Independence Day Means Hanging Out in the Woods

For Fourth of July Weekend, I headed up to Great Basin National Park. It was wayyyy too hot to do anything in Vegas, so a weekend in the alpine forest and higher altitudes sounded perfect!  Great Basin is a somewhat-small and very in-the-middle-of-nowhere park, about 5 hours north of Vegas.  So why drive all the way up there? Here's a list.

Reasons to Visit Great Basin National Park

1) Lehman Cave- limestone cave you can tour!

2) Alpine forest- pine, spruce, fir, and aspen make you want to never leave.

3) Not very busy- it's a bit of a drive, so not too many people make it. More park to play in!

4) The highest point in Nevada- You can drive almost to the top of Wheeler Peak. Hike the rest.

5) Beautiful Wildflowers!- They were poppin' this weekend.

Hiking Buddy and I started our Great Basin fun by taking a candle-lit tour of Lehman Cave. The other two people who had reserved the tour no-showed, making it a private tour for us! This---candle-lit and small group---is definitely the best way to tour it (although the normal way is cool, too).  

After the tour we headed to our camp site, which we had picked along Snake Creek Road. At 6,600 feet above sea level, it was cool, but not too cold. Our tent was staked feet from a swift running creek with plenty of small ripples and waterfalls. Shaded by cottonwoods, and far from other campers, it felt as if we were the only people along the road.  There are actually quite a few primitive campsites along the road. They are separated from each other by plenty of woods, brush, and space, which makes it quite a different experience from campground camping.

Because Great Basin is pretty far from everywhere, the night sky is devoid of light pollution.  The stars twinkled fiercely, and the milky way was really visible. Hiking Buddy and I gazed at the stars until time for sleep. It was a great way to end our first day at Great Basin!

The next day we hiked among the aspens, spruce, fir and pine for most of the day. We spent a long time taking pictures of wildflowers like these:

And these!:

That evening the clouds started rolling in as we prepped for dinner. It was fun to watch the rain over the high mountains in between us and the storm. We "battened down the hatches" of our tent with extra rope and crawled in as the rain started falling around us. Luckily, the wind was mild, and there was almost no rain! On Sunday, we hiked up Osceola Ditch, which was built in the late 1800s to provide water to a mining town miles away. It didn't work so well for water carrying, but it makes a great hiking trail now!

Morale of the story: Great Basin is a great place to visit!

A Big Utah Camping Adventure!

A couple of weekends ago, Hiking Buddy and I spent the weekend in Utah. Yes, Utah. Land of the Mormons. What else is in Utah? The answer is:

BEAUTIFUL NATURAL LANDSCAPES

So, if you didn't think "Awesome!" when I said Utah the first time, I hope I can change that by the end of this post!

Driving from Las Vegas into Utah always fascinates me. You start out in a busy, crowded, sprawling city: asphalt, strip malls, and casinos as far as the eye can see, with cars jockeying for position on the interstate.  As you drive out of town, civilization fades quite suddenly into seemingly barren, desolate desert, where all you can see for miles is the highway in front of you, and the distant haze of the city you've escaped.  Traffic drops off and spreads out --- after all, there aren't very many exits out here, why crowd each other?  The Mojave Desert seems to be announcing a challenge as you journey across its surface: "That's right, just try to survive out here!"

(In reality, it's a place teeming with life, and quite interesting life at that. But that's for another story.)

You cruise along, the hot sun glaring down at you. And then all of a sudden, you're in Mesquite! Lots of trees, a golf course, and some casinos are sustained by a small river running by. And like a moment of deja vu passing, you're back in the desert. 

Next comes the Narrows. A short stretch of the highway that twists and winds its way through towers of craggy rocks, faulted and lifted into as many angles as you can imagine. After the vast, open expanses of desert, the Narrows make you feel infinitesimally small, as if the mountains could close in on you with nothing more than a sigh. As the canyon widens and the road rises up onto a flat valley, you feel as if you've been granted admission through the gates into a mysterious world.

Oh, hello Utah! Before you know it, you've passed through a small section of Arizona and into Utah, the Beehive State. Increasing in elevation, you continue North, reaching pinyon pine and juniper country. This drive, with the intense changes in vegetation, always makes me feel as if I'd traveled far.

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At Cedar City, we cut east along 14 to Cedar Breaks National Monument.  This road is awesome and I highly recommend driving it.  It winds through mountains edged with pines and aspens, strolls by open valley floors full of tall grasses, and barely hangs onto steep mountain sides. We reach the entrance to Cedar Breaks National Monument, and turn in. I'm pretty sure that Cedar Breaks National Monument wins the prize for being my favorite National Park (well, ok, second favorite, the #1 spot goes to Grand Teton).  Cedar Breaks is a small park, but the view from the main overlook is amazing! Driving further up to high elevations, we passed patches of snow, which was pretty amazing to us considering the 90/100 degree temperatures in Vegas. We almost ran over a marmot. Almost, so it was cool to see one. I think this was my first marmot!

My Hiking Buddy and I stopped at the visitor center and main overlook and looked for a while. Such a beautiful sight!

We didn't do any hiking while at Cedar Breaks. We still had more than an hour's drive to Bryce, and we were both still getting over some nasty colds.  BUT, there is a really nice hike from the visitor center area up into some bristlecone pines and glorious views. Bristlecone pines DO win the #1 spot for my favorite tree. Here's one, at Cedar Breaks, from a trip I took up there last fall:

Also while at Cedar Breaks, we found a yurt!!! I really like yurts, and one of my life goals is to spend a night in one.  Is that weird? Well, can you say you've been in a yurt??? I didn't think so!


