Nevada

Some scenic views from within Great Basin National Park, Nevada

By Mia McPherson, on October 24th, 2012%

View of Wheeler Peek from Mather Overlook

I didn’t have much luck photographing birds and wildlife last week in Great Basin National Park which is located in White Pine County, Nevada but I did take plenty of images of the scenery and the fall colors. This image was taken at the Mather Overlook (9,000 feet elevation) and shows Wheeler Peak (13,063 feet elevation) which is part of the South Snake Range. The mountain ranges in the Great Basin Region are called “sky islands” and they are separated by “seas” of deserts.

View of Mt. Moriah Wilderness Area in the Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest

While driving down from Mather Overlook there are great views of the Mt. Moriah Wilderness Area in the northern part of the Snake Range.

Fall colors near Snake Creek

Poplars and Aspens provided splashes of yellows in the autumn landscape, these Poplars were along Snake Creek. The area also had Pinyon Pines, Junipers, Sagebrush and Rabbitbrush. By the way, the pine nuts from the Pinyon Pines in the area are delicious.

Another view from Snake Creek

The geological features of Great Basin National Park fascinated me, the mountains, streams, playas, rock formations and deserts kept drawing me into the wilderness and I imagined what life was like here for the early settlers and the Shoshone, Fremont People and Paleo-Indians that lived there before them.

View from near the Shoshone Trail

At higher elevations the Aspens had already lost their leaves.

Road to the Shoshone camping area – Great Basin National Park

I loved the quietness of the Snake Creek area roads that lead up to the Shoshone Camping Area, this area is away from the busier main section of the park and there are far fewer people in the area.

Bare Aspen view at the Shoshone camping area

I spotted some Mule Deer grazing while peering into this Aspen grove. I half expected to see a Bobcat cross the dirt road on the way up and as I stood taking this image I wish I could have heard the trumpeting calls of the Elks. Or the scream of a Mountain Lion.

The beauty of the area touched me deeply as I wandered around listening to the sound of Snake Creek coursing down the slope touching the stark white bark of the Aspens along with the pungent smell of Sagebrush.

I’m very glad to have visited and seen the treasures of Great Basin National Park.

Mia

Weird and Wacky Fence Post Decor – Great Basin National Park, Nevada

By Mia McPherson, on October 21st, 2012%

I’m back from Great Basin National Park in Nevada, the scenery was spectacular, the weather very pleasant and I had a completely enjoyable time. There weren’t many birds though at this time of the year and those that were around sure wouldn’t cooperate and allow close enough approaches to get quality images. And since it is legal to gamble in Nevada I played a few (winning) hands of poker!

On the drive up to Great Basin National Park & Lehman Caves there were fence post decorations that made me laugh every time we went by them. The light sucked when I took these images so they aren’t my best quality but it was nice for a change to have more than a few seconds to take my time to focus, as a bird photographer I usually do NOT have that luxury.

Tin Can Snake

The main entrance to Great Basin National Park is in Snake Valley, Nevada and snakes seem to play into the theme of some of these fence decorations. I bet this one “rattles” in the wind!

2000 Pounds

I haven’t figured out the what this one means or why the guy has a rag in his hands but I sure do like the background.

Anywhere but Here

What an inventive way to re-use and recycle an old microwave, bread dough machine, worn gloves & boots, a baking pan, old piping material and a folding chair. Notice how the thumb of the glove is pointing down? Maybe the person who created this doesn’t like living in Snake Valley and wants to be “Anywhere but Here!”.

Bob Wire

Whoever decorated this section really has a sense of humor using barbed wire to create the outline of a man’s shape. I wonder how much blood they lost making “Bob Wire”.

Barb Wire

Of course Bob would have been lonely without “Barb Wire”! These two are tremendously wired even without going to Nevada’s Casinos!

Ssssssssnake Valley

Here is the “Snake” theme again with the snake’s body creating the “V” in Valley. I’m not sure what that object is on the far right, any guesses?

Grate Basin

This one cracked me up every time I went by it, an old urinal basin hung on a grate! Not that I have ever used a urinal which is grate!

Wheel ER Peek

I actually didn’t figure out what this one meant until this morning. The highest mountain in Great Basin National Park is Wheeler Peak at 13, 063 feet in elevation. So wheel + er + peeking man = Wheeler Peak! Duh, why did that take me so long to figure out when there is a great view of the mountain from that fence post?

Bristle Cone

This one I figured out right away, bristles in a cone. Great Basin National Park is known for having several Bristlecone Pine Tree forests within the park boundaries. I’m sure though that I would NOT want to lick the bristles in that cone!

Rollin Springs

“Rollin Spring” must feed into nearby Lehman Creek in this area but I couldn’t find it on the map I had.

Rollin’ Ranch

There may well be a Rollin’ Ranch behind the fence in this location!

Alien Road Watcher

Ever feel like someone or something is watching you? In this case it would be an alien road watcher, he (or she) is all set up to last all day & night long, notice the radio? The hat and shades to protect him (or her) from the hot desert sun, the Tiki torch to light the night and the easy to use Beer dispenser? Oh yeah, and his (or her) ”wheel” chair too. Yes, they are there for the duration. And if they need to tinkle they can wheel on over to the Grate Basin urinal

Metal spider

I really wasn’t sure about this Metal Spider decoration but while researching the flora and fauna of the park I saw that they are asking citizen scientists to help with spider studies in the park and that they hope to find some new species by doing the study. This spider just wants to be found and have its 15 minutes of fame and is willing to take the “plunge” by being out in the open. I’d call it Ferruginous rusticuswheelus of the class Arachnida.

Smiley Face

This one is easy, a smilin’ face. Perhaps it is smiling because of the great name I picked out for the Ferruginous rusticuswheelus Spider!

Spare Snake Valley’s Water

This one must have been designed by a person who is concerned about water usage in a desert valley. Please don’t “pin” me down for my interpretation though!

Hello Gorgeous

This decoration spoke directly to me! No… it WAS not the voices in my head!

Where Cowboy Mannequins Go to Die

And last, but not least, is Baker’s version of “Boot Hill”, where Cowboy Mannequins go to tip up their toes and die. Or maybe it is Cowgirls, that exposed leg looks kind of shapely.

These were so humorous I just had to share even though they have little to do with nature. Hmm, they have a lot to do with HUMAN nature though!

Mia