Travelogue

After spending the last three years spring breaking on Hunting Island, we decided it was time to try something new. So after a bit of research, we selected Edisto, another one of South Carolina’s pristine coastal islands.

I’m afraid we weren’t always fair to Edisto and often found ourselves comparing it to Hunting Island, which had a very special place in our hearts. While Hunting Island is totally undeveloped (in fact, the entire island is a State Park), Edisto is more of a beach community with private homes, stores, restaurants, hotels, golf resorts, etc. There is a state park on Edisto, but it occupies only a portion of the island. However, the undeveloped portions of the two islands are similar in their topography—beautiful white-sand beaches, miles of salt marshes, and maritime forests with old oak trees draped in Spanish moss.

Also, the commercialization on Edisto wasn’t always a bad thing, especially to the kids. They would often hop on their bikes and ride out to the nearby Piggly Wiggly to purchase candy and other unnecessary items, such as fluorescent orange Speedos, which I’ll explain more later.

When we first drove onto the island and were about to turn into the State Park Campground, I was surprised to see a run-down, closed-up gas station right outside the entrance. Although I was a little turned off to what I took to be signs of economic troubles on the island, the boys saw it in a different light. “Look, we can use that as a skateboard park,” they said referring to the myriad of boxes and wood lying about the deserted pumps. I must say that their uncanny ability to find something positive and fun in whatever they encounter is a constant reminder to me that life is what you make of it.

Fortunately, the campground was quite lovely, situated between salt marshes to the west and a two-mile stretch of ocean beach to the east. Our campsite was set in an open area against the salt marshes, which provided for some great views, especially at sunset.

Our first morning in Edisto was Easter morning, and as Gaidus tradition goes, the boys hunt for treasures left during the night by the Easter bunny who miraculously manages to find them no matter what state they are in. In fact, that’s what we had told Andrew when he was 6 years old and refused to go to Savannah for Easter break because the Easter bunny wouldn’t find him. Although the years have passed and belief in the Easter bunny has long faded, the tradition has lived on with me as the surrogate bunny. I am convinced that we will still be doing this when they are 40 years old.

So we spent the first few hours of that beautiful, sunny Easter morning, which I would rather have spent on the beach, rummaging through every nook and cranny in the RV in search of candy and other good stuff hidden by me in the wee hours of the night. Traditionally, Andrew’s goodies are hidden in that plastic green grass that you buy to stuff Easter baskets with and Tommy’s are hidden in yellow grass. However, not wanting to be picking grass out of the RV for the next 3 years, I very pragmatically used green and yellow Post-Its. The boys questioned whether that violated the Easter rules, but knew better than to push it.

After the Easter festivities concluded, we decided to go on an exploratory bike ride. From the campground, we headed out onto the bike path along Jungle Road, aptly named for the thick jungle-like woods that bordered it. There were some lovely houses along the drive. At the end of Jungle Road we bore right and rode along the Big Bay Creek past the Edisto Beach Golf Club and Waterfront area. From there we followed Palmetto Road around the southern tip of the island and back along the ocean side of the island to our campground. The whole ride was about 7.5 miles and pretty much covered the developed part of the island.

Our friends, the Hubers, arrived later that day to spend another fun-filled spring break week with us. Andrew and Tommy were pretty excited about seeing Whitney and Kyle again. As much as they enjoy Herb and my company, it’s still not the same as having kids their own age to hang out with. They had practically grown up with Whitney and Kyle, so whenever they got together they had no difficulty finding ways to entertain themselves—and us.

The next few days on Edisto Island were passed quite blissfully. Unlike our adrenaline-charged cross country trips in which each day is a new place and a new experience, our time on Edisto Island was a pleasant blending of one great day into the next.

Mornings were spent at the campsite, leisurely eating breakfast and just hanging out. Our campsite itself was so nice and sunny with lovely views over the salt marshes that we often felt no particularly urgency to rush to the beach—or at least the adults didn’t.

Usually by mid-morning, we would gather our beach chairs, books, boogie boards, skimboards, Frisbees, etc. and take the short walk across the campground to the beach, which we pretty much had to ourselves as the campground had about 2 miles of beachfront for its 75 campsites. The waves weren’t very big, but they were perfect for skimboarding along the water’s edge, which the kids did for hours on end.

Although it was only April, the sun was strong enough to produce a pretty good burn, as Andrew will attest to, so we often came off the beach for awhile during mid-day to have lunch and relax around the campsite. Sometimes the kids would ride their bikes over to their “skateboard park” or to the Piggly Wiggly to do some shopping. On one particular afternoon they returned with a bag and silly grins on their faces. While they all giggled, Andrew opened the bag and proudly presented his purchase, which he had made with $11 of his own money. I stared at a very bright orange article of clothing wrapped in a plastic bag labeled “Lil’ bit of paradise.” It took me a moment to realize that it was a tiny Speedo bathing suit, the type you only see on Olympians or European men. Andrew was neither. Several questions ran through my mind, but the one that popped out first was, “Is it returnable?”

Ignoring my question, Andrew went into the RV to try on his new purchase, while we waited outside for his debut. He was gone for quite a long time before he finally returned wearing the same shorts he had on before. “Too tight,” was all he mumbled. Obviously he had not tried it on in the store. I guess being 13 years old he was self-conscious enough to realize that he didn’t want to be displaying his “lil’ bit of paradise” around the whole campground. However, an 11 year old is a very different animal, so Tommy grabbed the suit and was soon strutting happily around the campsite in his luminescent phosphorescent orange Speedo, happily waving to amused fellow campers. Andrew tried to sell him the suit, but Tommy knew he was in a very good bargaining position. Hopefully, Andrew learned a lesson, but I doubt it. I’m sure there will be many more orange speedos, or their equivalent, in his future.

Later in the afternoons when the sun got a bit lower, we would usually return to the beach. This is my favorite time of day to be on the beach—the sun is less intense, the lighting is great for photography, and everything seems just a bit more mellow.

Eventually, in no particular hurry, we would drag ourselves off the beach to shower and make dinner. I love the activity of a campground at dinner time—kids running around having a good time, adults laughing and smiling after a day having fun with their kids, great cooking smells coming from every campsite. Everyone is always so friendly in a campground.

Our kids would usually either be playing with the hermit crabs in the marsh at the edge of our site or riding around the campground on their bikes—or more correctly bike. The four of them devised a method to all fit on one bike. Andrew and Tommy both have trick bikes, which have pegs coming out of the axles, which are meant to be stood on. Andrew would drive while Whitney stood on the back pegs holding onto his shoulders. Kyle would perch himself somewhat precariously on the front handlebars. Poor Tommy was placed between Kyle and Andrew, so squished that you could barely see him—perhaps if he wore the orange speedo he would have been more visible. They looked like a circus act and attracted plenty of attention in the campground.

When darkness fell, we would join our fellow campers in the primitive ritual of gathering socially around a fire—and stuffing our mouths with flaming sugary white globs on the end of a stick. This is my favorite time to take a walk through the campground. Everywhere you look, fires dot the landscape, and the air is filled with the laughter of happy campers. I find it very cozy.

One night we had a drive-in movie night. We set up the Huber’s TV/VCR on the picnic table and gathered our chairs around it. The kids thought a scary movie would be a good idea, so we watched “The Ring.” By the end of the movie, the chairs had definitely shifted closer to ours.

The morning we were to leave Edisto was our first spell of bad weather all week. Huge thunderclouds approached the campground as we scurried to pack up—actually, while the Hubers scurried to pack up. All we had to do was fold our tablecloth and load the bikes on the back of the RV. The Hubers, however, were camping the old-fashioned way: in tents. The dining fly and tents had to be taken down and stuffed in bags, stoves and other paraphernalia had to be packed into large Rubbermaid boxes, clothes and towels had to be taken off the line and stuffed to duffle bags, and on and on. Now, I remember why I like having an RV so much. Packing pretty much means turning the key and driving away.

It was now thundering and lightning so we were all scurrying around like nuts trying to help them pack everything away before the storm really hit. As Herb was helping Whitney load their bikes on the roof of their car, Herb felt a slight tingling in his fingers and noticed that Whitney’s hair was standing on end. She too felt a tingling in her arms. Fortunately, this was just a warning, but the possibility of a real lightning strike was definitely there. We quickly took shelter in the RV and waited out the storm. Whitney was quite shaken up about it, and I don’t blame her. When the lightning and thunder finally dissipated, we helped them finish up the last bit of packing and headed north. The Hubers were headed straight home, but we were planning a two night stop in Virginia Beach to visit some old friends.

Description

Edisto Island is one of South Carolina’s beautiful and isolated coastal islands. Located just 45 miles south of Charleston, it is reached via SC 174, a scenic highway bordered by century-old oak trees draped with Spanish moss. Once the site of cotton plantations, today Edisto attracts visitors with its white sand beaches and layback atmosphere.

