To celebrate Labor Day weekend, we were lucky enough to go camping with my family in Great Basin National Park in Nevada. None of us had even heard of this national park, but it was surprisingly green and beautiful for being in the middle of nowhere. We had heard it was the second least visited park in the U.S. which made us want to find out what this park was all about.
I was able to get Friday off from work, which was a smart idea since we left at 9 am and got to the campsite at 7:30 pm. Had we waited until I got off work at 1pm, we wouldn't have made it to camp until after midnight for sure. We didn't have to much traffic, but we were very happy after driving around all the campsites to see my siblings cars surrounding our campsite. We had dinner and enjoyed all the kids playing together, and talked into the night past our bedtime.
On Saturday we went on a little nature hike around the Lehman Cave visitor center. It was a beautiful view into the valley, and there were signs all around the trail telling you about the history of location and what kind of plants surrounded the area. We headed back to camp for lunch, and then back up to the Lehman Cave to go on the tour. We had to break into two groups because the little kids couldn't go on the 90 minute tour, and there wasn't enough room for all of us to go on the 60 minute tour.
We also seem to have the most inconvenient things happen when we are camping that ensure that our trip will be memorable. My brother, Seth, and his girlfriend Jessica got a very, very flat tire as we were parking to go on our tour of Lehman cave. We could hear the air coming out of the tire as we were all getting out of the car. Luckily, they had a spare and it didn't take them too much time to change the tire.
The changing of the tire.
It also rained. We have come to expect rain since a few years ago we realized that no matter where or when we go camping, we always have rain. Luckily it only lasted part of our trip. The funny thing is it hasn't rained for 4 months in Great Basin, and it just happened to rain the one weekend we were there.
Saturday night we huddled under the tarp while the wind blew and it sprinkled rain on and off. We played games and enjoyed the kids running around, jumping on things and chasing each other.
The grandkids from left top to right: Malia and Max, Ellie and Malia, Emily and Ellie, Rachael and Kaitlyn
I was able to get Friday off from work, which was a smart idea since we left at 9 am and got to the campsite at 7:30 pm. Had we waited until I got off work at 1pm, we wouldn't have made it to camp until after midnight for sure. We didn't have to much traffic, but we were very happy after driving around all the campsites to see my siblings cars surrounding our campsite. We had dinner and enjoyed all the kids playing together, and talked into the night past our bedtime.
On Saturday we went on a little nature hike around the Lehman Cave visitor center. It was a beautiful view into the valley, and there were signs all around the trail telling you about the history of location and what kind of plants surrounded the area. We headed back to camp for lunch, and then back up to the Lehman Cave to go on the tour. We had to break into two groups because the little kids couldn't go on the 90 minute tour, and there wasn't enough room for all of us to go on the 60 minute tour.
We also seem to have the most inconvenient things happen when we are camping that ensure that our trip will be memorable. My brother, Seth, and his girlfriend Jessica got a very, very flat tire as we were parking to go on our tour of Lehman cave. We could hear the air coming out of the tire as we were all getting out of the car. Luckily, they had a spare and it didn't take them too much time to change the tire.
The changing of the tire.
It also rained. We have come to expect rain since a few years ago we realized that no matter where or when we go camping, we always have rain. Luckily it only lasted part of our trip. The funny thing is it hasn't rained for 4 months in Great Basin, and it just happened to rain the one weekend we were there.
Saturday night we huddled under the tarp while the wind blew and it sprinkled rain on and off. We played games and enjoyed the kids running around, jumping on things and chasing each other.
The grandkids from left top to right: Malia and Max, Ellie and Malia, Emily and Ellie, Rachael and Kaitlyn
Sunday morning we decided to go on a hike to some lakes up by Wheeler Peak (which is a 13,000 ft. elevation mountain peak). The air was getting cooler and cooler the higher we drove up, and by the time we reach the parking lot, it was 55 degrees- a good 20 degrees cooler than it was at our campsite. We all bundled up in as many coats and jackets as we had thought to bring with us, but it was still pretty cold with the strong wind. Most of us made it all the way to the first lake, and then Seth, Jessica, Jay, Rachael and I decided to hike the extra mile to the other lake. It was a beautiful view, even if it was pretty cold that far up.
The whole gang (sans Jay) on our hike to the lakes.
The first lake we hiked to. What a beautiful view.
Seth and Jessica and Shannan and Jim decided they should leave Sunday night so they could get home without too much delay the next day. Seth and Jessica had made the long trip all the way out from Omaha and needed to leave early to get back in time for work Tuesday. I think it was for the best since it started pouring around 9:30 pm and ended up hailing on us. Luckily we all decided to go to bed early and we were all huddled in our tents by the time the hail started, and the hard rain only lasted a few hours.
Monday morning was pretty cold and a little wet as we packed up our camping gear. We left at 9am and made it home at 8:30pm, hitting some traffic after leaving Las Vegas. But the drive was well worth it.
The first lake we hiked to. What a beautiful view.
Monday morning was pretty cold and a little wet as we packed up our camping gear. We left at 9am and made it home at 8:30pm, hitting some traffic after leaving Las Vegas. But the drive was well worth it.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful family, and we were sad that Lauren and Alec couldn't be with us. Hopefully they can make our annual family trip next year. We had a great time with everyone and we were sad it had to end.
Jay and Rachael working on a crossword together.
Max, Malia, and Shannan making their way to the river by our campsite.
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