Day 41- Thursday 7/30/09 - SETTLED

We visit Great Basin National Park - elevation 10,000 feet, in Baker, NV, population 100.

We can see Wheeler Mountain, elevation 13,670 feet. Since it is so high, it creates its own weather. There is snow on Wheeler Peak. The other side is glacier - you can see the glacier if you are able to climb 9.6 miles of trails up the mountain. That would not be us.

There are examples of wildlife in Great Basin that are found nowhere else in the US, due to the isolation of the Great Basin.

On our nature walks, we see chunks of raw marble and limestone, and learn that they are both made of calcite.

We take the Lehman Cave tour. The cave was open without supervision until the 1920's when it became part of the National Park. People broke off stalagtites and stalagmites for souvenirs. They made campfires inside the cave and held dance parties in the "ballroooms".

In the evening in our campsite, we see trilling hummingbirds and an owl.

One of our favorite signs was posted at the Indian Trading Post: "Open 'til we close, Closed 'til we open".

I buy my grandson Nathan a coonskin cap. I tell my daughter Danielle that when he gets it, they can learn "Davy Crockett" and start singing it to him. My brother David used to have one and that's what we used to do to him when he wore it. (Of course he really was Davy......)

Still looking for that special little cowboy hat! Probably when we come to a youth rodeo, there will be some for sale. We seem to be always missing them by a couple of days. They take place either just before we get somewhere, or just after we are leaving.