The 1,255-acre Edisto Beach State Park lies along 2 miles of the island’s pristine beaches, lined with some of the state’s tallest palmetto trees. A lovely 4-mile nature trail for hikers and bikers winds through the park’s salt marshes and forests. There are two campgrounds in the park: an oceanfront one with 75 sites and one in the live oak forest with 28 sites.

Travelogue

Short of blindfolding and gagging the kids, there’s just no way to sneak by South of the Border. The billboards start as soon as you enter North Carolina, and just keep on coming until you’re so worn down that you just have to stop to see what all the excitement is about. My personal favorite: “You Never Sausage a Place! You're Always a Wiener at Pedro's!”

So, shortly after entering South Carolina, we exited and headed towards the giant sombrero on steroids. Our first stop was Pedro’s store, which was more like the Smithsonian Institute of tacky memorabilia. Never have I seen so many snow globes, Whoopie cushions, and humor centered around bodily functions. The boys absolutely loved it. The store even had an adult-only section called the “Dirty Old Man’s Shop.” There was something for everyone. I don’t know how we managed to exit the store without a single purchase. I think even the boys were so overwhelmed with the choices that even they didn’t know where to start.

We steered the boys past the rides towards Pedro’s mini golf, where the price of admission would last us more than 2 minutes. Andrew had a classic shot where his ball jumped over the rail, headed towards I95, landed atop a decorative rocks cairn, and proceeded to bounce up and down upon it before finally rolling to a stop. He said it was his finest golfing moment. Herb won the game and declared himself “Master of the RV.” I didn’t even want to think about what that meant.

We escaped Pedro’s with a minimal amount of damage to our wallet and dignity and continued on south toward Edisto.

Description

South of the Border is a roadside attraction on I95 just “south of the border” between North and South Carolina. It is famous for its myriad of billboards, which count down the miles until your arrival from over a hundred miles away. Some classics include:

• “You Never Sausage a Place! You're Always a Wiener at Pedro's!”
• “Pedro's Weather Forecast: Chili today, hot tamale”
• “Keep yelling, kids! (They'll stop)”

You’ll know you’re near when you spot the 165 foot tall tower with a very large sombrero on top. Despite the fact that the border is to South Carolina, the theme is Mexican and its mascot is a very stereotypical Mexican “bandito” named Pedro.

At South of the Border you’ll find all the services you need (restaurants, gas stations, a motel) plus many you don’t. There is a small amusement park with rides and a mini golf course and a very entertaining store with every conceivable bit tourist nosh you could dream of and then some.

Travelogue

We didn't get nearly as far as we had hoped to. The traffic in and around Washington, D.C. was so awful that we just sat there for hours. Rather than push all the way to South Carolina, we decided to give up and hope that tomorrow's drive would be better.

We found a Flying J just off I95 in Carmel Church, Virginia, which would serve our purposes just fine. I always feel safe parking overnight at a Flying J.

The kids always have to go into the Flying J store to see what kind of candy and junk they can buy. There is always an odd assortment of stuff on sale outside the store. This time there were electric scooters on sale for $199. I had to break it to the kids that dad wouldn’t be very happy trying to fit 2 electric scooters in the RV. While I was using the phones to call home, Tom decided to try his luck on one of those machines that you use a crane to pickup some stupid toy that you don’t want anyway. I interrupted my phone conversation to tell him not to bother since you never win anything good in those machines anyway. A few minutes later, he walked by me grinning and holding a really cute 2-foot high gorilla that he named Flying Joe. So much for teaching him a lesson about gambling.

Description

Flying J's are Travel Plazas that cater to truckers and RV's. Their numerous services include gas, dump station, propane, fast food restaurant, limited groceries, and even showers and a barber shop. However, the best feature of all is the section for overnight RV parking.

They are conveniently located on most of the interstates (except for the northeast).

Travelogue

I know I say this after every trip, but this one had been truly special. I don’t think I could ever think of a better time than the week we spent together in Yosemite—my favorite place with my favorite people on Earth.

In less than 3 weeks, Andrew will be leaving for college and Tommy won’t be too far behind. It is the end of an era for us—one for which I truly feel blessed for having been able to experience.

Description

Our home in Upper Saddle River, a suburb of New York City.

Travelogue

Gang playing croquet in the backyardWe made it back to my brother’s on the planned day and found a happy and well-cared for “Aggy” (my mother). In fact, I would go so far as to say that they spoiled her. My sister-in-law, who is probably one of the kindest and most patient people I know, took her shopping almost every day. This was bad news as I was not about to do this upon our return home. My brother, who is a lot less patient than his wife, also tried to entertain Aggy by taking her shopping. However, after spending two hours in a CVS as my mom wandered and browsed in every aisle, he almost lost his mind. Welcome to my world!

