I had a really big craving for homemade salsa this past week and had to drive 20 miles to find the ingredients to make it. Fortunately some of my friends, Val, Matt, and John (seen below) were awesome enough to ride to Tropic, Utah with me. On the way back we stopped at Mossy Cave and hiked in to both the cave and the waterfall. Below, we are in front of the cave and above is the creek before the waterfall.
Being that this was actually still part of Bryce Canyon, of course there has to be hoodoos. You had to hike across a log above the waterfall however to get to these rock formations and only Val and John had the energy or courage enough to do so. I was tired after working at 7:30 in the morning, so I just hung out by the water for a bit.
This same day, a very sweet man came into the gift shop and offered me the use of his cabin at Lake Tahoe whenever I wanted it. He also asserted the idea that he was a happily married man and that this was not in fact a pick up but rather he really like my curiousity and personality and found me to be a good person. Therefore, he offered me his cabin. In spite of exhaustion, it was a pretty good day, and it was also my friday, which made it infinitely better!
On my days off, Dash and I went to Great Basin National Park just across the border into Nevada. It's a relatively large park but not as well established as Bryce or Zion or similar ones. At the base was a town of approximately 86, but they did have a bar. It was so nice to be in a real bar again, not a family restaurant that serves beer. It was a good scene, lively, and we befriended some locals. The first day we got there, we headed up to the top of Wheeler Peak and hike the alpine lakes trail to Stella and Theresa Lakes. It was also fall, so you can obviously see the amazing turning of the aspens.
The lake loop was beautiful and very peaceful. There were lots of aspen leaves that had already fallen and were crunching under our feet. The area was laced with the scent of bristlecone pines however, which are in fact one of the oldest living things on the planet, some surviving around 5,000 years today and dating back beyond that. The top of the mountain was above 10,000 feet however, and although I've been living at 8,000, I still got an altitude headache while we were hiking.
There is a cave in Great Basin National Park as well called Lehman Cave. It was absolutely gorgeous and we got up early to go explore (on a tour of course). But, the cave was really unique and surprisingly much more interesting than either of us had anticipated. A lot of caves I have been in are much more open and you are cordoned away from the structures and the walls, but this one was very tight and at times you had to duck or contort your body to slip through creases or openings in the walkway. It was very cool and very much worth the $10 ticket price for the tour.
After the cave tour, we drove back up to the top and hiked to Rock Glacier, as seen below. Granted, it was a small glacier, but I was just shocked that Nevada did or could even have a glacier. The hike was amazing and offered phenomenal views of the great basin valley. The trail stopped at 10,800 feet, but we were still a ways away from the Glacier, so I decided to hike up the rocks to get a closer look. It was well worth it, but I have very little desire to do it again. It was essentially crawling across a boulder field.
The area is gorgeous and I was so happy with how amazing the park was. It was much more beautiful than I had anticipated, which is most often how it is when you go to our world's wild places. I'm really glad I went in fall too, as the colors were absolutely beautiful. It was another successful adventure and I very much look forward to the ones to come in the future.
I had a really big craving for homemade salsa this past week and had to drive 20 miles to find the ingredients to make it. Fortunately some of my friends, Val, Matt, and John (seen below) were awesome enough to ride to Tropic, Utah with me. On the way back we stopped at Mossy Cave and hiked in to both the cave and the waterfall. Below, we are in front of the cave and above is the creek before the waterfall.
Being that this was actually still part of Bryce Canyon, of course there has to be hoodoos. You had to hike across a log above the waterfall however to get to these rock formations and only Val and John had the energy or courage enough to do so. I was tired after working at 7:30 in the morning, so I just hung out by the water for a bit.
This same day, a very sweet man came into the gift shop and offered me the use of his cabin at Lake Tahoe whenever I wanted it. He also asserted the idea that he was a happily married man and that this was not in fact a pick up but rather he really like my curiousity and personality and found me to be a good person. Therefore, he offered me his cabin. In spite of exhaustion, it was a pretty good day, and it was also my friday, which made it infinitely better!
On my days off, Dash and I went to Great Basin National Park just across the border into Nevada. It's a relatively large park but not as well established as Bryce or Zion or similar ones. At the base was a town of approximately 86, but they did have a bar. It was so nice to be in a real bar again, not a family restaurant that serves beer. It was a good scene, lively, and we befriended some locals. The first day we got there, we headed up to the top of Wheeler Peak and hike the alpine lakes trail to Stella and Theresa Lakes. It was also fall, so you can obviously see the amazing turning of the aspens.
The lake loop was beautiful and very peaceful. There were lots of aspen leaves that had already fallen and were crunching under our feet. The area was laced with the scent of bristlecone pines however, which are in fact one of the oldest living things on the planet, some surviving around 5,000 years today and dating back beyond that. The top of the mountain was above 10,000 feet however, and although I've been living at 8,000, I still got an altitude headache while we were hiking. 
There is a cave in Great Basin National Park as well called Lehman Cave. It was absolutely gorgeous and we got up early to go explore (on a tour of course). But, the cave was really unique and surprisingly much more interesting than either of us had anticipated. A lot of caves I have been in are much more open and you are cordoned away from the structures and the walls, but this one was very tight and at times you had to duck or contort your body to slip through creases or openings in the walkway. It was very cool and very much worth the $10 ticket price for the tour. 
After the cave tour, we drove back up to the top and hiked to Rock Glacier, as seen below. Granted, it was a small glacier, but I was just shocked that Nevada did or could even have a glacier. The hike was amazing and offered phenomenal views of the great basin valley. The trail stopped at 10,800 feet, but we were still a ways away from the Glacier, so I decided to hike up the rocks to get a closer look. It was well worth it, but I have very little desire to do it again. It was essentially crawling across a boulder field. 
The area is gorgeous and I was so happy with how amazing the park was. It was much more beautiful than I had anticipated, which is most often how it is when you go to our world's wild places. I'm really glad I went in fall too, as the colors were absolutely beautiful. It was another successful adventure and I very much look forward to the ones to come in the future. 
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