The Husband and I are on vacation and we’re hoping to blog about it in relative real time! (We’ll get back to our July/August/September travels and eats in the coming weeks) We’re on a roadtrip exploring Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah before we head to the beach for a wedding.  First stop on our road trip was Great Basin National Park.  We had decided in advance that we would camp and we would try to take advantage of the cave tours they offered.  We were running late leaving Las Vegas so when we pulled up at 3 minutes till 3:00pm (the last running of the tours for the day), we were nervous we’d miss them.  Thankfully, though, now that they’re moving into the off season, they were willing to add us at the last minute!

Tickets for the 60 minute Lodge Room Tour were only $8 per person and well worth it!

Before the tour started, our group of 7 sat while our park ranger explained stelagtites, stelagmites, and the other natural, living structures we’d see inside.  We even got to handle a stelagtite (the ones that come down from the ceiling) partly so we could learn more about what we were going to see but also to give us an opportunity to touch one without touching the living ones inside the cave.

Once the tour started, we moved into a manmade tunnel which was created in the 1930s.  (The caves were discovered in the late 1800s)

We walked through a number of rooms that had been modified slightly for tourists.  However, once the caves became a national park, no more modifications were made in order to preserve the living stelagtites, stelagmites, and other formations.  You could see many drops of water on them as they were forming and some of us (me included!) got “cave kissed” when a drop fell on us

Our park ranger Shannon was very informative, friendly, and fun.  We had a great time in the tour and were glad that we made it in time!

After we were done, shortly before 4, the Husband and I headed into town for some dinner supplies and then headed back to choose a camp site and set up our tent.  We found a site next to a creek and we looked forward to the sound of running water later while we slept.

After the tent was up, we jumped back in the car to tour and photograph the Wheeler Park Scenic Drive which is a 12 mile drive that rises in elevation approximately 3000 feet.  The views were breathtaking!

We saw wildlife during the drive… Turkeys (including baby turkeys!)

Deer…

Jack Rabbits…

And signs suggesting Marmots (but no actual marmots)

Here’s a goofy photo of me trying to get the camera remote to work

Back to nature…

And back to camp…

As it got closer to sunset, we built a fire, ate dinner, and started to prep the camera for what we hoped would be some good astral photography.  After a bout of rain and clouds and some tweaking of the camera settings, the Husband got some pretty good astral photos if we do say so ourselves.

The Husband then snapped a photo of me attempting to warm up near the fire.

The next morning, the Husband got up early and got some early morning photos before we headed on our way to Idaho.

It was a beautiful and slightly chilly morning