Three Years

Lucy had another work trip to install spring monitoring gaging stations out in Snake Valley in mid-July. Because Drew is a junior captain, he has been working weekends. This meant Lucy and Drew were not going to able to spend anniversary #3 together or even see each other for 12 days. To make lemonade out of lemons, Drew drove out to meet Lucy and celebrate wilderness style! Drew got to experience the posh comfort of the Utah Geological Survey’s 14-foot travel trailer accommodations at the Border Inn RV Park.

We dined at the 5-star Border Inn Restaurant and had a special surprise giant cookie dessert Drew brought with him from SLC.

The next day, while Lucy and her coworker Aaron finished installing another gage, this time with some serious physical labor of digging a 240-foot trench by hand and sawing concrete


Drew set up our wilderness hut (tent) in one of the best campgrounds either of us had ever stayed – the Baker Creek campground in Great Basin National Park .
We enjoyed a fabulous hike through the bristlecone pine grove up to 10,800 feet on the Glacier Trail


Caught a great view of the dissected alluvial fans along the northern Snake Range,

and later returned to our cool and shady nest for the night. A deer visited our campsite,


and although pit toilets are not the finest choice of facilities, this one has got to be the nicest pit toilet on the planet.


On the drive out we wondered if this funny sign was just a joke

But no, in fact, an actual marmot was on the roadside not 50 feet from the sign.
Another wildlife sighting was this gigantic beetle. This thing was 2.5 inches long.

To commemorate three year of marriage, what does a cycling couple that went mountain biking on their honeymoon do but go biking! The last day of our trip involved a short, hot ride in Nevada’s Snake Range exploring abandoned mine shafts and the most amazing patriotic display of wildflowers ever.

The sego lilies, Utah’s state flower (pic above) , were more abundant than we have ever seen them in Utah, and together with the red Indian paintbrush and pretty blue larkspur(?), we practically had to stop and sing the Star Spangled Banner.