Seriously though, it was great being all together again, and we spent the next two days just visiting and enjoying each others company.

Description

My brother's home in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio

Travelogue

Lazy Daze in Vedauwoo Glens CampgroundThis was it. We had officially left our last planned fun stop and were now in pure driving mode. Anything good from this point on would just be gravy on top of a truly wonderful trip.

As we plugged along Route 80, I turned to my trusty to try to find someplace interesting to stay for the night. I came across a description for Vedauwoo Glen in Wyoming that seemed to fit what we were looking for: “a wonderland of huge chucks of pink granite” and only 1 mile off Route 80.

The campground was really quite lovely, set against the pink granite rock formations that the guide book had foretold. Unfortunately, as we pulled in, the clouds were building and the wind was picking up big time. A storm was definitely brewing. Also, we were at an atltitude of 8,000 feet so it was quite cool.

When I look back at this stop, I realize how well we had gotten into the groove of traveling together and how well we had achieved family harmony. Rather than mind the bad weather, I think we all found it rather cozy, and each of us settled in to do our own thing. Herb and the boys were busy loading photographs from their digital cameras onto their laptops and editing them and I was nestled with a good book.

Vedauwoo Glens sunsetAfter an hour or two, the rain slowed down a bit so Andrew decided to go out for a run. Every once in awhile we would look out the window and see him run by off in the distance. At one point the rain stopped completely, so Tommy and I went out and clambered around on the rock formations just behind our site.

As evening approached I realized that Andrew had been gone for quite awhile and that the rain had started again. I kept looking out the window to see if I could see him, but all I saw was a white pickup truck going back and forth off in the distance where I normally would catch a glimpse of Andrew. Now I’m not usually a paranoid person, but I started worrying that someone—perhaps that white pickup truck—had taken Andrew. Herb and Tommy thought I was being ridiculous.

Obviously, they were going to be of no help, so I put on my jacket and started walking out towards the road in search of Andrew. I came across two women and asked them if they had seen a boy running in the rain. Not wanting to seem like a paranoid lunatic, I told them that I was looking for him to come home for dinner. They told me that they had seen him run by just recently.

Much relieved, I returned to the RV and informed Herb and Tom that Andrew was okay. They barely looked up from their laptops. Apparently, they don’t understand a mother’s hormonal need to protect her young.

A few minutes later, a very wet Andrew returned and said that some ladies told him that his dinner was ready. A bit embarrassingly, I told him how they might possibly know that. To make it worse, I also had to tell him that, in fact, his dinner actually wasn’t ready. I had just made that up. I think he appreciated how much I care about him, even if I did act a little crazy..

Description

Vedauwoo Glen is a popular rock climbing and camping area in the Medicine Bow National Forest of southwestern Wyoming, located just north of I80, about 17 miles east of Laramie and 30 miles west of Cheyenne. It is a secluded oasis of pink granite rock formations with dense pine forests and aspen groves surrounded by miles and miles of treeless plains. At an altitude of 8,000 feet, this is “high country” and very windy. Things to do include rock climbing, bouldering, trail running, and biking. There is a small campground with 50 semi-primitive sites just a stone’s throw away from I80.

Travelogue

Nice Park City CampgroundOver the years, so many of our close friends have moved away to various parts of the country, so when our travels bring us near one of their neighborhoods, we love to take the opportunity to visit, especially when that neighborhood is Park City.

I think we took the Levines by surprise when we called and told them that we were in Nevada and would be passing through Utah via Route 80 the next day, but they didn’t hesitate for a minute to invite us to make their driveway our home for however long we wanted.

We all were quite excited about seeing each other again. Evan had been Tommy’s best friend since 3rd grade and over the years our families had grown quite close. We were kindred spirits in our love of the outdoors and a taste for adventure. While we expressed that love by criss-crossing the country each year in our RV, they expressed theirs by packing up and moving to Park City, a mecca for outdoor enthusiasts. Now our worlds were colliding once more.

Lolo enjoying the view from the deckWhen we got to their house, Herb was more than a little concerned with how we were going to get the motorhome up their steep and curvy driveway. The back of the Lazy Daze sticks out about 8 feet beyond the rear wheels, so his fear was that we were going to bottom out. After some convincing, he began inching the motorhome up the driveway while I practically crawled alongside it watching for any scraping. It came really close at times, but we eventually made it to a nice flat area on top. We weren’t sure if we were ever going to get down again, but we were going to forget about that for now and just have a good time.

We had conveniently arrived around dinner time, but being the wonderful hosts they were, they wined and dined us in style. The views of the mountains from their deck were breathtaking.

