Great Basin National Park

While driving back from the Northern California Geology Field Trip Class, I finally made it to a place I have long sought to visit. Great Basin National Park is on the eastern edge of Nevada and quite out of the way from any major or even small city. The tiny hamlet of Baker, NV sits at the base of the park, but there is not much else even close by. Ely, NV is an hour west and Delta, UT is a few hours east. The siren call of this remote wilderness is the unique biological wonder of bristlecone pines on Mt. Wheeler. I have visited the other major stand of bristlecones in the White Mountains east of the Sierra Nevadas in Cali and discussed those in an earlier post on here because they are the coolest trees ever. I'm not a big plant person, preferring rocks to most vegetation, but bristlecones are the oldest known living individual organisms (as opposed to colonies or clones) in the world. And these trees live in some of the most inhospitable environments in the world, growing at and above treeline in remote great basin locales. The Methuselah Tree is over 4,400 years old; it's location kept secret by park officials to prevent defacement. To read more click the title of this post to go to the park website. Enjoy the pics, all of which are copyrighted A. Keller 2011.

NorCal Geology

This summer I had the wonderful opportunity to take a geology field trip class to Northern California to visit the Modoc Plateau and Lassen Volcanic National Park. These are areas I had never visited before and the chance to see them for such a cheap price was more than enough incentive to go. I met up with the class at Devil's Post Pile and left my car in Mammoth to continue in the vans with the class. The following day we drove to Lava Beds National Monument. Lava Beds has the largest collection of lava tubes in North America so spelunking was the name of the game. Bats live in some of the caves, one cave even has ice in it year round. The area was also home to the Modoc Indians before they were sent to the Klamath Reservation. A small band came back and fought a gorilla war against US troops. Led by Captain Jack, they hid out amongst the lava outcroppings and kept the soldiers at bay for 6 months before half the group rebelled and turned in Capt Jack. Just east of the monument is the remnants of the Tule Lake Segregation Camp where thousands of Japanese Americans were illegally held during WW II. We toured the camp "jail" and saw some of the scribbled notes on the walls left by occupants.

Colorado

Having a truck driver for a friend can be interesting. He rolls into town randomly, we go get food, and he tells me what parts of the country he's visited, usually making me jealous. I've mentally debated numerous times becoming a trucker for the ability to see so much of the country, constant driving, and the slightly flexible schedule. It's not conducive to dating or family life though, plus there are enough other things I want to do. Anyhow, said friend quit his trucking job at one company and was starting at another in Colorado. The wonderful part was that he needed a ride to CO and of course I was happy to comply. We drove all night to get him there by morning to start training. Afterward I got to choose my route back and took a rather squiggly shaped tour though Rocky Mountain National Park, Leadville, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and towns along the way. Driving out of Leadville was fascinating to me as I passed so many 14,000'+ peaks, including the highest peak in Colorado Mt. Elbert. I saw the head waters of both the Colorado and Arkansas Rivers. These are not terribly far from each other, but both flow thousands of miles in opposite directions. Rocky Mountain NP is an all right place to visit, but not high on my list of places to return to. Black Canyon of the Gunnison is now one of my favorite places ever! A massively deep canyon only a couple hundred yards across, I watched the sun set over the rim, tinting the steep rock walls with glorious shades of pinks and yellows. Enjoy the pics, all are Copyright A. Keller, 2011.

Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

Headwaters of the Colorado River, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO

National Mining Hall of Fame, Leadville, CO

Old Schoolhouse, Leadville, CO

Mount Elbert 14,440' Highest in CO

Mount Massive 14,428'

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO

I'll be back to tell you about my geology field trip to NE California, including the Modoc Plateau and Lassen Volcano.

Moab MLK

I love Southern Utah! The various red rock formations throughout the Colorado Plateau make for spectacular photography and interesting vacations. Now that I have a job, I can actually afford to go places, and it had been a while since I last visited Moab. Martin Luther King Jr. weekend provided enough time to escape and explore new locations near town. Arches NP was my first stop and I spent the day hiking the snow-covered Entrada Formation and Slickrock. I love the contrast of snow on rust-colored rock; the expanded palette of colors provides wonderful visual stimuli. All pictures Copyright Aaron Keller, 2011.

 

Wall Street

 

 Petrified Dunes

 Delicate Arch

Landscape Arch 

Church Rock

Newspaper Rock

Way into the Needles District

 Looking towards Island in the Sky

 Frozen Waterfall

Looking south towards the Needles

  

 The Needles

 

Moonrise over the Canyon