The objective for the day was to tour Lehman Cave and then travel south along Hwy 93 to Cathedral Gorge State Park in Panaca, NV for the night. The photos below are what we saw.
The morning was bright and clear, but windy and cold. It turned out that we were between waves of the storm. Above is a view of Wheeler Peak to the west of our overnight camp.
There was still weather activities to the north of us. Above, you can see the ENTIRE town of Baker, NV to the north of us.
The visitor's center at the caves was nice and best of all had heated bathrooms. The entrance to the cave is around 7,000 feet so it was cold outside. But, the temperature inside the cave was a steady 50 degrees.
Until the very last minute, Kathleen and I were the only ones on the tour. But, a group of 4 young hikers showed up and went with us. Once inside the cave, the scope of the rock work became visible.
Almost every formation known in limestone caves was represented in Lehman Cave. Cave popcorn can be seen on the stalactite in the background.
Deposition of limestone in the water flowing through the cave produced nice flow formations.
Many of the areas had fine stalactites and so-called "soda straws".
More popcorn on this nice column.
Some of the stalagmite were huge.
Lehman is a "live" cave and is still growing due to hydraulic action. This stalactite was broken off by human activity in the cave and has since been growing again. Each droplet of water deposits a small layer of limestone as the water evaporates, thus causing the structure to extend over time.
This group of soda straws was one of the nicest in the whole cave.
Another nice, big column.
This structure was interesting in that it was spread over a wide area.
This is an odd and rare structure called a "shield" for obvious reasons. There were quite a few of these in the cave.
A twisted set of curtains.
More nice, broad flow structures.
Something in the specific mineral content of the water in this area causes horizontal structures to evolve from the stalactites.
Many of the structures reached from ceiling to floor.
Note the nice column on the right.
Some of the deeper areas of the cave had colored flows due to different mineralization in the water.
One of the structures was broken off and was left on the floor. It has subsequently been welded in place by mineral deposition.
More nice flow structures.
Multiple colors are represented in this shot.
Massive structures were deposited on the floor and then grow up.
Some of the structures look like they came from a horror movie.
There were a number of pools inside the cave. This one was somewhat unique in that it had a stalactite growing out of the center of the pool. Note the popcorn around the sides of the column.
Once back outside, we got a nice view of the Snake Valley and the ranges beyond in Utah.
Both on the way in and out, we passed a large herd of white tailed deer. I got surprised on the way in, so failed to capture them, but on the way out I was ready. We did not see a buck in this herd but a number of the does were pregnant.
As we left the park, the weather degraded and the winds picked up. It snowed a bit coming over Sacramento Pass and again as we hit Hwy 93. Here is the Wheeler Peak range as seen from the western side. Note that the peak is no longer visible due to the weather.
Here comes the front! That bank of clouds was carrying high winds and blowing snow, so we attempted to get out of dodge fast.
A bit later, there was a small break in the weather affording better views of the peaks along the highway. We traveled south of Hwy 93 fighting the winds but having no real issues.
We arrived at Cathedral Gorge and got our first look at the place from a highway rest stop. This is a view of a small part of the canyon from above.
Once we got into the canyon, we found a campsite and then went on a short drive around the area. This is a shot of one of the southern faces of the gorge. The structures are eroded in mudstone and silt left over from an ancient lake bed.
The leading edge of the frontal system passed and left relatively clear skies.
This fin structure was interesting, but not that big. The peaks are perhaps 20 feet tall.
Despite the wind and snow showers, we had no issues traveling. Diesel was expensive in Baker, but given the remote location, I was happy to get any fuel at all. We got a nice camp site in the Cathedral Gorge State Park. This was one of the nicest camps I have ever seen and might even be described as pathologically clean. Even the roads were raked. The bathrooms had a shower with plenty of hot water and a heated room. Tomorrow, we would continue our path south to Las Vegas and see Red Rocks Park.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2008, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.