The next morning the boys went over to the Deer Valley Resort to mountain bike down the ski slopes. Our boys had had some experience mountain biking down ski trails before in both Whistler and Vail, so we felt pretty comfortable with them doing it. We were a little worried though about their equipment. Riders that do this a lot have specialized bikes and wear full-body armor to protect them when they fall. Our guys, however, had regular mountain bikes and t-shirts. They promised to stick to the more reasonable trails. A short while after they left, we sat on the deck and watched a huge thundercloud build over the mountains where they were riding. Sure enough, the phone rang. It was the boys calling to tell us that the lifts had closed because of lightning.

View from insideWe drove over to Deer Valley to pick them up. Although the storm looked like it was moving away, the resort did not reopen the lifts. Since the boys had only gotten one run in, the management was nice enough to refund their money. Undaunted, we decided to do what was Dennis’s original suggestion, a single-track trail known as the Lost Prospector Loop.

Rather than all drive to the trailhead, we took our bikes off the car and rode from Deer Valley down some really steep and winding roads through Park City. It was so much fun. I’m sure that, for me anyway, this type of ride was much more enjoyable than being bounced and beat up down a ski slope.

The Lost Prospector Loop was a really fun singletrack ride on the side of a mountain on Park City’s east side. It might be rated easy-intermediate, but it was plenty enough excitement for me. There was some elevation gain in the beginning, but nothing too horrible, and the switchbacks through the forests of quaking aspen and maples were really fun. There were also some great views of Park City and the surrounding mountains. I think even the boys would agree that this ride was more fun than riding down the ski trails of Deer Valley.

When we got back to the Levine’s house later that day, we tested our acrobatic skills on their new trampoline. I thought I was pretty good, but the videos told another story.

Later that evening we drove into historic downtown Park City to walk around and have dinner. There are still plenty of old Victorian buildings that give you a glimpse into Park City’s past as an old mining town, but now there are plenty of upscale shops, restaurants, and art galleries to satisfy the hordes of tourists that come here to enjoy Park City’s other natural resources. We spent some time wondering through the art galleries, especially those that emphasized photography.

When we got back to the house, we just sat out on the deck enjoying the tremendous view and each other’s company for one last night. We were going to head back home tomorrow morning.

The next morning we said our good-byes and had to repeat the tense “RV-down-the-steep-winding-driveway” process, in which I was in charge of checking for scraping. Fortunately, the only scraping that occurred was to my knees as I once again crawled on all fours beside the rig.

Then it was onward and eastward for many more miles on Route 80. Hopefully, we would find some more fun stuff to do along the way, because I wasn’t done yet.

Description

Park City is one of Utah’s two outdoor recreational meccas (the other one being Moab), famous for its world-class skiing and mountain biking. It lies in a spectacular setting, nestled in a valley at 7,000 feet on the eastern side of the Wasatch Mountain Range. The city is located near Interstate 80 approximately 32 miles east of Salt Lake City.

Park City is one of Utah’s two outdoor recreational meccas (the other one being Moab), famous for its world-class skiing and mountain biking. It lies in a spectacular setting, nestled in a valley at 7,000 feet on the eastern side of the Wasatch Mountain Range. The city is located near Interstate 80 approximately 32 miles east of Salt Lake City.

Park City began as a mining town back in 1870 when silver and a bit of gold and lead were discovered by some off-duty soldiers. Hordes of prospectors flooded the area turning the peaceful valley into a boisterous mining town. By 1880, Park City had grown into a substantial town with a population of 10,000. It was one of the few Utah towns that was not founded by Mormons, as its 27 saloons would attest to. A large fire in 1898 destroyed much of the town, but citizens quickly rebuilt. Most of the buildings you see in town today were built right after that fire. During the Great Depression, the drop in metal prices, labor problems, and some bad flooding in the mines pretty much brought Park City’s mining industry to an end. By 1950, the city had nearly become a ghost town.

Then in the 1950s, skiing came to town, but its mining past was still quite evident. In 1963 when Treasure Mountain opened to the public, a mine train was used to bring skiers three miles into the mountains where they were then lifted to the slopes by a mine hoist elevater. The chairlifts were old aerial trams that had been used for hauling oar. Even today, there are over a thousand miles of mining tunnels beneath the ski slopes. Tourism really grew in the 1980s, and today Park City is one of the most affluent resort towns in the United States.

