As we drove to Great Basin National Bank, we were on the Loneliest Highway in the U.S. Now I would have to disagree with that, as we saw at least as many cars on that road as we do driving from Springer to Clayton. But it was certainly straighter than the Clayton road! At one point, we came across the Sevier Lake, which is not a lake at all but instead a dried salt bed. It was pretty against the mountains, however.
When we drove into the Great Basin National Park Visitor Center, we thought we had hit a first. There was not one car in the parking lot. When I went to the door, however, I saw why . . . that particular center was closed, and we had to proceed to the visitor center at the Lehman caves.
The visitor center was small but very interesting. We learned that the Great Basin is an area of Utah and Nevada where none of the rivers drain to the ocean. We didn't know such a place even existed. We also found that there were cave tours, and we decided to take one.
The caves were small but very interesting and fun. The guide showed us many different shapes - stalactites, stalagmites, curtains (one that looked like bacon), shields, flows, and candles. Shields are only present in about 80 caves throughout the US. They are really cool looking, and I was excited that my pictures turned out fairly well.
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| This curtain resembles a piece of bacon |
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| Two shields - unique round structures
One other interesting aspect of Great Basin involves a Winchester rifle. We had read back in 2014 that a man had found a rifle while walking in the desert. it was leaning against a tree and was obviously very old. Turns out it is one of Buffalo Bill Cody's rifles, complete with a bullet that was lodged inside it. The rifle is now on display because it was found in the Great Basin National Park. Very cool!
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