A Visit to Cathedral Gorge State Park (Panaca, Nevada) and Fremont Indian State Park (Sevier, Utah)

While staying in Baker, Nevada, we took a little side trip to Cathedral Gorge State Park in Panaca, Nevada.

As we traveled along US-50 and US-93, I noticed how little private property is around.  Very few who came to these areas under the Homestead Act lasted long enough in these harsh, arid lands to get title to their 160 acres.  Now, the federal government operates more than 80% of all land mass in Nevada.  Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest is just one example.  It is comprised of 6.3 million acres of land, scattered around Nevada and a small portion in Eastern California.  It is the largest National Forest in the Lower 48.  (With that land mass, locating the Basque sheep herders Aspen tree arborglyphs there would be problematic for this stuffed rat).  Our public lands, the “Lands of Many Uses” according to the moniker of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and yet they are seen, utilized, and enjoyed by so few.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we had another Homestead Act?  With modern technology and humankind’s ingenuity, new water collection and waste disposal systems could be developed.

 

While this Rambling RV Rat was ruminating, Mom informed me that we had arrived at Cathedral Gorge State Park.  As one of Nevada’s first State Parks, it is quite a gem!  Our day-use fee for a non-resident vehicle was $10, a steal for the stunning views and mazes of slot canyons to explore.  The work of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from the 1930s is on display in the Park, too.

No human in sight at the Visitor Center to ask questions, and these guys were just hanging around.

You can see the CCC-built water tower (center background of photo) and fireplace (center foreground of photo) while viewing the cathedral canyons.

Sadly, Miller Outlook Trail and the actual viewing area atop Cathedral Gorge were closed due to repairs/maintenance.  But we clocked 3 miles along the Juniper Draw Loop.  I know folks must think we are a bit nuts to hike trails at the peak of a summer day’s heat in full sun at nearly a mile high elevation.  But the trails were flat, there was a cool breeze, and we had plenty of water and sunscreen.  It was well worth it to see the spectacular geology.  From slots to spires, all formed by the God-given elements of wind and water, but each unique with its outer worldly appearance.

I had to suck in my rotund belly to fit through these slot canyons.

Looking up!

 

We also walked along the Nature Loop to check out the campground.  Renovations were in progress during our visit, but we found 4 sites that would accommodate our set-up on a future visit.  All sites have an electric hookup, and water spickets and a dump station are on premises.  This campground has spotless modern showers/bathrooms, and it even provides free Wi-Fi.  All for $20/night for non-Nevada residents.

 

We completed our tour by climbing ½ mile along the Bullionville Cemetery Trail to pay respects to the locals of the late 1800s in their final resting place.

 

What a lovely view from the trail!

As we returned to the RV Park in Baker that evening, I bid farewell to Nevada.  I enjoyed my touring of the State immensely.  It has so much more to offer than just Las Vegas, and I hope to return in the future to further my exploration.

 

The next day we hitched up the Rambling RV Rat Rubicon to Big Boomer/Suite Retreat on our RV site at the Border Inn in Nevada, and within 1 minute we were welcomed into Utah.  Our first 90 minutes along US-50 in Utah was driving through desolate desert lands—until we reached Delta, Utah.  Suddenly, the desert turned to fertile fields, and we were among civilization again.  We passed Sevier Lake, which looked more like a salt bed than a body of water.

 

The fertile fields of Delta, Utah were a welcome sight after 90 minutes of driving through desert.

We arrived at Fremont Indian State Park and Museum in Sevier, Utah, conveniently located right off I-70.  This was another of my “wish list” places that Dad incorporated into our travels.  Unfortunately, we learned the Visitor Center and Museum are under renovation, so we could not visit.  But my disappointment quickly dissipated when we arrived at Sam Stowe Campground.  This small, scenic campground offers private, full-hook-up RV sites nestled within Clear Creek Canyon.  Only 2 of the 9 RV sites are pull-throughs, but the back-in sites are long enough to fit Big Boomer/Suite Retreat with the Jeep tucked in, too.  There are also tent sites, a group site, and cabins, including one converted from a Fremont Indian pit house.  The campground was quiet during our mid-week stay, and according to the friendly work-camping staff, it is a very pleasant gig.  The commitment includes 2 days off, 20 hours/week/person, with 10 of those hours/person spent on site in the evenings to be available for guest inquiries/needs.   

Our full hook up site at Fremont Indian State Park... 

...was very private due to these lovely berry bushes acting as a barrier.

Of course, this guy didn't care about invading our privacy.  He came every day to enjoy the berry bushes and we enjoyed watching him from our dining area window.

This Fremont Indian pit house has been converted to a cabin for rent in the campground.  How cool is that!

The dark skies provided a good view of Starlink's satellite train.

Despite the Museum being closed, we kept quite busy.  There are tons of hiking trails, with a vast array of rock art on display.   Created by the Fremont people, the rock art provides insight into their culture and lifestyle.  The area also contains artifacts from early settlers, like the cabin of John Lott.  As we hiked, we picked up a few geocaches, too.  If you prefer not to hike, there are several mines in neighboring areas like Marysville that can be toured.  There is also a Centennial Trail on which you can bicycle for 5 miles along Clear Creek  (we opted for hiking vs biking).

 

John Lott Cabin is located in Centennial Park and can be accessed by hiking the Centennial Trail.

If you look VERY closely, you will see a red blanket painted on the center rock.  An Indian woman's baby died and was buried near Clear Creek Canyon as the Indians traveled to their winter camp.  The despondent mother painted a picture of a blanket on this rock to symbolically keep the baby warm during the cold of winter.  (Normally, I would blame my photography staff for this lousy picture of the blanket.  But, in this case, the viewpoint is several miles away from the drawing, which requires looking through the Park's telescope for viewing.)

Newspaper Rock.

Close ups of some panels from Newspaper Rock from later in the day when it wasn't so sunny.

Petroglyphs we spotted along the Parade of Rock Art Trail.

Rock art found on Hidden Secrets Trail.

Rock art along the Sheep Shelter Trail.

Pictographs at Cave of 100 Hands.

Rock formations at Freemont State Park's Castle Rock Campground.

Near Castle Rock Campground, we toured the site of Belknap Ranger Station.  Observe the 1915 rendition of a refrigerator! 

Some wonderful views from...

...the Coyote Canyon, Alma Christensen, and Canyon Overlook Trails.

I thought this was really an elk!  It turned out to be art!

This was the only real wildlife specimen I encountered.  I spotted him as we hiked Centennial Trail.

We kept our eye on this wildfire... 

...that was about 20 miles away from our campground.

We spent some time exploring the Paiute ATV Trail, which provides a wonderful series of trails for all off-roading machines.  Some trails are specific to 50-inch machines, while others can accommodate the wider units—like Jeeps!

 

While off-roading, we visited Skinner Canyon to see its rock art.

I thoroughly enjoyed our time at Fremont Indian State Park, and I would like to return when the Museum and Visitor Center reopen in a year or two.

 

It was a beautiful day when we departed Fremont Indian State Park, with a relaxing drive along I-70 and UT-10.  I was shocked by the number of solar farms that have overtaken the agricultural fields.  We arrived at 2:30 p.m. at our evening’s Harvest Host, Liberty Farms in Price, Utah.  Located within Carbon County (appropriately named for all the oil drilling and coal plants nearby), it is not the most scenic area.  Host Kimball greeted us warmly, directed us to our dry-camping spot, and mentioned the items for sale: sourdough bread ($10/loaf for plain; $15+ for specialty flavors which must be pre-ordered) and banana oatmeal cookies ($12/dozen).  (He also offers a full hook-up site.  At $50/night, I think not!)  Mom stated we would take 2 loaves of the plain sourdough bread, which Kimball acknowledged was not a problem since he had enough batter for 3 loaves.  At 4 p.m. we apprised Kimball that we were running to Walmart and that we would be back shortly.   No bread awaited us upon our return.  We texted the host at 6 p.m. stating we were home and hoping to pick up our bread.  At 6:30, we received the response that it takes “a couple of hours” to prepare/bake and deliver it fresh from the oven.  WHAT!  We ordered it at 2:30 p.m.!  Mom was driven to tears!  You see, she refrained from eating all day so she could savor a juicy, medium rare, angus burger embraced by two slices of fresh-baked sourdough.  I was a bit disappointed, too, for I envisioned eating a hot slice with melted mozzarella.  Good thing we are not early to bed folks--the bread arrived at our door at 9:10 p.m. with apologies that Kimball’s oven was giving him problems.  They say good things are worth waiting for, and that certainly was true for this bread.  It was scrum-de-lish-us!  So, a word of advice: if you plan to visit, PRE-ORDER your baked goods, even though they indicate it necessary only for specialty flavored breads.

We enjoyed some nice scenery--before we entered Carbon County.  Another fire in the horizon.

Transitioning to Carbon County, Utah.

The welcoming committee...

...at Liberty Farms.

I loved getting acquainted with all the animals on the farm.

A lovely sunset to close this post.

Well, it’s time for me to sign off.  But, I’ll talk to you again soon!

 

Visiting Great Basin National Park - Baker, Nevada

It was time to leave our little-slice-of-heaven boondocking spot on SR-722 in East Gate, Nevada.  We hopped back on US-50 heading East, once again following some of the Pony Express Route.

