Moab, Utah to Baker, Nevada: Great Basin NP

I am a day behind as we had no cell signal and could not connect to the internet- that should give you a clue about how remote Baker is. We left Moab before it became too hot and headed to Baker, Nevada which is just across the state line. The small motel we were staying in was unmanned when we arrived (another clue). So,we headed to the NP, undressed out of riding gear and into hiking gear. We took off on the Alpine loop and then detoured to one of several Bristleccone Pine groves.     Altogether we walked about 41/2 miles. It was a beautiful day to hike, upper 70's and breezy up in the mountains- 10,00 feet elevation where we could see Wheeler Peak at 13,000 ft.

Some of these trees are 2-3,000 years old.

It was time to head to our motel. It was open when we returned. There is a restaurant that also doubles as the motel office. It was a good bit warmer in the valley, but no humidity! We got unloaded and Cleve was searching for the AC unit- there was none! Here we were in nowhere Nevada with no AC- I thought Cleve was going to blow a gasket!! Our children know what that looks like! It took some time but got him calmed down and we had dinner at the restaurant- it was really good food. A huge storm was coming through which was a blessing because the air cooled quickly. In fact, over night it got down into the 50's.

Below are pictures of the motel outdoor décor- very interesting and not something we would typically see at home. Our room is the one on the end: