Quote of the Day: “Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; love more, and all good things will be yours.” Swedish Proverb
Great Basin National Park is just west of the Utah border and east of Ely, Nevada. “We call it the Great Basin, this vast region of sagebrush-covered valleys and narrow mountain ranges named for its lack of drainage. It’s streams and rivers mostly find no outlet to the sea…” This was our destination last weekend, a place where Joe went as a child and wanted to return, especially wanted to show Maggie Lehman Caves. “Lehman Caves is a single cavern despite the name. It extends a quarter-mile into the limestone and marble…” So Alex, Joe, Maggie and I headed southwest Friday afternoon. Maggie has the same affinity for patience that I have but was surprising content as we traveled along. Of course, she had our full attention. At one point, she was telling us a story and she declared “I was so jealous and furious” not knowing what either word really meant. I applaud her usage of these “big” words as she just goes on talking as if they fit perfectly in the story line.
If I were to “collect” anything, it would be National Parks. I would love to visit them all. I am indeed grateful that those before me worked so diligently to preserve these amazing parts of our country for all of us to enjoy. We arrived at the lower campground around 9:30 P.M., it was overcast so we were disappointed not to be able to see any stars. GBNP is known for it’s starry skies, famed to be home to the darkest nights in the U.S. After surveying the loop of campsites in the dark, we realized it was not going to be as easy as we thought to find a spot to set up camp, so we moved on to the upper sites. The temperature was 51 degrees and as we climbed the road towards Wheeler Peak, the temperature kept dropping. We were treated to sightings of an owl and many rabbits. Maggie informed us that if she were an adult, she would indeed stop for rabbits. Anyway, we arrived at the upper loop and surprise, there were a lot of sites open and few people around, no one had a fire going, I assume they were hunkered in their tents hoping the cold windy night would pass quickly. The temperature had dropped to 36 degrees and snow had started to fall. We were at 10,000 feet with little protection from the wind. Funny thing, Joe had e-mailed me the forecasted weather earlier that day and was apprehensive about taking the trip. He suggested we go south to warmer climes, but as a side note, Joe comes from a long line of “panikers” about the weather so Alex and I vetoed the cancel. Now, at this point, I would eat my words. We sat in the car trying to decide what course of action to take, do we camp here in the cold with this little 4 year old or do we drive back down and try to find a lower campsite? We decided to stay.
Alex and Joe worked “furiously” to set up a tent in the lightly falling snow but strong winds. When the completed that task, I climbed inside the tent laying pads and sleeping bags. We got Maggie into her bag, inside another bag, and she burrowed in like a little animal. Thank goodness for warm winter gear as I wore my coat all night. The ground was hard but I found I could keep warm with a blanket completely over my head. I kept touching Maggie’s head to make sure she was warm. The winds blew like I have never heard all night long. They would build on the mountain and then hit into our tent, shaking it “furiously”. During the night, I got up, all by myself and made my way to the bathroom wondering what wild animals lurked there in the darkness. We were all happy to see morning at which time we got our tent packed up and headed lower down the mountain. Alex’s take on this adventure was humorous. He said “These experiences just bring you a step closer to death. You survive them and so you think you can do more dangerous things and you just keep going in that direction.”
Nate, Mary and Kate arrived Saturday morning to join us in exploring the cave and that afternoon we traveled to Ely to see Joe’s birthplace and sleep in a warm, comfy bed!
Great Basin NP campsite in the morning, Maggie- making friends w/ the Park Ranger, Our group outside Lehman Caves
We camped at Wheeler Peak about 25 yrs ago. Your comments brought back many memories, such as the sound of the wind roaring through those tall pines at night, or the night-time sky. What a treasure.