We passed through Austin, Nevada, a small community consisting mostly of churches and saloons competing for souls.  We arrived at Austin Mountain Pass, where we kept climbing and climbing.  Then we descended slowly—good thing because we almost ran over a coyote!  The silly youngster did not look both ways before crossing the highway!

By what I have witnessed thus far in Nevada, it is easy to believe that 75% of the State’s population reside in Clark County (Las Vegas).  There are miles and miles of nothingness in this Eastern part of the State, and I just LOVE the remoteness!

Eureka, we found civilization!  Once a prominent mining district, Eureka is now a mixed bag of contemporary structures and historical buildings.  

Like many old company-owned mining towns, Eureka had an opera house for entertainment.

Mural of a Basque sheep herder.  The Basque people immigrated to this Nevada area in the mid 1800s. 

Ruby Hill Mine in Eureka is still active.  The checkerboard look is created by oxidation of the several different minerals and rocks being mined.

Eureka, known as the Friendliest Town on the Loneliest Road in America, is home to our evening’s Harvest Hosts location, Miller Bison and Hay Farm.  There is plenty of room to maneuver and park in their huge, level, gravel lot with spectacular views of fertile fields that are hard to believe exist in arid Nevada.  The grounds have many walking paths, making it easy for Mom to get some mileage after a day of driving.  We made $72 worth of bison purchases: two 1/2-pound NY Strip steaks and one pound of ground Bison.  (Back in the day, we always said Walmart was our most expensive overnight “campsite” because we would always go in and spend at least $100.  Harvest Hosts locations are running a close second.)

The bison at the Miller Farm were elusive and grazed in a very distant field.   But these other furry farm friends...

...were very receptive to posing for a photo.

The next day we continued traveling along US-50 through Ely, a once-upon-a-time stagecoach and Pony Express stop.  We couldn’t pull over to do any touring because all the shoulders along US-50/Main Street were dug up.  So, we continued along US-50 reaching our destination, The Border Inn in Baker, Nevada, named appropriately since it is a spit from the border of Utah.  Like Middlegate in my last blog, The Border Inn meets your every need in one location: motel, RV Park, restaurant, fuel station, convenience store, and casino.  Heck, it even has EV charging stations!  It is an older, no-frills campground, whose laundry facility leaves much to be desired.   But it has full hook ups, Wi-Fi, and picnic table for $44.82/night.  Its staff is pleasant and helpful.  Most importantly, it is within 10 miles of Great Basin National Park.

This place figured out a way to reuse/repurpose/recycle the bones of butchered animals.

A view of Wheeler Peak from US-50.  At 13,065 feet above sea level, Wheeler Peak is the second tallest peak in Nevada.

Like my Aunt Laurie, I have an affinity for playing the slots.  Lucky 7s!  

After setting up and indulging in an early dinner (Mom always prepares a meal ahead of time for travel days so we can just heat and eat), we ventured out to the Baker Archeological Site.  This picnic day-use area operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contains what was a village of the Freemont Indians some 700+ years ago.  Excavated in the early 1990s by Archeologists from Brigham Young University, the community contained a main big house surrounded by small pit houses and granaries.  I had to use my imagination to envision what this looked like--the entire village was back-filled for preservation in 2002.  

  

Behind the back-filled Freemont village are the Snake Mountains, where gold and silver were discovered in 1877. 

Having been on my travel “wish list” for quite some time, I was eager to start touring Great Basin National Park.  Our first order of business was at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center.  We arrived super early the next morning, and we were successful in scoring “day-of” cave tour tickets since advanced on-line tickets were sold out more than a month ago.   

 

We opted for the 1-hour tour offered this time of year ($12/adult) rather than the 30-minute tour ($8/adult).  If you have the America the Beautiful Pass like we do, you get a ticket at half-price.

 

The first thing that all guests must do before entering the cave is leave behind any item that has been exposed to another cave environment.  Then you must dip your footwear into a hydrogen peroxide solution (except for this stuffed rat—I don’t wear shoes!).  This is to ensure that humans don’t bring white-nose syndrome to the approximately 80 brown bats and western pipistrelle who call this cave home.  I found this rather ridiculous.  This was not done when we toured Carlsbad Caverns National Park two years ago, and it has a quarter million bats living in its caves.  Furthermore, even this cotton-brained stuffed rat knows white-nose syndrome is typically transmitted to bats through contact with other bats.  But all the humans, including my parents, complied with this requirement for entry into the cave.

 

Our Ranger imparted tons of facts, but I’ll just share a few.  Named after the gentleman who first discovered the cave in 1883, Lehman Cave is the longest cave system in Nevada.  It maintains a year-round temperature of 52F degrees.  Formed millions of years ago, the cave is comprised mostly of limestone, and its walls are marble.  Interestingly, it served as a Speakeasy during the days of Prohibition.  This tour was well worth the time, cost, and loss of my beauty sleep to get in line for tickets.  