So, onwards to Bryce Canyon National Park!  We had reservations in a campground, so that was our first major stop. On the way there, though, we saw pronghorn antelope, their scruffy winter coats starting to shed off, and Utah prairie dogs popping in and out of their burrows to the delight of several minivans full of vacationing families.

We set up camp and have dinner. The campground was really nice, and suuuuper quiet. Maybe a little too quiet, since I had been persuaded to bring my banjo along. I played for a bit anyway (although tried to not to make too much noise). The next day we woke up, and fixed breakfast. My first oatmeal experience! I was a bit hesitant, having been raised on grits. But it was really good! And easy to cook in camp. No longer shall I scoff at oatmeal eaters.

After packing up camp we drove around and saw the sights. Hoodoos are crazy!!! Here are some:

And here are some more!

We did a little bit of walking around, but no major hiking. Bryce is gorgeous! I highly recommend making a visit. Then we made the nice drive over to Zion.

Driving into Zion from the east, you travel through bright red sandstone created from ancient sand dunes. These sand dunes were part of a vast, dry desert, larger than the Sahara and drier than the current day Mojave Desert. These large rock walls are criss-crossed back and forth and up and down, evidence of changing wind directions through time.



We set up tent in a much busier, although still nice campground, and set to making hot dogs with sourkraut and mustard...mmmm hotdogs (vegetarian...they're really not bad!). We had a lazy morning the next day, and weren't feeling top notch after camping with head colds.  Hiking Buddy and I were determined to at least see some kind of sights while there, so we hopped on the bus and headed off to the Emerald Pools.

Rock Face above Emerald Pools

It was in the 90s, so we limited our hiking to that. Zion, which is a narrow canyon, has a major parking/car space problem. So, they've developed a bus system which allows visitors to hop on and off as much as they want, and eliminate traffic on the road in the park. It's great! 

After hiking, we decided to head on home. It was a really great weekend, and all three parks are absolutely beautiful places. Add them to your list of places to see!

A British Man Vomits, I Stand at the Lowest Point in North America, and a Bustling Ghost Town: Part 1

(A Trip to Death Valley National Park)

Death Valley National Park is located mostly in California (a bit in Nevada), and is the largest National Park outside of Alaska. That means it's BIG. It's also the location of some of the hottest temperatures anywhere and the lowest point in North America.  I thought that this seemed like the ideal place for a spring camping trip!

Surprisingly, quite a few others had the same idea.  My hiking buddy and I packed up all our camping gear and drove the 3 hours through the desert to, well, more desert. Traffic picks up as we near the first campground. The sign says "1 1/4 Full." Sure enough, it's overflowing with RV's and tents.  We have no better luck at the next campground. At this point, it's getting close to dusk. We're tired from the long car ride, it's starting to get dark, and we're getting worried about where we'll be sleeping.  At last, we arrive at Stovepipe Wells. We're told that all the other campgrounds are full, so this is our last hope.
This campground is crawling with RV's! We make our way by the tent sites along the edge of the giant rectangular dust and dirt parking lot, but alas, they're all overflowing! So, like a handful of other tent campers, we grab an RV spot and plop our tent down.  We choose a spot we think will be quiet---near some other tent campers in RV spots.  We couldn't have been more wrong!!!!

We get our tent up and supplies settled in. Our dinner plans--- grilled portobello mushroom sandwiches--- relied upon having a campfire, so we are stuck with dismal PB&J in a dismal, dusty parking lot.  We make up for our less than gourmet dinner by drinking our weekend's supply of beer as we sit in our camping chairs in front of an imaginary campfire, watching the night sky descend around us. Then it's off to bed, as grand adventures await us tomorrow.

Or so we think. Not long after we settle in for the night, our next door neighbors in this refugee-like tent village return.  Three men on motorcycles, two with thick British accents, begin (or continue) a night of drinking, guffawing, and overall being obnoxious.  One gentleman has obviously had his fill of drink and then some, and perhaps a lot of baked beans as well. The first time he lets an incredibly loud fart rip, we both have to stifle a laugh while at the same time in disbelief that such a sound could come from anyone's rear end. Impossible! Did we really hear that?! Why yes, there it goes again! And again! His companions must have held this fellow in high respect (or fear?), as no one said a word or laughed at all. The whole time, my hiking buddy and I are rolling in (almost) silent laughter in our tent.

Ah, peace at last. The motorcycling men fall into a drunken stupor into their tents, and all is quiet.

Except, wait. What's that noise?! Oooops. The other tents nearby us, until now vacant and lonely shells, are being swarmed by a hoard of excited Boy Scouts and their exhausted troop leaders, as they arrive from somewhere far away in California. Trailer doors are thrown open, boxes of gear dragged out, and tent stakes are pounded in with enthusiasm--- and much shouting over who's turn it is to do this, that, and the other. At one point, a "chaperon" yells to all those fine, young, polite boys that, being after 12:30 AM, they should be quiet. The commotion dies to a dull roar, and after about another hour, ceases.

Ah, peace at last?  We manage to drift off in slumber, dreaming of quiet campgrounds with stone-ringed fire pits and shady trees.

~ 4:00 AM: What is that??? Ohhhhhh NO! It's the flatulent British biker, rolling out of his tent to vomit and fart at the same time. At this point we are so tired of this ridiculous situation, we can't help but laugh out loud.

We awake early in the morning, not to sounds of birds chirping, or even lousy RV generators revving up. Forty eager Boy Scouts are dragging their gear boxes out of the trailers and trying their hardest to burn some scrambled eggs. My hiking buddy and I get up and pack up---there's no way we're staying here another night!  We cruise through the campground and find a real tent site on being vacated, and snatch it up. We set up things real quick to mark our territory, and head off to see some sights.

 More to come in Part Two of the story!