Ode to Wet Rocks

 Last night we had a humdinger of a rainstorm, with lots of lightning and intense downpours. We hardly know what rain is, since we usually only get about 6 inches a year! We probably got close to an inch of that last night. Afterwards Desert Girl was eager to get out and jump in puddles.

Today we went for a hike with visiting family up to the bristlecones in Great Basin National park along the bristlecone trail. When we set off from the valley floor at 5300 ft, the mountains were enshrouded with clouds and we didn't know what would we encounter. Fortunately the clouds lifted and we had beautiful hiking weather.

The recent rain really brought out colors in the Prospect Mountain Quartzite. I don't remember the rocks ever looking so beautiful! Here's a sampling:

(and some limber pine needles thrown in for good measure)

We had to take quite a few breaks for Desert Girl, but she hiked all the way up and back. The promise of lunch at the cafe made for a no-complaining trip.

Desert Girl spotted this cool mushroom:

Before too long we were getting close to the bristlecone grove.

The bristlecones are always magical, and it was neat seeing them with the clouds drifting nearby.

The trail even had a few puddles, which reflected the bristlecones nicely.

We were really glad we made the trek despite the threatening weather. We heard a few rumbles of thunder, but didn't get rained on at all.

Definitely recommend checking out the wet rocks near the Wheeler Peak Campground!

Views from the Air: Las Vegas to the Midwest

We're back from an extended trip and I downloaded my cameras, only to notice that I still had photos from November on one of them. In mid-November I was lucky to spend a long weekend with my best friends from high school. In order to get to the Midwest, I flew out of Las Vegas and took some photos along the way. The Las Vegas Strip stands out prominently from the air, surrounded by large blocks of development.

 What surprised me were the large undeveloped blocks not too far from the city center. The golf course certainly stands out as an anomaly in one of the driest cities in the country.

 Just west of Las Vegas is some amazing geology. I'm not sure what the names of these ridges are, but they certainly look rugged.

 Part of Lake Mead National Recreational Area. This reservoir is huge! The contrast between the parched earth and aquamarine-colored water is striking.

Next came a variety of desert vistas. Soon, though, the landscape transformed from brown hues to white ones, due to a change in topography and elevation, which encouraged snowfall:

 Crossing the Rocky Mountains. Clouds hung to some of the peaks, and the mountains seemed to continue forever.

Nevertheless, the mountains did come to an end, a rather abrupt end. Then it was time for:

 Farming! The round circles indicated pivot irrigation, which means that this farming is in an area where the rainfall isn't abundant enough or predictable enough to provide sufficient amounts for crops.

 The rivers grew larger,  a marked difference from the desert environment to which I've become accustomed.

Finally it was time for more farming, but in much smaller parcels. The fields are in rectangles, so probably no additional water is needed for the crops.

It was so interesting watching the scenery out the window that I didn't need many other distractions during the nearly-four hour flight. Crossing much of the country on a clear day in a window seat is a great treat.

Do you have favorite sights that you like to see from the air?

Desert Hot Springs: Diana's Punch Bowl and Spencer's

During our recent trip out to the Toquima Range in central Nevada, we had the chance to visit a couple of hot springs. Did you know that Nevada has more thermal springs than any other state in the U.S.? That's right, just one of the surprises Nevada holds! (And that one might be a little more exciting than knowing that Nevada is the #1 driest state in the nation.)

First, meet Diana's Punchbowl.

 Out in the middle of Monitor Valley lies a slight rise in the terrain, with a road leading up to it. I had read about this feature years ago in Geology Underfoot in Central Nevada, and have wanted to visit it since.

Although a road goes to the top, we parked at the gate and walked up. I wanted to have the experience of suddenly reaching the top and then looking down into the 30 foot deep cauldron. Plus, I have to admit, I wanted to check out the wildflowers on the way, and there were some beautiful ones that I still need to look up as I haven't seen them elsewhere.

 We got to the top and approached the edge of the 50-foot wide pit cautiously. I had the kids lie down, as I had read warnings about keeping pets and children closely under control.

 This is what we saw: nearly vertical limestone walls with a steaming pool of water at the bottom. The water was dark blue, and some vegetation in it was swirling around slowly, indicating currents. The temperature is reported to be 200 degrees F, so we didn't want to fall in.

 The kids were very good about listening and staying still. I told them to stay put while I walked around and took photos from different angles.

 Diana's Punch Bowl is certainly an unexpected feature. It is literally out in the middle of the valley. It must have taken some time to form, travertine layers slowly rising as the calcite-laden water emerged from deep within the earth and the calcite precipitated out.