 

 

The restored cabin of the Rhodes family, who once ranched on the property that now contains the Lehman Cave Visitor Center. 

View from the trail at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center.

By watching the film at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center, by completing the Junior Ranger program, and by perusing all signs and placards throughout the Park, I learned that the Great Basin encompasses an area much larger than just the Park.  It extends from the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California to the Wasatch Range in Utah!  Generally, it receives less than 10 inches of precipitation annually.  When rain/melting snow occurs, there are no rivers to drain the water to the ocean.  Instead, the water evaporates into the air or is captured in the basin, subsequently sinking into the earth, creating mountain arches (through erosion) and sculpting underground caves.

 

Your truly being sworn in as a Great Basin National Park Junior Ranger.

Over the next several days, we traveled along Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, stopping at each point of interest for photos and hiking.  We had to acclimate to the high desert and alpine elevations because some hikes start at 10,000 feet above sea level!  Fortunately, we had glorious weather during our 5-day stay.   Temps were in the high 80s/low 90s at lower elevations, but at least 15 degrees cooler in higher elevations, where we spent most of our time.

Great Basin National Park receives less than 150,000 visitors annually.  So, we drove the roads more leisurely and savored our time on the trails and overlooks, marveling at the magnificent scenery and the wonders of nature provided by our Master Creator.

 

You never know what you will find in the desert.  Here lies "Too Tall Tony."

Overlooking the Basin...

...at sunset.

Snake Valley.

Mather Overlook contains a model of the Great Basin...

...and great views of Wheeler Peak and one of the last of the Great Basin glaciers.

The sun goes down and the wildlife emerge.  Lots of jackrabbits like this one reside at Mather Overlook. 

We weren't the only ones at Wheeler Peak Overlook...

...this guy was busy doing aerobics!

We particularly enjoyed hiking Bristlecone Loop, a 2.4-mile round-trip trail.  The trail leads to a grove of bristlecone pine trees that have lived here for over 5,000 years!  

This trail is rated moderate in difficulty.  It is very rocky in some areas, and it has a 600-foot elevation gain in just 1.2 miles, with a starting elevation of 10,000 feet.  

We were pooped, but glad we got to view some of the oldest trees on earth.  

Hiking the Alpine Lakes Trail rewarded us with views of Stella and Teresa, lakes created by glaciers and fed now by seasonal snow melt. 

Teresa Lake.

Me enjoying a dip in Teresa Lake.

Stella Lake.

View of a glacier and Wheeler Peak from Stella Lake.

Were these Aspen arborglyphs created by lonely, bored Basque sheep herders from the mid-1800s?  Or are they modern graffiti carvings?

I was entertained at Stella Lake by this little critter.

Hiking among the conifers along the first mile of the Osceola Ditch Trail.  After gold was discovered in nearby Osceola, the mining company decided to build an 18-mile ditch to divert water from Lehman Creek to the Osceola mining district. 

Remnants of the Osceola Ditch.  Construction of the ditch was costly ($100K+ by completion in 1890).  It did not provide the anticipated return on investment.  Hence, the ditch was abandoned in 1902.

One night we attended a wonderful (and FREE) astronomy program offered at the Lehman Cave Visitor Center amphitheater.  I learned there are two types of telescopes: refractor (use of lenses) and reflector (use of mirrors).  Looking through the Park’s telescopes, I viewed several celestial bodies.  And the Park’s skies are so dark, I could see the Milky Way with my naked eye! 

 

The Milky Way!

Wanting to continue their own stargazing after completion of the astronomy program at 10 p.m., my parents decided to head out to Mather Overlook.  Me and my gal pal, Mademoiselle Rochelle went along, too, but for a different reason.  At a 9,000+ foot elevation and a quarter mile off Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive on which few others were traveling, the Lookout provided perfect conditions for my parents to check out the cosmos--and for me and Rochelle to enjoy some muskrat love.   But our romantic evening was cut short when my parents returned early and we all learned that the Jeep would not start back up!   Thank goodness, Dad has a jump starter.  We made it back to the campground safely, so I said a prayer of thanks.  But the Jeep would not restart the next day.  So, after another jumpstart, we trekked an hour back to Ely to purchase a new battery at Napa Auto Parts.  Inside was like Cabella’s, with the store owner displaying all his trophy animal heads.  After Dad installed the new battery, we decided to tour the town, especially since we were unable to do so enroute to Great Basin.

 

These are just a few...

...of the animals the owner successfully bagged.

Dad changed out the battery, then we went to tour the town of Ely.

Ely has some talented artists who created some wonderful murals!

Some folks in Ely have a good sense of humor.

Well, it’s time for me to sign off. We have a day-trip tomorrow to Cathedral Gorge State Park.  I’ll talk to you again soon!