Driving across the US always amazes us as we learn completely new tidbits of information every where we go. We visited Great Basin National Park last week and as we drove across the vast and desolate central Utah toward Eastern Nevada and Great Basin NP, we wondered why Great Basin NP was named Great Basin NP. It turns out that “the hydrographic Great Basin is a 209,162-square-mile (541,730 km²) area that drains internally. All precipitation in the region evaporates, sinks underground or flows into lakes (mostly saline). (Wikipedia)” This is the one area of the United States that the waters do not drain either to the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean.

Great Basin National Park

Great Basin National Park stretches from Wheeler Peak that stands over 13,000′, the tallest peak in the Great Basin, to the sagebrush high desert of Eastern Nevada. It also boasts a natural attraction, Lehman Caves, discovered in the late 1880s, which was named as a National Monunment in 1922. The rich ecologcial diversity of the area as well as history of humans dating back to the 1200’s prompted the Park Service to create Great Basin National Park in 1986.

The Journey Across the Great Basin

The journey across the Great Basin area from Utah to SE Oregon is as fascinating as visiting the park. While Colorado is not part of the Great Basin, I included the journey across Colorado on I-70, through the Eisenhower Tunnel and over Vail Pass over 10,000′ as well, always part of the adventure when we are towing our 35′ rig. Our first night was in Palisades, just outside of Grand Junction, where Uncle Dave aan Aunt Carol popped in for a visit of wine tasting and dinner. This leg of our journey took us to Crane Hot Springs just SE of Burns, OR a few days later.