The city has three major ski resorts: the Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley, and the Canyons. In addition, the Utah Olympic Park is located near the city. This was the site of the bobsled, luge, and ski jumping competitions in the 2002 Winter Olympics. Visitors looking for an adrenaline rush can take an 80 mph bobsled ride down the entire length of the Olympic bobsled track, ride the world’s steepest zipline, or just sit back and watch a freestyle aerial and ski jumping show.

Park City is also a popular summer destination. The three ski areas keep a lift open in the summer to bring hikers and mountain bikers up the mountain. Deer Park has 55 miles of single and double track trails and the Park City Mountain Resort has anothr 35. The Utah Olympic park has summertime bobsled rides and an alpine slide.

Even if you’re not a skier, biker or hiker, there’s still a lot to do in Park City. The historic downtown area has 64 turn-of-the-century Victorian buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Main Street is lined with fine restaurants, art galleries, and upscale shops. There are music concerts, theater performances, rodeos, the Artstravaganza music and arts festival in August, and the renowned Sundance Film Festival in the second half of January.

It would be tough for anyone to not find something fun to do in Park City.

Travelogue

Lazy Daze in Great Basin campground One of the reasons we chose to drive the Loneliest Road across Nevada—besides the fantastic scenery—was to visit Great Basin National Park, right near the Nevada-Utah border. We’re always looking to add another National Park to our ever-growing collection, and since the chances of passing through this way again any time soon were pretty slim, it was now or never. The Park’s location, over a hundred miles from the nearest Interstate, makes it one of the least visited parks in the National Park System, which for us is a definite plus.

Great Basin’s major attraction is 13,063-foot high Wheeler Peak, the second highest mountain in Nevada. Unfortunately for us, the only way to explore the mountain is via the very steep and winding 12-mile Scenic Drive, which did not allow RVs and trailers. It’s too bad because I really would have loved to have seen the bristle-cone pine forest up near the treeline. They are the oldest living creatures on Earth—some of them more than 4,000 years old. I found it pretty ironic that in 1964, one of these bristle-cone pines, now nicknamed Prometheus, was cut down by a graduate student and a U.S. Forest Service employee for research purposes. The result of their research: they had just cut down the oldest living organism on Earth. What were they thinking?

Dad on Lehman Cave tour - AJGSince we couldn’t drive up to Wheeler Peak, we had to satisfy ourselves with driving a short portion of the drive to the Lower Lehman Campground, elevation 7,500 feet. There were only 11 campsites at this lovely little campground along a stream, and when we got there 10 of them were already occupied. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of a full campground in this very remote Park, so I guess we were pretty lucky that there was one left for us. Although it wasn’t the most level of sites, it did have a great view so we were happy. As we sat out on our picnic table eating our dinner later that evening, we were treated to the sight of a full moon rising out over the Great Basin.

Early the next morning before leaving Great Basin, we decided to explore Great Basin’s other major attraction: the Lehman Cave system. Well, actually I really decided to. The boys were tired and quite honestly a little done with cave tours. Through the years they have been so many—Luray Caverns, Wind Cave National Park, Mammoth Caves, Carlsbad Caverns, etc.—that they were pretty much caved-out. However, we managed to extract them from the RV with the promise of no more cave tours after this one. As far as cave tours go, this was a good one, and since there was only one other gentleman on the tour, we got a lot of personal attention from the ranger and learned some things we hadn’t on our previous tours.

Description

Lehman Cave - AJGGreat Basin is Nevada’s only national park. It was created to preserve and showcase a prime example of the vast Great Basin ecosystem, which occupies nearly 20% of the land area in the continental U.S. It received its name because the rainwater that falls here has no outlet to the sea.

With only 77,000 acres, it is one of the smallest parks in the national park system, and its remote location near the Nevada-Utah border also makes it one of the least visited. Yet despite its small size, it boasts a treasure trove of riches, including:

• the only glacier in Nevada
• 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak, the second highest mountain in the state
• a large forest of 3,000- to 4,000-year-old bristle-cone pines, the oldest living creatures on the planet
• groves of white-barked aspen
• the extensive and fascinating Lehman Caves.

Burgers on Weber with Tom - AJGA visit to the park usually begins with a stop at the Visitor Center where there are exhibits on the flora, fauna, geology, and history of the park. It is also where you purchase your tickets for the 90-minute ranger-led tour of Lehman Caves. A short paved trail from the Visitor Center takes you down into the caverns where the temperature averages 50°F, and the walls are intricately decorated with stalactites, stalagmites, draperies, and shields that have been formed over millions of years by the oozing and dripping of water.

