23 September 2017, Saturday

We breakfast again at Looney Bean and are soon on the road heading north out of Bishop on US 6 and then east. I drive first. The Sierra Nevada is on our left and the White Mountains are to the east. Both ranges are adorned with fresh snow from the recent storm. I feel as if I am driving into a postcard. As we progress further eastward into Nevada we venture deeper into basin and range country. We drive across dry, desolate Nevada valleys and then over mountain passes and summits. There are very few towns along the way. Soon after leaving the town of Tonopah we pass a sign informing travellers there is neither gas nor services for 168 miles. It would have been more useful to have that information before leaving the town. Luckily, Vincent’s fuel tank is just fine. We filled up before leaving Bishop.

As we approach the town of Ely, Nevada in the eastern part of the state we run into snow once again. The temperature drops below freezing and the snow falls fast in the passes. As we pull into a gas station in Ely, O comments that this feels more like a ski trip than a summer road trip.

We are both a bit gun shy about camping in the snow after our Sierra adventure so we resolve to find a motel room in Baker, Nevada, near the entrance to Great Basin National Park. Baker, however, is a tiny little town and the two small motels have NO Vacancy signs lit. We decide camping in Vincent will be fine, as long as we don’t have to cook our meals outdoors in the falling snow. We stop at the park visitor center for information on the campgrounds and are directed to one of three up the mountain. Upper Lehman is newly renovated and has open sites, so we claim site 9 and head back to Baker for dinner at the one establishment that is open this afternoon. We are both well-satisfied with our meals.

We learned earlier today that tonight’s park astronomy ranger talk has been moved to an earlier time (6:30) and will be held indoors at the Visitor Center due to inclement weather. We wait in the parking lot for the building to open and the talk to begin.