Great Basin National Park

Unless you live in or near Ely, Nevada, a trip to Great Basin National Park requires a bit of planning.  We visited during spring break of 2012.  The nearest major airport is in Salt Lake City about 240 miles from the park.  In order to see more of the country, we chose to return via a different route.  Our trip to the park involved driving south on I-15 to Nephi, then west on US 6 and US 50.  

Along this route, Delta is the last town large enough to have traffic lights before arriving at the park.  We stopped for gas and groceries.  We stopped to take some pictures along the way (of course!) and noticed this snow-capped mountain behind us to the east.  
As you might expect, the sagebrush and high clouds seem to go on forever.  While vast areas were open range, there were also numerous fences as well.  There must be something valuable out there to justify the miles of fences that have to be maintained.

Route 6 parallels the Sevier River for several miles and then skirts the salt flats of Sevier Lake.  The wind had picked up quite a bit by the time we saw the salt flats and produced a whirlwind or dust devil that could be seen for miles.  

We had sagebrush to the left of us, to the right of us, ahead of us and behind us.  Try to imagine trying to cross this territory on a horse with only the water and food you brought with you.

Crossing one ridge led us to yet another basin and another ridge.

After crossing a couple of ridges, we finally saw Wheeler Peak at an angle...

...and then head on.

The main attractions at Great Basin are Lehman Caves, 5000 year old bristlecone pine trees, Wheeler Peak, the darkest night skies in the continental US, hiking and scenic drives.  Unfortunately, March is too early in the season for hiking to the bristlecone pines or even taking the scenic drive up the flank of Wheeler Peak, so we’ll have to plan those activities for another visit.  Upon arrival at the park, we stopped at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center to confirm our tickets for the Lehman Cave tour and discovered that we had purchased the only three tickets sold for the tour that day.  We met a ranger who asked about my accent and mentioned he has family in the Tri-Cities area of northeast Tennessee.  In further discussion, we found that he had recently been stationed at a remote native village on the edge of the Wrangell-St Elias National Park for a year, collecting ice samples and doing other field work regarding the glaciers and ice fields in the area.


Even though we were around 6800 feet in elevation, it was warm enough that we were able to have a nice, but windy, picnic at the designated picnic area before touring the cave.   

We had chosen to take the 1:00 pm (Pacific Time) Grand Palace Tour which costs $10.00 per person, lasts about 90 minutes and covers 0.6 miles.  The tour visits all the areas open to the public, including the Gothic Palace, the Music Room, the Lodge Room, Inscription Room and the Grand Palace sections of the cave.  The natural entrance required descending into the cave via a rope ladder.  A new entrance and exit were excavated to allow easier access to the cave.  After our safety briefing, the ranger unlocked the door and turned on the lights in the access tunnel.  At this point, another couple joined our tour for a total of five tourists and one ranger.

Looking up revealed an intricate display of flow stone, stalactites, cave popcorn and other formations.

Cave Bacon

Parachute Shield

After our cave tour, we decided to walk the short 1/3 mile Mountain View Nature Trail loop through the Pinyon-Juniper forest above the visitor center.  As suggested on the Park website, we borrowed the trail guide from the visitor center that described the geology and ecology of the area.

Our route back to Salt Lake City included continuing west on US 50 another hour to an overnight stop at the LaQuinta Inn in Ely, Nevada.  While US 50 is termed "The Loneliest Highway in America", it is a beautiful route through the Basin and Range area of eastern Nevada.  After dark, we drove back east on US 50 until we had crossed the ridge and found a pullout where we could park.  We then marveled at the vast number of stars visible in the dark sky.


While in Ely, we visited the Nevada Northern Railway Museum and had a reasonably priced, delicious lunch at the All Aboard Cafe & Inn.  We left town heading north on US 93 with a full tank of gas as the next gas station was well over 100 miles away in West Wendover.  Merging onto I-80 East, we crossed the Bonneville Salt Flats and drove into Salt Lake City.  The loop involved about 550 miles and over 10 hours in the vehicle.




The park website is at http:/www.nps.gov/grba/index.htm.