bidding adieu to great basin national park

Those birds let us sleep in a little longer the next morning - or maybe we were just tired enough from the Wheeler Peak hike that we slept better.  We took our time with breakfast and breaking down camp; since it was Tuesday, there weren't too many people (yet) circling the campground and hovering to snag a soon-to-be-available site.  The songbirds were quite active in the trees around our tent and we were able to identify a red crossbill (although we didn't get a picture).

Remnants of a hand-built flume

We finally packed everything back into the car and headed down the scenic drive.  We weren't quite done yet, however, and we stopped at the pull-out to check out the Osceola Ditch.  This eighteen mile long, man-made ditch was completed in 1890, with wooden flumes carrying water from Lehman Creek to the burgeoning mine.  The dearth of water couldn't be completely counteracted, however, and mining operations stopped about fifteen years later.

Easy to follow the trail/ditch

Although the Osceola Ditch Trail is 5.2 miles one way, the park has closed it for some reason after just a mile.  So we did that mile (and then back again), an easy walk in the ditch itself.  In some places you can see remnants of the wooden flumes that had carried the water.

Trail closed from this point

Since we were down lower, it was pretty hot although trees shaded the trail in many places.  The curl-leaf mountain mahogany was in bloom (but didn't provide a whole lot of shade itself).

Curl-leaf mountain mahogany

When we got back to the car, that was it: farewell to Great Basin National Park.  We made a quick stop at the Border Motel/RV Park/Casino/gas station for gas and then we were off, heading back home through the desert on the loneliest road in America.  What a great getaway.

Time to head east on the long and not-winding road

Hike stats: approximately 2 miles; with negligible elevation change; we forgot to time it but it was pretty hot, for whatever that's worth