There's No Eclipsing the Beauty of Great Basin National Park

Doug normally doesn't have too many travel destination requests. If there's a brewery stop in his future, he's a happy camper. So when he suggested that we plan our October travels around a celestial event, I made sure to take notice. Being able to observe an annular eclipse is a big deal for my star-gazing partner. Being able to observe it against the backdrop of the mountains of Great Basin National Park made it memorable for the both of us!

The journey here had been a tad bit stressful with our coolant leak issues, but fix #3 was currently still holding, so we felt confident driving two hours into the middle of nowhere to visit our 44th national park. Great Basin National Park derives its name from a huge geological area that encompasses most of Nevada. It's called the Great Basin because all the water in the streams and rivers of this area drain into shallow salt lakes, marshes, and mud flats rather than making their way to the ocean. These water reserves eventually evaporate into the dry desert air. Great Basin is one of the few national parks where you can experience both the hot desert and the cold alpine environment by just driving a half hour up the road from the Visitor Center.

We left 80 degree temps on the desert floor (5500 feet elevation), found 60 degree temps in the national park campground (7500 feet elevation), and donned our winter jackets in the 40 degree temps found on the trails near Wheeler Peak (10,000+ feet elevation).

And that was also where we found ...

alpine lakes,

mountain streams,

colorful fall foliage,

and the national treasure that makes Great Basin such a special place ...

We found the home of the Bristlecone Pine!

The Bristlecone Pine is the oldest known living organism on our planet. Estimated to be between 3,000 and 5,000 years old, these gnarly-looking, hardy trees grow in the high elevations of the Great Basin mountains. They are accustomed to withstanding the bitterly cold temperatures and strong winds found in the high alpine environment. 

Due to the strength of their ancient wood, even the ones that are considered ''dead'' will continue to stand upright and tall for 600+ years after the tree last sprouted green pine needles.

Oh, the stories that these ancient giants could tell us as we walked around their mountaintop grove.

Fortunately, the park service has done a good job of protecting, studying, and passing on the story of these masters of longevity.

Camping at 7,500 feet also has its challenges as we found out the following morning when we woke up to below freezing temps ... which is not-so-good for our external water pipes. Fortunately, we had no issues, but with even colder temps forecast for the following nights, we decided to go back down to ''desert level''. Great Basin National Park is surrounded by BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land which is essentially ''public'' land, so ... if you can get to it, you can camp on it. Doug found us a prime spot right next to an abandoned horse corral.

Loving our 200+ acre ''yard''!

The skies were clear on the morning of the much anticipated annular eclipse,

 and we were grateful to be in the perfect spot to see ...

God's amazing light show!

Baby Beest even got in on the act. 

Enlarge the photo to see her ''ring of fire'' tattoo!

Our original travel route may have changed, but we were happy to find ourselves in the beautiful Nevada desert with its vast clear blue skies. Even though it was in the middle of nowhere, there is no eclipsing the natural beauty and amazing natural phenomenons found in Great Basin National Park!

Grateful also that some problems wait until we get back to civilization ...

Coolant leak #4 happened just as we pulled into the Arby's in Cedar City, Utah.

The belt from the Hymer-installed under hood generator once again wore a hole through the coolant hose. Thank God that there was a Napa Auto Parts store just down the street. Since he had been ''studying up'' on these coolant issues, Doug came to the rescue with a temporary fix that lasted until we could get to our trusted Hymer repair shop in California.

My hero earned his Arby's gyro!

Finding Gold As We Travel West

As we left Rapid City and headed west, we were cautiously optimistic that our coolant leak issue was resolved. At every stop, Doug would check the coolant level and give me the much anticipated ''thumbs up'' sign. When we reached the banks of the North Platte River in Casper, Wyoming, we were starting to feel the optimism that many early pioneers felt as they passed by here in covered wagons in the 1840s.

We had reached the 19th century emigration route that nearly 500,000 people followed in search of farmland, religious freedom, and wealth. We were in search of a once-in-a-lifetime ring of fire ... yet we found so much more along the way as our travels took us through Wyoming and down into the Salt Lake City, Utah area. As we followed the famous Oregon Trail, we ''struck gold'' when we found rich historical and gorgeous natural areas lining our route.

Casper, Wyoming is where the Oregon, Mormon, and California Trails merged as the pioneers headed for South Pass, the least-difficult crossing over the Rocky Mountain Range. Today, Casper is where the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is located to tell the story of these determined pioneers. 

The center shares the pioneers' narratives of their slow, dangerous journeys west in which upwards of 10% of the emigrants didn't survive. Disease and accidents as well as harsh weather were constant threats. But their determination to find a better way of life pushed them on.

Today many groups are working to preserve these historical trails. Our route the next day took us near one of the trails that led to Independence Rock, a Wyoming state historic site. This large granite rock alongside the Sweetwater River became a well-recognized landmark for the early westward travelers. 

