Great Basin National Park, Nevada

Scotts Valley, CA, Library

    While I had driven through Ely, NV, twice previously, I missed Great Basin National Park -- once because it was too cold.
    However, these photos were taken on 2 September 2016, when temperatures were more hospitable.

 

    One of the biggest Class A RVs I've ever seen. It was on a trailer pulled by a diesel bigger than most commercial diesel trucks. And it was parked across US6 from a BLM campground at Sacramento Pass.

 

 

 

 

    While some people think of Nevada as a flat desert, the sign on the park-side of Sacramento Pass indicates a 6% grade.

 

 

    John C. Fremont discovered and named Great Basin, indicating that whichever way he measured it produced the same diameter: 50 miles. It's essentially a conglomeration of several smaller basins or drainages within the 50-mile diameter.

 

 

 

    Wheeler Peak, at 13,064 ft is only 63 ft shorter than Boundary Peak in the White Mountains along the Nevada's western border with California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Zooming in here's a closer look at Wheeler Peak with a cloud as a hat that's slightly off-center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Zooming in yet again puts "the hat" atop Wheeler Peak.

 

 

 

 

 

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Links:

• National Park Service webpages on Gt Basin Natl Park
• Wikipedia article on Gt Basin NP
• Natl Park Service webpages on the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive
• Summit Post advice on Climbing Wheeler Peak

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Routes:

• Th 13 Oct Actual Route: K&Js - Hayfork - Weaverville - Redding - Anderson - Dunnigan I-5 Rest Area
• F 14 Oct Actual Route: Dunnigan I-5 Rest Area - Vacaville - San Jose - SV Lib - DWLs
• Sa 15 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - SV Lib - SV P.O. - DWLs
• Su 16 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - SV Lib - SV $ Tree - S/W - DWLs
• M 17 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - SV Lib - SV $ Tree - DWLs
• T 18 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - Aptos Lib - DWLs
• W 19 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - SV Lib - $ Tree - DWLs
• Th 20 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - Aptos Lib - Salinas W/M - Marina W/M - DWLs
• F 21 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - SV Lib - $ Tree - DWLs
• Sa 22 Oct Actual Route: DWLs - SV Lib - WHLs - DWLs
• Su 23 Oct Actual Route: DWLs
• M 24 Oct Route: DWLs - E.Cliff $ Tree - Aptos Lib - DWLs

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Finding Campgrounds:

• RV Campgrounds from TrailerLifeDirectory.com
• Family Camping Directories from Woodalls.com
• Free campsites website
• Info on finding BLM Campgrounds

N.B. I receive nothing from Trailer Life, Woodalls, or FreeCampsites.net for including links to their free campground lookups.

Cathedral Gorge [NV] State Park to Ely

Ely, NV

    Here are three photos I took at at Cathedral Gorge State Park not too far from Panaca, NV. When I arrived I was only the 2d vehicle there, but a couple more vehicles pulled in after dark.

 

 

 

 

    The base color of the cliff is the same as Red Rock State Park on SR14 in CA north of Mojave, but the formations have less variety.

 

 

 

 

 

    With the sun setting in the west I took shot to the NE, East, and SE; there are apparently some caves in the cliff but I didn't attempt to explore them since I wanted to get on the road to Ely.

 

 

 

 

 

    The next 2 photos were taken just past a crest on US93 short of the small town of Pioche. [Wonder if any Italians ever lived there?]

 

 

    They capture the snow on the mountain ranges along the Utah/Nevada border.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    [Click 1 or 2 times to see the snow-capped mtns to the north.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Took this shot thinking it included some salt flats rather than the ice of a shallow, frozen lake; now I'm not certain which it is.

 

 

 

    One of the peaks within this range is Wheeler Peak, c13,065; while it not the highest peak in Nevada [Boundary Peak just north of the White Mtns on the western border of the state with California holds that distinction], if memory serves, it is one of the highest in the eastern part of the state.

 

    One last look up the road, for just a short distance ahead US Highways 6 & 50 joined US93 at Majors Junction -- and all three headed over a low range where the clouds had been thickening I was taking photos to the east. I cud see what appeared to be light rain as I started up the steady grade with my speed control set at 45mph to conserve gas.
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    While there was some light rain, it wasn't steady; and when it turned to light snow, I thought about turning on the defroster, but I was at the c6750' summit by then & when the speed limit changed from 45 to 70, I assumed [correctly, as it turned out] that there would be fewer curves.
    While I ate a small burger and fries I tried to remember the name of the RV park I had marked in my Trailer Life Directory. Eventually found it as well as the Prospector Hotel/Motel/Casino/RV Park. After I left McDonald's I drove about 1.5 mi out of Ely on US93, following a new Class A with a toad. As the driver of that RV was checking in to the Valley View RV Park, he asked about WiFi. The 2 young kids working the desk said it was going to be out for a while. I piped up and said that since I had no cell phone, I'd have to go back to the Prospector, which one reviewer had praised for its WiFi.
    And the price was right: only $11.10 for a full hookup (I normally only need electricity) and not super, but good WiFi. (But I ain't as picky as some of those driving large RVs.) The Prospector Casino/RV Park might be dusty during the dryer seasons since it's a mix of dirt and gravel.

Links:

• Wikipedia article on Wheeler Peak
• Natl Park Service web page on Great Basin Natl Park
• History of Ely, Nevada
• Wikipedia article on Ely

Sa 12 Mar Actual Route: Cathedral Gorge [NV] State Park - near Pioche - Ely

Su 13 Mar Route: Ely, NV

M 14 Mar Route: Ely, NV

T 15 Mar Route: Ely - Currant - Warm Springs - Tonopah, NV