves over the years, but this one is truly awesome. It contains a rich display of formations, both the familiar like stalactites and stalagmites and many that were new to us like the shields that the cave is most famous for. The abundance of formations is unbelievable as there is something to marvel over at every turn.
Our afternoon was spent hiking to another awe inspiring sight. We drove up to the base of Wheeler Peak where we struck out to see the Bristlecone Pine forest. These trees are believed to be the oldest living things in the world. Many of them in this area are estimated to be as much as 4000 years old and are still alive. The oldest Bristlecone Pines live along the tree line where they struggle to survive in the harshest environment possible. Scientists believe that this endurance is what contributes to their longevity. It is humbling to look up at the gnarly branches and know that they were already here many years before Christ walked on the Earth. Jess reluctantly left the trees behind as we continued our walk to see some alpine lakes that are formed from the snow melt. We ended our travels in a beautiful aspen forest. The museum had a display showing carvings on the trunks of aspen trees that had been done many years ago by sheepherders living in the area. The display said that some of the carvings that had been found were of nude women. I searched for the examples of this artistic talent but didn't find any.
Considering we had just planned for a quick drive through, we are very glad we took the time to enjoy all this park had to offer.