Another major highlight of the park is the 12-mile Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive, which climbs 3,400 feet from the Visitor Center to the Wheeler Peak Campground (elevation 9.950 feet) at the base of Wheeler Peak, Although the road is paved, it is so steep (8% grade) and winding that it is not recommended for RVs and trailers. Along the drive there are several pullouts where you can stop for views of the Great Basin and Wheeler Peak. At the end of the road is the trailhead for the 8.6-mile (RT) Wheeler Peak Summit Trail, a strenuous but spectacular climb to the treeless summit. An easier, yet still interesting hike, from the Wheeler Peak Parking Lot is the 4.6-mile (RT) Bristlecone Pine Forest Trail that takes you through a grove of ancient trees to a view of an ice field.

There are four developed campgrounds in the park with a total of just over 100 sites (only a few of which can accommodate rigs over 25 feet. None of them have hookups, dump stations, or showers. The four developed campgrounds are:

• Lower Lehman Creek Campground (elevation 7,500) - 11 sites
• Upper Lehman Creek Campground (elevation 7,800) - 24 sites
• Baker Creek Campground (elevation 8,000 feet) - 32 sites
• Wheeler Peak Campground (elevation 9,950) - 37 sites.

Travelogue

Main Street Eureka - AJGFrom Reno it was time to start heading East back towards home. We had a decision to make: hightail it on the Interstate or take the more layback and scenic Route 50, also known as the “Loneliest Road in America.” Feeling that we needed some natural beauty to wash the thought of Reno away, we chose US-50. This route also would lead us to a new National Park that we hadn’t been to before—Great Basin.

They weren’t kidding about the road being lonely. For close to 400 miles, we wound across the entire width of Nevada, passing through an occasional small town (some of which looked like they were left over from the gold rush), but otherwise just miles and miles of mountains, desert, and sagebrush.

I had expected the road to be straight and flat, which it was in some parts, but a good portion of it entailed climbing up and down some pretty steep mountains.

During the whole 400 mile stretch, we only passed through 4 towns. It was a good thing that we started this journey with a full tank of gas. Besides Fallon, which is the first town we passed through and fairly modern with its shopping malls and fast-food chains, the rest were quaint remnants of Nevada’s mining days.

110 miles after Fallon, we climbed the steep Toiyabe Mountains and came to the tiny town of Austin (population 300), another one of Nevada’s silver mining boom towns gone bust. We didn’t stop, but just slowly drove along the steep Main Street through town.

From there we climbed even further up to the Austin Summit before descending to what was the longest and flattest stretch of the drive.

About 25 miles east of Austin is the Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area, but we decided to continue on another 45 miles to Eureka (population 650), which we had read was one of the best-preserved mining towns in Nevada. This time rather than just drive through town, we decided to park and explore. I felt like I was walking through a movie set rather than an actual town. Along its Main Street, there was an old 1879 County Courthouse, an old newspaper office, which is now a museum, and even an 1880s Opera House—but the weird thing was, there were no people. Besides us, there was not another living soul in sight. It was Sunday, but still, you’d think someone would be out and about. Tommy and I went into Raines Market to see if we could find hat pins that said “Eureka” or “Loneliest Road” to add to their collection. Although there were no hat pins, we felt bad about not buying anything, so Tommy selected a toy gun that shot suction-cup rubber darts. It cost only $1. It even had a target. When we got back to RV and showed Herb our purchase, his response was, “No possible good can come of this.” Andrew’s response was, “Can I have one too?” So, I went back to Raines and purchased another $1 toy gun. They spent the rest of the drive delightfully shooting, sometimes at the target, but mostly at each other, in the back of the RV.

Then it was back on the road, past more mountain peaks and sage-covered valleys before arriving at the relative metropolis of Ely (population 4,750), home to the only supermarket in 250 miles. We took advantage of the fact that there was more than one gas station in town (a little competition) to fill up before continuing on too Great Basin.

After leaving Ely, the road is pretty flat and straight for about 25 miles before it starts the climb up 7,722-foot Connor Pass. From the summit, there is a great view of 13,061-foot Wheeler Peak, which is in Great Basin National Park. We were deceptively close to our destination. However, there was still another 20 miles to go before we reached the town of Baker and the turnoff for Great Basin.

Description

The 400 miles of US-50 that cross Nevada have been dubbed “The Loneliest Road in America.” For miles and miles of what used to be a Pony Express route, there is nothing but mountains and sagebrush dotted with the occasional small town.

Once entering Nevada from the west, US-50 winds north along the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe before turning east again towards Carson City , the state’s capital. When gold and silver were discovered in nearby Virginia City in 1859, prospectors flocked to the area and Carson City sprung up overnight. Today a few of the impressive mansions of the luckier miners remain. One of the earliest, the Bowers Estate, still stands about 10 miles north of town. Besides the casinos, the one place to stop is the Nevada State Museum across from the capitol, where there are displays on mining as well as the natural history of Nevada.

