Great Basin National Park in Ely, Nevada
Since we have plenty of time to get to South Dakota, we decided to stop off at this national park and check one more off the list. We stayed in Ely at the Prospector Campground for only $15 a night - of course by the time we hit their casino it cost us a bit more, well me anyway, Mike did well. The drive from Pahrump to Ely was an experience; at times the road seemed to stretch on forever. 
We did see some wild horses. 
When we got to the campground, I picked up some literature and found out that the cave at the park had a limited number of participants for each tour so I called and thank goodness I did. When we got there the next day, there was only one ticket left. The cave was one of the better we have seen as it has some unique characteristics created by the minerals in this part of the world. BUT the ranger that conducted the tour... suffice it to say that he really liked to hear his own voice. Mike and I were both taking pictures and most of what you see here are ones he took. I was trying the "sunset" mode and my photos turned out too red. Remember when you are looking at the pictures that all the shapes and twists and contours are created by water dripping through rock... 
You can see water standing below this one. 
A closeup of "popcorn" makes me wonder, how in the heck is this formed???
Stalactites hang tight to the ceiling and stalagmites are mighty floor structures - just in case you forgot. And sometimes, they connect as in these pictures.
Look at these amazing "umbrella" structures. 
This was part of one room that was simply too much to take in; thousands of years and the effects of mother nature - WOW!
This one really needs to be enlarged to be appreciated.
This "curtain" is created when water drips through a long crack - not often seen to this degree.
After awhile we were able to tune out the guide; it really was a great way to spend 90 minutes.
We did see some wild horses. 
When we got to the campground, I picked up some literature and found out that the cave at the park had a limited number of participants for each tour so I called and thank goodness I did. When we got there the next day, there was only one ticket left. The cave was one of the better we have seen as it has some unique characteristics created by the minerals in this part of the world. BUT the ranger that conducted the tour... suffice it to say that he really liked to hear his own voice. Mike and I were both taking pictures and most of what you see here are ones he took. I was trying the "sunset" mode and my photos turned out too red. Remember when you are looking at the pictures that all the shapes and twists and contours are created by water dripping through rock... 
You can see water standing below this one. 
A closeup of "popcorn" makes me wonder, how in the heck is this formed??? 
Stalactites hang tight to the ceiling and stalagmites are mighty floor structures - just in case you forgot. And sometimes, they connect as in these pictures.
Look at these amazing "umbrella" structures. 
This was part of one room that was simply too much to take in; thousands of years and the effects of mother nature - WOW! 
This one really needs to be enlarged to be appreciated.
This "curtain" is created when water drips through a long crack - not often seen to this degree. 
After awhile we were able to tune out the guide; it really was a great way to spend 90 minutes. We will need to return to this park in late summer or fall because we still have not seen Bristle cone Pine Trees that can be as old as 3000 years. They grow in this national park but at an elevation that was closed to us because of extensive snow cover.
On Sunday we headed further east and made it as far as Rock Springs, WY. Today we drove through rain and thick pea-soup fog and landed at Cabela's in Sydney, Nebraska. It is now cold cold cold and we are both wondering why we headed north so soon... ah yes, family!
posted by jf and me | 8:22 PM
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