Some plants grow down in the bowl, but you would need a rope to get down there. I should note that although the photos I've selected make this geologic wonder look almost pristine, some bozo sprayed graffiti on part of the inner punch bowl, greatly marring its beauty.


From the top we had a great view towards the Alta Toquima Wilderness, another place I'd like to visit some day. We could also see a little creek at the base of the hill on the east and south sides. We decided that we should go down and check it out, as I had read that the creek was a suitable temperature for soaking.


Desert Girl is becoming a very good hiker over uneven terrain, and she made it quickly down the hill.

 We checked out the water, and sure enough it was really pleasant. However, we didn't get in, as we had other hot spring plans for that evening. (But I hope to return some day here, it was so interesting. I've seen a couple photos from winter, and the rising steam looks so impressive! Also, not too far away is Pott's Hot Springs, which we didn't visit this trip.)

Next, meet Spencer's Hot Springs.

 On the other side of the Toquima Range, in Big Smoky Valley, lies Spencer's Hot Springs, a popular attraction, especially on a Saturday night. Even though they're remote, they aren't as remote as Diana's Punch Bowl, and they are within an hour's drive of Austin, Nevada. Several RVs and tents dotted the area, as well as a large contingent of teenagers, as well as our restoration group.

 Spencer's Hot Springs consists of three pools, two of which have been improved for soaking. We started with the middle one, which has a nice deck.

 The amount of hot water flowing in from the adjacent hot spring source can be adjusted via a valve. When we got there, the pool was in the upper 90's, perfect for the kids.

 After a long soak, we got out and went for a walk to the lower spring, where we heard there were fish.

 A trough at the lower hot spring also has a way to adjust how much hot water is flowing into it via moving a pipe. It was too hot for all of us, so we went on to the overflow ponds and quickly spotted the gold fish.

It was definitely strange and even unsettling seeing goldfish out there. The kids had fun hopping along the berms and getting just a little muddy. They had a great time and didn't want to leave.

Nevada has so many secret places! Las Vegas is often the image people get when they think of Nevada, but there really is so much more to the state. I'm looking forward to even more explorations!

Desert Destination: Tule Hardpan and Fossil Mountain

After our recent rock climbing adventure on the Ibex Crags, we took out the bikes and headed out on the Tule Hardpan, also known as the Ibex Hardpan. If you've never ridden a bike on a hardpan (playa), it is the bomb. You can go anywhere you want, it's perfectly flat, and it just feels great. The last time we biked on this hardpan, Desert Boy was just a toddler and we had an alien experience (click the link to see more!).

Desert Girl gave the playa a try on her little bike with training wheels, but soon decided she'd rather ride with mom. I guess I should add that when I say perfectly flat, I don't mean perfectly smooth. The playa has plenty of mud cracks, and it's best not to have super inflated tires or you will have a bumpy ride.

 So while my husband took a rest, the rest of us rode around the "island", a projection rising from the middle of the playa. Someone had planted three flag poles on the top, which seemed rather out of place to me. I'm not sure if it's some group or remnants from when they filmed part of the movie John Carter out here (which I have yet to see). As I noted in another post, playas have all sorts of uses.

 Someone had dug out a low spot on the playa, which gathered water for animal use. Desert Girl just barely resisted getting wet.

 After our little bike ride (which I could have continued much, much longer--did I mention how much I like riding on playas?), we packed up the bikes and headed around the south end of Ibex Crags and the Barn Hills to Blind Valley. Our destination?


The mighty Fossil Mountain, in the south Confusion Range. Nearly the entire mountain is made of fossils! Here's a link to a very brief geology of the mountain. Many of the fossils are from the Lower Ordovician Pogonip Group and include brachiopods, cephalopods, trilobites, and echinoderms. Dr. Lehi Hintze (who wrote the marvelous Geology of Millard County) and his coworkers used the area to establish fossil zones for rocks of this age that are a reference to paleontologists all over the world. He noted that because this area was at the edge of a sea, the wave action caused many of the fossils to be in pieces.

 We drove to the end of a four-wheel drive road and then headed up the wash towards the mountain. It didn't take us long to start spotting fossils.

 Here's a cephalopod.

 I'm not sure what this is, but it looked pretty. I wish I knew more about paleontology, because I mainly just look for pretty things but don't understand much about what they mean. Nevertheless, I appreciate that very different things used to live here, and that the landscape has changed so much over the millennia (although I'm looking for a word that means even bigger time changes--geologic time is so hard for my mind to grasp!).

We happily spent about an hour looking around.

Someday we'll have to hike all the way up the mountain. Summitpost says that it takes about two hours;  I think it would take me longer because I'd be stopping frequently to look for fossils!