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Category Archives: road trip

Basalt and Junipers

From the lands with few trees and granite and then sandstone, we drove to the land of basalt and junipers. Lots of junipers. So many that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is cutting down or pruning many of the junipers. I don’t know why – maybe to ease fire danger or provide more rangeland for cattle. I really like the junipers. They seem to grow right out of solid basalt with little dirt. There were some cottonwoods and willows along the river.

We camped south of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southern Oregon. It’s a very pleasant campsite with a river on one side and a spring-fed creek on the other. We were next to the creek. The dogs loved it. They could cool off any time they wanted. We toured the refuge and some areas around it and also walked and walked, right from the campsite. It was a very relaxing place.

Sandstone

The girls and I left California, crossing Death Valley and drove through Las Vegas (worst part of the trip for me) to get to Valley of Fire State Park. It’s a beautiful park with just 72 campsites and some good hiking trails through various rock formations, some with interesting petroglyphs. Because it is close to Vegas, it has LOTS of day use. LOTS. I was fortunate to get a nice campsite and stayed two nights. It’s not a great place to take dogs with no surface water at all. The temperature was pleasant enough for me in the mid 70’s but the dogs were not very happy. I think it’s the only place we went over three weeks that did not have some water to entertain the dogs. The flowers were very pretty, particularly the evening primroses and beavertail cactus. And the sandstone layers were wonderful.

Red Rocks and Sunshine

After the Nightscaper event in Kanab, we had a couple of days left in Utah. It was too hot for Luna to really enjoy it and our campsite offered no relief in the way of shade or water. The landscapes are amazing with another unbelievable formation around every corner.

One afternoon, to escape the heat, we drove up to Bryce where it was much cooler. However there were so many people, some parking lots were at full capacity. Instead of seeing park rangers, I saw parking managers. Still I did enjoy the scenery.

And I got out one night for milky way photography with a little low level lighting. Ken helped me with the lights. It really doesn’t take very much. I still need so much practice.

Evening Walks

The evening light was beautiful where we camped and the girls and I enjoyed walks after dinner. I admit to being obsessed with the pastel pinks and greens of willow and sage and rabbitbrush and the stark aspens, not yet leafed out. And that geologic feature – the rock fin that came straight up out of the ground with its small arch on top. The female Northern Harrier must have had an unseen prey item and didn’t want to move even though we walked by her coming and going. Those two photos are heavily cropped. We were not overly close to her.

Good Times in Eastern Nevada

On our recent road trip, the girls and I spent a week in eastern Nevada. It was all new to us. I had never really contemplated what the phrase ‘basin and range’ meant. I thought it was mostly flat and desert-like with mountains here and there. That’s not the case at all. It has broad flat valleys that start at 5000′ elevation and are surrounded by high mountains, many going over 10,000′! As we drove through these valleys and over high passes, I was constantly amazed at the rugged snow-capped mountain ranges. Since it was May, the temperatures were cool and sometimes freezing overnight. I imagine it is brutal during the hot summer months. We saw familiar wildflowers but they were all short and seemed to be putting out all their energy before summer arrives. It must be a very short growing season.

Our friends from Montana joined us for a few days. Luna and Sky were surprised that Junie is almost grown up at nine months old. Gus was skeptical. We tried to get a four dog portrait but it never really worked. While Junie looks grown up, she is still a big puppy! Next time! We did a day trip to Great Basin National Park. The road to the high point was not open to cars due to snow so we walked on it instead. I’d like to go back and see the bristlecone pine trees and enjoy the night sky at over 10,000′!

Nevada is full of tiny towns, some on the brink of disappearing into history. Some are having a kind of renaissance, improving on historical features and counting on the great natural beauty to bring a few tourists to their communities. I wanted to say, be careful what you wish for. Don’t become Utah.