Great Basin National Park

My folks and I went to Great Basin National Park on a weekend to check out Lehman Caves.  It is right by Baker, NV which is a 3.5 hour drive from our home.

Lehman Caves were really cool and we took a tour in them.  They were big and I thought it was very interesting to see.

The tour guide took us through lot's of rooms.

We also met a nice group of nice people from Netherlands whom we gave our extra tickets to.  My brother and his family had something come up and couldn't make it.  It was nice to meet new friends during our tour.  They were so grateful for the tickets because the tickets were all sold out that day.  They were on a motorcycle tour through America.  I wish I can do that too.

My dad and I camped up at Wheeler Peak Campground at the top just below Wheeler Peak.  I was surprised that we got a camping spot.  There were people there but less than I thought it would be.  My mom and little sister drove an hour more west to Ely, NV to stay in a nice motel.  Everybody was happy.

I cooked this dish which I call "Daniel's Smash".  It had bratwurst, hamburger, potatoes, carrots, onions, and butter.  It was the best I could do for my new little stove I bought for 30 bucks for my birthday for myself.  It was nice to not cook in a fire but we still had a fire.  But not a good fire though.

The next morning, we ate french toast and I took off for a hike for Mt. Wheeler.  My dad stayed in camp.

It started as a very mellow climb on the trail through the trees for like the first 3 miles maybe, then when I got towards the peak more, all there were was rocks and gravel.

The rocky part was also steeper.  As I got higher and higher, the more steeper it got.
The last half mile to the peak was really hard and I thought about quitting but I kept going because I kept telling myself this was a once of a lifetime deal.

Looking west with all the windmills down the bottom.  Nevada had nothing there.  Just desert and mountains.

I made it at the top!  I did it.  It was amazing too.  I'm glad I did make it up the top because the view was worth it.

Looking south.

Looking north, the campground and Stella Lake is at the bottom in the trees.

A mailbox that consisted a notebook with people's signatures and an empty plastic bag that said, "my brother's ashes".  I thought it was neat.  There was no pen in there so I couldn't sign it.

It was so beautiful and it was also cold up the top at 13,000 feet.  That was the first time I climbed a mountain that high!  It was a good motivated weekend for sure.

Summer Fun

It's been pretty fun being home enjoying summer and still do some short little trips since after my big trip at Washington D.C.  In the picture above, I explored a little area which I've never rode my bike at, at the White Hills Wildlife Management Area and it's only 6 or 7 miles away from where I live.  It's just another area like Black Hills but smaller, so I rode everywhere and on a horse trail that horseback riders made.  It was a good little trail and there were a lot of technical 4 wheel drive roads to ride on.  I'll ride it again!

       
Then I took off one weekend in Park City with some folks and I rode quite a bit.  When we got there, we checked in the motel at Kimball Junction and all the trails I wanted to ride on started from there.

First day, I rode on some trails in Utah Winter Sports Park.  Good singletrack and good climbing.

I even found the bobsled at the top of the mountain.  I wonder how the bike would ride going down it.

The next morning on the second day, I did the Flying Dog Big Loop.  I love this loop and I did it the first time last summer and I wanted to do it again this summer.  Park City mountain biking is so awesome.

I sat on this bench for like 7 minutes, which screwed up my Strava time.  I remember thinking, "Screw Strava, I'm going to sit on this bench, and rest and enjoy the view"  And I am glad I did.

Real nice gradual climb on the singletrack to the top.

The top.  Then a fast downhill on the other side of the mountain.  Good 18 mile ride with 2,000 ft of elevation gain.

Then afterwards, we actually went to the "show" at the Utah Winter Sports Park to watch some ski jumpers jump.  I think it was worth 12 bucks because some of the jumpers we're actual Olympians.

Speedy on the trip.  (my sister's service dog)

I also had the privilege to make a cutting board for my mom from the shop.  There were some leftover butcher board in the shop and I made a piece for my mom for her birthday.  She really liked it!

Then another weekend, I went up to Payson Canyon to bike on some singletrack.  I did Jone's Creek Ranch Trail and around on Rock Springs and other trails in the area.  It was another good ride to enjoy some alpine scenery.

A horseback rider had like 20 something dogs with him.  Holy cow!

Good singletrack and meadows.

And a little shade in some aspens.  Pretty.

Then I came home after the Payson ride and on the same day, I took off with a friend to my mountains near home for a camping/fishing trip.

Tom the fisherman

Snow Lake.  Beautiful.  I wanted to stay there even though the fishing wasn't good.  I only got a few bites and Tom caught two small ones.

Love the wildflowers on Skyline Drive.

Then a herd of sheep came by the next morning.

Getting a drink of water from the lake.

Tom is funny.  He actually went into the lake and swam to the middle to retrieve his floating spinner he really liked which he bought from ebay.  But he never found it and he said the water was cold.  That's Tom all right!

Washington D.C. and North Carolina

We took a vacation to Washington D.C. for 6 days and 3 days in Asheboro, NC at my sister's house. We saw a lot of things and we ate good food.   Here are some pictures of the trip.

Air and Space Museum

Wright Brother's first plane

We took a tour in where they make money!

 Washington Monument

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Thomas Jefferson

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

....and Speedy found a new friend!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Abe Lincoln

Vietnam War Memorial

World War 2 Memorial

And saw President Obama in a helicopter...

Library of Congress

Capitol Building

Each state in the United States get to put in 2 statues in the Capitol Building.  So for Utah, Brigham Young...

...and Philo Farnsworth.

...and Brigham Young is my niece's 5th great grandfather....

....and Philo Farnsworth is my grandmother's 2nd cousin's husband.  He invented the television.  We thought we were cool!  And why aren't we rich?

The famous library in the Library of Congress

We got rain

Batonal Gardens...bananas.  Love those.

We took a night tour in a tour bus, more like a boat tour.  It poured rain very hard the whole time.  I had a blast but nobody else did.

White House

Washington Monument

James Bond car in the Spy Museum

Ford Theater where Abraham Lincoln was shot

Lincoln's replica bed where he died, but it's the same room where he died in the Peterson House across the street from Ford Theater

Serial killer Ted Bundy's car in the crime museum

General Lee's Plantation in Arlington Cemetary

Arlington Cemetary

Guard of the Unknown Soldier

...switching guards

Inside of General Lee's house

On top of Washington Monument

Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz movie from American History Museum

...and the awesome Abraham Lincoln's actual hat

Union Station

Holding a 65 million year old dinosour bone in the Natural History Museum

Diamond necklace

Reminded me of the movie, "Night of the Museum"

An actual mummy!

Then the booooring American Art museum.

We also saw the Holocaust Museum, I didn't take pictures.  I respect those have lost their lives in the Holocaust.  It was very disturbing also.

After Washington D.C., we drove to North Carolina for a few days to go to the dentist and I had a chance to ride my bike all three days on the country roads by my sister's house.  It was beautiful!

The roads were something, they all were fun and hilly.  I loved the trees and everything.  It was a road biker's paradise.  But I am a mountain biker from Utah.  If I lived in Asheboro, N.C., I would have been a road biker.  I could have easily done 50 miles every ride which I won't do in Utah because the roads in Utah completely SUCK.  I'm glad I am a mountain biker here in Utah because the mountain biking is the best in Utah.

The first day I did 25 miles(1,300 ft of elevation gain), then the 2nd day, 38 miles(2,300 ft elevation gain), and 3rd day, I did 25 miles(1,300 ft elevation).  I did all different routes in all of the rides and the trees and roads were so beautiful.  I ran into a few other bikers and even rode with one biker for 3 miles.  We talked a lot about biking.  It was grand.