I saw a beautiful grove of Bristlecone Pine trees at Great Basin NP; to view these trees a bit of a hike on my part was necessary (the trail is about 1.5 miles one-way and sports a moderate grade).

The grove of Bristlecone trees at Great Basin gave birth to the oldest recorded living tree/organism on this earth; the tree, nicknamed Prometheus, was estimated to be about 5,000 years old. Unfortunately Prometheus was cut down in 1964 (as ordered by the US Forest Service) because while trying to determine the age of the tree an increment borer had broken off inside and the service decided to cut it down (because they "thought" the broken borer inside would weaken the tree). Although not advertised as such, a table top cut from the trunk of Prometheus sits in the Lower Visitors Center at Great Basin NP.

I had hoped to hike up to the grove prior to sunrise but about 9 spider bites in close proximity on my knee woke me up and screwed up a good night's sleep. Because the Brown Recluse Spider is all over this area I decided some early morning medical attention might just wind up being a good idea. Fortunately, the Brown Recluse was not the culprit and I'm doing great but I did miss out on shooting the trees during the early morning golden hour.

A tour of the Lehman Cave was REALLY fantastic because I was the only person on the tour and the guide (Sue) gave me lots of help regarding the better photographic opportunities and we took our time at some specific locations. Unfortunately, even though I was the only person on the tour, the rules prohibit the use of tripods and I was stuck with using the in-camera flash (this is the only time I've been thankful to have an in-camera flash). Sue mentioned the best time to photograph the cave is in the spring (because there is more water dripping on the formations) and I'll be sure and take her suggestion to heart the next time I visit Great Basin NP.

By the way, for all you photographers out there that are interested in shooting the cave, the park does offer photographer tours and you are allowed bring "any" equipment you want into the cave (e.g. tripods, lights, etc.). The cost of the photographic tour is $60/hour and you must make a reservation a couple of weeks in advance. Based on what I saw it would be a good idea to bring along portable lighting (and a friend to carry it) other than flash for a few of the better scenes, just my $0.02 worth.

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