It was said that the name came from the fact that the emigrants had to arrive at Independence Rock on or before July 4, otherwise there was a good chance that they would not be able to get across the western mountains before the first winter storms arrived. We may be in trouble since it was already early October when we made it here! 

This huge landmark has been nicknamed ''the register of the desert'' because over 5,000 pioneers carved their name and the date of their passing by in the rock as they made their way west. It was amazing to walk around this monument and see some names still there after almost 180 years.

Look closely ... can you see a bit of history?

Fortunately, due to the invention of the automobile, we arrived in the Wasatch Mountains between Park City and Salt Lake City a few days before the first winter storm arrived. And we were greeted with a gift of magnificent gold ... in the form of colorful autumn leaves.

We drove up to Wasatch Mountain State Park where we found ...

colorful hiking trails,

as well as a picturesque place to camp for the night.

The next morning we enjoyed a colorful but ''white knuckle'' ride up and over Guardsmen Pass.

Lots of switchbacks, very few guardrails ...

and a long way down!

The ski trails at the top are patiently waiting for snow in order to welcome back the skiers, but they seemed happy to have two hikers enjoy their slopes ...

as we walked up them!

That blue diamond run was a bit

more difficult than I remember!

The view at the top overlooking Twin Lakes was definitely worth the effort!

Like the early pioneers knew,

there is gold in these hills,

... and we're grateful that God's perfect timing allowed us to find it!

Cooling Our Jets in Rapid City

After enjoying five weeks with family and friends in Minnesota, we were ready to take off. We had ''planned'' a leisurely three week journey west with stops at the Badlands, Grand Tetons, Crater Lake, and Great Basin National Parks. Our goal was to be somewhere out west in order to experience the annular eclipse on Oct 14.

But we had to throw out the ''leisurely'' part of our trip to see the eclipse

when we found ourselves in Rapid City for a week seeking a fix!

While visiting Wind Cave National Park, an hour south of Rapid City, Baby Beest sprung a coolant leak ... not good, and definitely not driveable!

The first of three tows in the next five days ...

After getting it towed back to Rapid City and finding a shop that would agree to work on it ... not an easy feat when the Ram ProMaster engine has been modified by the Hymer van build-out ... we have been cooling our jets while they tried a few creative maneuvers to repair the leak. Yes, we needed two more tows when the first few repairs didn't pass the ''drive around town'' road test. But we're optimistic that the third time is the charm! Our recent road tests allowed us to check out the fix as well as explore the surrounding area.

The fall colors are in full bloom along the city trails.

We found a few breweries to try out as well as an outdoor concert one evening.

And I'm enjoying my history lessons as we walk around downtown with the lifesize statues of the Presidents of the United States hanging out at every corner.

I think that James Madison and I could see ''eye-to-eye''!

We're trying to stay positive, because this is the reality of our lifestyle. There are going to be fun times as well as frustrating moments. So as we wait out this current repair, I'm going to concentrate on and share some of the fun times that we recently enjoyed during our visit to Minnesota.

Wonderful moments like ...

Minneapolis biking with our sons and daughter-in-law,

Lunches and therapeutic gab sessions with girlfriends,

A pontoon ride with college friends who make the forty years since graduation seem just like yesterday,

Thursday morning bike tours around Rochester with our friend, Dave followed by a Mr Pizza lunch,

Fun fajita fiestas with friends,

Chance meetings with ''day brightener'' pals,

Cello concerts by our talented Godchild, Ella,

Bedtime stories with our ''adopted'' grandchildren,

A toast with my sisters, when we just happened to find ourselves in the same city at the same time,

Hanging out with camping buddies ... happy that our travel paths crossed once again,

A Labor Day lake gathering with other camping friends,

Delicious dinners, movie night, and quality time spent with my talented friend, Brittany. 

and just hanging out with Zoey, who had decided that she really wants to become an RV dog.

Thinking back on all the blessings that we have been able to experience because of ''van life'' helps put some of the difficult times into perspective, and also gets us thinking ...

What will our next season of retirement look like?

We often get asked, ''how long do you think that you will continue to travel?'' or, ''what does your next phase of life look like?'' This current ''bump in the road'' has started us (ok, mainly me) pondering those questions. Continuing van life ... Selling the van and pursuing international travel ... Settling down ... and where?

Spending time with cute grand-puppies like Pippy Longbody,

and Peter the Pug,

and feeling a sense of community with family and friends are strong reasons to settle down,

but memories of the amazing places that we have been able to visit because of our current lifestyle also pose very compelling reasons to keep traveling. 

Thankfully, our van is up and running once again. So, for now, we'll take it one day at a time, pondering our options while being grateful for the people who are always there to warmly welcome us back home.

PS: The opinions expressed about our future travel plans are the sole opinions of this blog author. Her travel partner currently just agrees that this break-down has been difficult and that we need to start thinking about what our ''next phase'' looks like. 

Of course, if he would happen to be in the market for a new travel vehicle, I think that I may have found him the perfect model at the recent antique auto show that was held last weekend in downtown Rapid City!