Great Basin became a national park in 1986, and no other parks have joined the US federal park system since. The park is in the high desert about 70 miles east of Ely, Nevada, which is 250 miles north of Las Vegas. The park is 7,000 to 13,000 feet above sea level so its cool summer temperatures are a very pleasant surprise to the tourists.

Great Basin is home to many natural wonders including a permanent glacier, groves of bristlecone pines (the oldest living things on earth), and Lehman Caves with its fascinating and colorful limestone and marble formations – a splendid example of what Mother Nature can whip up given a few hundred million years to think about it.

It takes 100 years for a Lehman Caves’ stalactite to grow a single inch.

The “caves” are actually one big cavern that is approximately a quarter mile in length. It was discovered long before Europeans walked the high desert, but the first record of the find was circa 1885 when the industrious landowner Absalom Lehman began showing the cave to visitors for a dollar a tour. Armed with a candle, the early tourists were treated to a constant 50 degree temperature in a cavern full of colorful stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, flowstones and disc like shield formations.

Today, all tours are guided by qualified Park Rangers who happily regale the crowds with interesting tales about the history and folklore of the great cave.

Lights out

During our visit, and after asking the group’s permission, our ranger-guide turned off his flashlight and all the electric lights that illuminate the footpaths. It was pitch black and eerily silent. Then the ranger lit a candle in a tin can to demonstrate what the first visitors experienced from that single source of illumination. It was a psychedelic like event, with rushes of flickering light bouncing off what appeared to be dancing clusters of strange translucent creatures – a truly stunning visual and soundless adventure.

For information about the Lehman Caves’ tours cut and paste: http://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/lehman-caves-tours.htm

If you go

Great Basin National Park is at the eastern end of Highway 50 in Nevada, and the entrance and Visitor Center is near the small town of Baker on Highway 487. The Lehman Caves Visitor Center is six miles west of the park entrance on Highway 488.

Be sure to bring a jacket for comfort. The high desert can get chilly at night even in the summer.

Next, in our series about beyond-the-cities Nevada, we will explore the scenic natural wonders of Cathedral Gorge and the Valley of Fire state parks.

Happy travels!

© Travels with Wayne and Judy (syndicated)
Photos © Wayne and Judy Bayliff

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