Great Basin Craters of the Moon 2012

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No "Photoshoping" here: this is just the way it was at sunset from our campground at the north end of Willard Bay State Park in Utah.

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And no, this ain't Photoshoped either.

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Three of the hundreds of quail that seemed to be hanging out around our campsite.

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On to Great Basin. We camped at the Lower Lehman campground in the Park. Most of the campsites, even the few pull-throughs, are NOT level. We ultimately pulled the trailer into the exit of the campground, and tilted the trailer sufficiently to keep it level.

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Roger's new way of making S'Mores when one is too lazy to bring firewood.

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A nice view of the interior of Great Basin from a scenic overlook.

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The full view of the aspen-ringed meadow below us.

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Time for a hike, up into the Bristlecone Pines and to a view of a rock glacier.

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This was an old giant bristlecone. These trees live for 3000 - 4000 years. The oldest living things on earth. This one was no longer alive, but we would see many that were.

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Here is Susie taking a closeup of a bristlecone that is still alive, despite how its trunk looks.

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Climbing above the bristlecones, we get above a huge field of rocks. The mtn range in the distance is part of the Mt. Moriah Wilderness area.

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Getting higher up into the basin.

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Susie and the northeast face of Wheeler Peak.

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You can see remnants of the glacier at the head of the valley, and the rock piles cover the ince in the lower end. This, we decided based on the wind and cold, would be our turnaround point.

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A healthy and growing bristlecone.

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Some interesting patterns in the tree trunks.

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Roger playing Art Wolfe......

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The photo he was taking.

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The night sky above our trailer camp.

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The next day we climbed Wheeler Peak. The full photo story is in the album starting October 5, 2012. Anyway, the view of the summit of the Peak.

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Roger struggling on the final thousand feet.