May 23, 2003: Great Basin National Park with the Family

For the extended Memorial day weekend, Sarah and I made for Great Basin National Park where we met with my mom, dad, and brother. Upon arrival, we accidentally threw our frisbee in a stream and expended no small amount of effort in recovering it. We spent the night at the Lehman Caves campground--a temperate alpine environment about 7000 ft. above sea level. The next day we had a reservation in the afternoon to go inside the Lehman Caves, but before that Reid, Sarah, and I decided to make an attempt at the summit of Wheeler Peak (13,000+ ft). We gave it our best effort, but eventually had to admit that the snow was far too soft for a set of snowshoeless hikers such as ourselves. A couple of pictures document the extent to which we were "post-holing". Since we turned back after only maybe 1.5 miles, we had some time to kill before our cave tour. We filled this void with a wild game of stick racing. Our version of this game goes as follows: First, each player must acquire a stick and name it. Whenever possible, names should reflect certain physical characteristics of the stick in question, and puns are to be especially favored. Secondly, all players must hurl their sticks simultaneously into the water at the starting area. The object is then to track your stick and cheer for it as it runs a gauntlet of rocks, logs, eddies, and strainers, and end up at the finish line (preferably a low bridge) before your stick does. The first stick to arrive at the bridge and be retrieved by its owner (or for a gentleman's game, any participant) wins. It then recieves the glory of victory and earns the right to participate in the next race. All other sticks must be abandoned to the stream. Players without sticks then proceed to acquire new sticks, and the cycle begins anew. After many riveting races, we headed into the Lehman Caves, which is one of the most decorated caves in North America. The pictures can only hint at the glorious interior. Legend has it that the cave was discovered when a pack rat stole a sandwich from Mr. Lehman, who gave pursuit on his horse. The pack rat escaped into the pack rat sized entrance to the cave, but man and horse accidentally made a man and horse sized entrance by crashing in through the ceiling. Following the tour, the five of us made for the Utah border and spent the night at Topaz Mountain. In the morning, in 100 degree heat, we wielded sledge hammers and rock hammers against the rhyolite rocks in the area, searching for Topaz gemstones. We all found several of varying quality. Topaz crystals are normally tinted blue, but here, certain impurities create an amber hue. However, when exposed to UV light for a couple of years, these crystals get bleached clear. The loose crystals we found were therefor clear, but several amber ones were procured from the rocks. Afterward, we returned to Great Basin to spend the remaining night, and in the morning Sarah and I left to return home. On the way our car broke down in cloud of smoke, but it was just a engine coolant line which had come undone and leaked all over the radiator. After reattaching the line and refilling the coolant we were on our way home from a fantastic family outing.