US-50 then heads northeast across a sagebrush plateau to the tiny town of Dayton, which was the site of Nevada’s first gold strike in 1849. Today, the historic mining town is little more than the two blocks that run along Main Street. However, this small town did once have its share of celebrity visitors. John Huston, Arthur Miller, and Marilyn Monroe stayed here in 1960 while filming the movie The Misfits.

50 miles further northeast lies the relatively large (for Nevada) town of Fallon, with 7,000 residents and plenty of shopping malls and fast-food chains. The most surprising thing about Fallon is that it is green, with fields of alfalfa as far as the eye can see. While other towns sprung up from gold and silver, this town had an even more valuable resource: water. In 1915, the just completed Lahontan Dam began bringing irrigated water from the Carson River, allowing for the growth of agriculture in the area. Fallon is also home to a U.S. Navy air base and target range that serves as a training center for fighter jets and bombers. Just northeast of Fallon is the Stillwater Wildlife Management Area and Refuge, with more than 200,000 acres of sanctuary for birds such as cinnamon teal, redheads, and whistling swans.

Between Fallon and the Austin, the next town 110 miles to the east, there are a few sights to see other than the endless landscape of desert and sagebrush. About 10 miles east of Fallon is the Grimes Point Archaeological Area, where a self-guided trail leads through several hundred boulders carved with 8,000-year-old petroglyphs.

Continuing east, in another 15 miles, the two-mile long Sand Mountain rises 600 feet from the flatlands. An interesting feature of this dune is that when the sand crystals oscillate at the proper frequency (between 50 and 100 hertz), it makes a deep booming sound. It takes about a half hour to trudge to the top of this giant sword-edged dune. At one end of the dune lies the dilapidated remains of an old Pony Express station. The Pony Express, though a legend, only lasted 18 months before it was replaced by the much faster and efficient transcontinental telegraph.

The road continues through sagebrush desert and begins to climb to 6,000 feet as it approaches the tiny town of Austin (population 300), on the northern slope of the Toiyabe Mountains. A 2-minute drive along its steep Main Street takes you past all there is to see. Historic Austin was another one of Nevada’s silver mining boomtowns. After a Pony Express rider accidentally discovered silver here in 1862, Austin quickly became one of Nevada’s most populated areas. Unlike many mining towns that went bust before they could complete constructing buildings, Austin has a number of surviving pioneer churches (one Catholic, one Methodist, and one Baptist). On the western end of town, looming over an old cemetery, you can catch a glimpse of Stoke’s Castle, a huge stone fortress built in 1897 by a mining baron. The house was lived in for only a month. Since that time, Austin has experienced a steady decline. However, recent efforts to mine the abundant turquoise and barium have met with some success.

Leaving Austin, the road climbs steeply to Austin Summit (elevation 7,484) before descending to the longest and flattest stretch of the drive through miles and miles of Great Basin nothingness. 25 miles east of Austin, on the eastern side of 6.564 Hickison Summit is the BLM-operated Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area. A half-mile trail from the parking area loops through dozens of rocks covered with petroglyphs dating back as far as 10,000 B.C.

Another 45 miles brings you to the Eureka, one of the best-preserved mining towns in Nevada. In fact, Eureka County is still mining gold and has one of the largest and productive mines in the country. Along its 4 blocks of franchise-free Main Street are some interesting historic buildings, including the 1879 Eureka County Courthouse (still in use), and old newspaper office (now a museum), and an 1880s opera house.

The drive to Ely (population 4,750), 77 miles to the east, takes you through grazing grounds, more mountain peaks, and sage-covered valleys. Ely is the site of Nevada’s largest and longest-lived mining ventures, but they mined for copper, not silver or gold. At its peak during the 1950s, Ely produced over a billion dollars worth of copper ore and employed over 10,000 people. After the mines closed down in 1982, the railroad depot was turned into the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. On weekends, one can take a 90-minute, 14-mile ride aboard an historic coal-driven Ghost Train. The town also contains some needed travel services, such as gas stations and the only supermarket for 250 miles, as well as the landmark Hotel Nevada, with its giant cowboy and neon-lit slot machines.

East of Ely, US-50 continues another 25 miles before ascending 7,722-foot Connors Pass. From the summit, 13,061-foot Wheeler Peak comes into view. In another 20 miles is the town of Baker and the turnoff for Great Basin National Park (see next stop).