Golden yellow Aspen trees in Great Basin National Park 
Bristlecone trees…4000 years old. Supposedly the oldest trees on earth 🌎 
The lighting was so unusual on the grasses along this small creek which we hiked near Wheeler trailhead 
Yep, more Aspen pictures 
This was the moon! I took this from our campsite around 9 PM. 
Hiking on the Osceola Ditch trail. Fun short trail where you hike in the ditch/flume that was there in 1890s during the Gold Rush. 
Stopping on BLM just south of Great Basin on our last night as we were tired of sleeping on such a steep angle. Storm is rapidly approaching and it rained hard all night. 
This is real life…allergies are out of control in this area of the country. Kleenex to the rescue, along with Zyrtec, Benadryl, Zatidor and a portable HEPA filter. 
I really do love these trees. Yes, I am hugging the tree not humping it as it sorta looks that way. Lo 
Tony captured this one. Sun, clouds, storm and 🌈 all in one picture. Go visit Great Basin National Park, you won’t be disappointed.
Leg #: 19 (Day 107-109)
Location: Great Basin National Park in Central – Eastern Nevada
540 / 10,187
Road Conditions: No issues. This might be one of the most beautiful drives leaving Great Basin from Baker to Milford heading south. Purple mountains, yellow flowering rabbitbrush, tall straw colored grasses, small green shrubs, mixture of cloud types with the early morning sunlight filtering through to illuminate parts of the landscape. It almost felt like we were driving through a melted 64 box of crayons there were so many colors. Highway 21 is straight as an arrow with only a few cars. We drove through basins and then up and over 3 sets of mountains. Wilderness as far as my eye can see with no houses or even telephone lines. It was spectacular!
Weather: Overall, typical Fall weather, but cold weather is rapidly approaching. Days were nice in 60s and 70s, but the nights dipped into low 30s. We were camped at elevation of 7600 ft.
Tofu Status:
• All systems working, including heat!
• The refrigerator seems a bit loose in its cabinet and one of the stove burners is a bit loose and making an annoying rattle when driving but nothing that can’t wait until we get home for an easier repair. We have been on some rough roads, so all of this is to be expected.
Highlights:
• Wildlife Sightings: Deer, squirrel and wild turkeys
• WOW! I had never even heard of Great Basin National Park before coming here and we 
it so much, it gets its own post. This park was in the general area we wanted to be and one of few parks I could reserve a campsite. Great Basin has blown us away. We are right at tail end of season when everything closes down on October 1st so there are less people here. The park is gorgeous. The aspens are a brilliant yellow color against the clumps of pine trees, the rabbitbrush are also in full bloom with their bold yellow color decorating the sides of all the roads. The landscape is mountainous with Mt. Wheeler looming over the park and topping out at 13,167 feet (I had no idea there were peaks this tall in this area). The main road to most of the trailheads is a consistent 8% grade for 12 miles. It is narrow and winding, without guardrails, and magnificent. Vehicles over 22 feet are prohibited and after driving it several times, I understand why. Tofu was manually in gear 2 or 3 the entire trip down this steep mountain.
• There was amazing hiking in the park but we were not prepared for the elevation. We have been at sea level for awhile so hiking at 10,000+ feet was a bit of a challenge for the cardiovascular system. We did several hikes with the best being to see the 4,000 year old Bristlecone trees which are reportedly the oldest trees in the world.
• Tony got several nice bike rides in but did not tackle the steep Great Basin road as there were 40-50 mph wind gusts and it would not have been safe.
• We will definitely be back as this was such an unexpected find. Next time we will plan better and get Lehman cave tour tickets to see the rare shield formations (tickets were sold out this time), go on a Ranger led astronomy tour (there was a storm approaching this time), hike to the Bristlecone Forest (we saw some Bristlecone trees but didn’t learn until later there is an entire forest of them) drive/hike out to Lexington Arch (we didn’t have time) and hike up to Wheeler Peak (we weren’t acclimated enough to altitude). Tony also plans to cycle up the steep Great Basin Road when the weather is better.
Lowlights:
• We reserved the only campsite spot available and now we know why it was available. The slope was super steep and marked severe on the listing. Even with leveling blocks and extra rocks underneath we were still very crooked which made being inside the van feel like a fun house.
• This park is an International Dark Skies Park and has some of the least polluted and clearest skies in the lower 48 states. They have a popular astronomy program with telescopes to see 5 planets but sadly due to weather there was no visability during our visit.
Tiger (Provan) Sightings: Tony = 2, Tracey = 0
Next: Red Cliffs National Conservation Area and St. George, UT [our last stop]
Discover more from The Tofu & Chickpea Scramble
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Wow! Simply amazing. So many people (like me) have no idea that such beauty exists. We are city dwellers with no concept of mountains or elevation or severe inclined Funhouse angles for sleeping. That made me smile. So glad you got to see such beauty. Thank you for writing so beautifully about it.