Christmas Eve Fun in the Snow

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we decided to go see how much snow was up in Great Basin National Park. Down in Snake Valley it was mostly rain with a few flakes mixed in, but up at Upper Lehman Creek Campground, there was over 10 inches, and it was still coming down. It's neat how the elevation changes conditions so quickly--and how we can reach a totally different climate in a fifteen minute drive! We were dressed in our snow gear and had some snow toys with us, so we went to play. Desert Girl couldn't wait to sled. We decided to give the beginning of the connector trail to Lower Lehman Creek Campground a try.

It worked pretty well. After a few runs, I was ready to walk around and see what caught my eye. There wasn't any wind, so the snow was balanced even on small things, like rose hips.

I walked over to check out the newly renovated picnic area. The whole campground was redone this past summer with Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (SNPLMA) money.

But first I got pulled into the massive ponderosa pines that grace the campground. Snow outlined the branches and pine needles.

A new campfire ring is quite cute.

The amphitheater seating has been redone.

New restrooms have been installed.

This perfect white fir, next to a campsite, caught my eye. The snow looks like frosting on it.

This old road will be restored next year, as part of it goes through a wetland area. A new road was made in the campground to access the higher sites.

The upper part of the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive is closed to automobiles.

The snow plow was busy pushing snow as we watched.

Desert Boy made use of some of the snow piles to build a snow fort.

There's not a lot of color in the campground, but the shapes are beautiful.

Desert Girl was decked out in hot pink, and she had found a new sledding spot when I walked back.

It wasn't working quite how she wanted.

I took a couple runs to smooth things out and then she gave it a try.

Then she led me for a long hike in the woods, over the ice, across a bridge I had never seen before, and to several picnic tables where we snacked on snow. We figured it was time to go when we got back, but then she asked if she could ski. Sure, why not? We pulled out the cross country skis and she happily started down the road.

Desert Boy watched from the sled as she passed.

Then he decided he wanted to go too.

Last year the kids participated in their first cross country ski race, the Ely Birkebeiner. Desert Girl came in fourth and was quite upset, because only the top three finishers got medals. She came in fourth because she got passed when she had fallen down. So her goal was to learn how to get up faster so she wouldn't get passed again. She wants to come in third this year. She fell several times and did get up quickly. We'll try to get in some more practices before the January 21 event.

It was a nice, gentle ski going down the road on a thin layer of snow.

Desert Boy was so happy to be moving along.

He passed Desert Girl and kept going. And going, and going.

The turkeys had been out on the road.

I thought the kids would stop at Lower Lehman Campground, but they kept going. Eventually we had to get them to stop so we could go do the Nativity Play. It was a great afternoon outside with snow falling the whole time.

We're hoping to get lots more outside time, even though it's winter!