Elko Temple, Elko, Nevada

 The Elko Temple is the third temple in Nevada after Las Vegas and Reno.  When sheri and I werte first married we lived in Duckwater which is a two and a half hours south of Elko; so likely this temple would have been our temple.  When we lived there Saint George was the assigned temple.

The symbol on the windows is called the window of heaven.

Vacation Day 4: Great Basin National Park, Lehman Cave

There are two basic parts to Great Basin national Park.  Wheeler peak dominates the area.  Upon this peak are some of the oldest trees in the world, Bristle Cone Pines.  These trees look dead as they cling to life.  They only live in the upper elevations, and we did not go high enough to get a good picture due to altitude issues.  (However we would get a distance picture of a Bristle Cone Pine at Cedar Breaks.)

The other aspect is the tour of Lehman Caves.  This is a cave known for its shields, a formation with a flat top.  There is also a part of the cavern with very delicate formations where people are not allowed to go. This National Park does not charge an entrance fee.  They do however charge for the Lehman Cave tours.  

shields

pop corn

Wheeler Peak Views

Visitor Center Pictures

The visitor center movie including showing the Duckwater Spring as well as Virginia Sanchez providing narration.

Vacation Day 4: Osceola: Ghost Town

We traveled to Great Basin National Park and went through Osceola on the way.  This is an old Gold mining town, which is now a ghost town without much remaining  It is at the base of Mount Wheeler. We were surprised to see a picnic area around a pond on the other side where the road reencountered the highway.  We took lots of pictures of flowers as we traveled.




Osceola established in 1875was once a main supply area for ranches.  It also produced several million dollars in minerals, gold, silver, lead and tungsten.  Fires have wiped out most of the  buildings.  A hydraulic system was build to help with the mining at a cost of $300,000.  Work was done by Chinese, Paiute and Shoshone laborers.  However the 18-mile canal may not have been worth it.  It brought water from the East side of Wheeler Peak.  It was prone to leak, and also could not run for snow and ice for most of the year.  by 1900 it was abandoned.  1880s fires devastated most of the town and from a high of 500 after the fires the population was about 100.  A later fire in 1950 burned most of the remaining buildings.