Cathedral Gorge State Park

Saturday morning we left Twin Falls bright and early with a new plan for the day. There is that horrible "S" word in the forecast tonight in Wells and Ely being up around 7000 feet. Ray and I decided we would push through and pass the storm by getting to Cathedral Gorge State Park a day earlier than planned. Darn Canadian weather bomb headed this way! lol We were managing to stay on the outside edge of the storm with periodic downpours. You could see lighter skies in the distance after a few hours driving.

Storm's a building!

Here comes the rain.

Finally into the sunshine as we drop down 3000 feet.

We stopped several times to stretch and let Freya out for a pee and then on our way again. Fuel stop in Ely and a Carl's burger. Back on the road again and yeah into the sunshine although windy. As we stopped for stretches, it ended up not being too bad of a travel day for Ray. He had some help with his pain medication though. We did not want to get into SNOW! So sometimes you just have to suck it up.

Arrived  at Cathedral Gorge late afternoon to a dust storm. We managed to snag one of the last few campsites as today is FREE for all Nevada State Parks. It will be nice to stay in one place for 4 days. Lots to take pictures of here for Ray once the wind stops. lol It's forecasted to blow all evening. It is warm though. We left in our "winter clothes" and stripped down to tanks and shorts once we were here.

Noticed on the Weather Network that just north of Tremington at Portage, shortly before the I-15 meets up with the I-84 a video showing:

Close Call for Utah State Trooper on Wet Interstate

Close Call for Ytah Trooper, Saturday, September 28th 2019

Good thing we went this way this year and why we pushed through to the otherside of this storm.

View out our front window.

Site 22

 Our site  7 years ago when we started out with the 5th wheel.

Ray's picture taking skills sure have improved over the 7 years with lighting and composition! That's us on the far left.

Absolutely gorgeous.

FACTS ON CATHEDRAL GORGE STATE PARK

The spires and buff-colored cliffs are the result of geologic processes occurring over tens of millions of years. The beauty enjoyed today had violent beginnings, starting with explosive volcanic activity that, with each eruption, deposited layers of ash hundreds of feet thick. The source of this ash, the Caliente Caldera Complex, lies to the south of Cathedral Gorge.

About five million years after the eruptions ceased, block faulting, a fracture in the bedrock that allows the two sides to move opposite each other, shaped the mountains and valleys prevalent in Nevada today. This faulting formed a depression, now known as Meadow Valley. Over time the depression filled with water creating a freshwater lake. Continual rains eroded the exposed ash and pumice left from the volcanic activity, and the streams carried the eroded sediment into the newly formed lake.

The formations, made of silt, clay and volcanic ash, are the remnants of that lake. As the landscape changed and more block faulting occurred, water drained from the lake exposing the volcanic ash sediments to the wind and rain, causing erosion of the soft material called bentonite clay. Wind and water erode rocks and soils at a rapid rate and vegetation cannot grow on the outcroppings. The vegetation-free slopes stand in stark contrast to the valley floor where primrose and Indian ricegrass hold small sand dunes in place.

In the middle of the valley, clay, sand and gravel create a soil favored by narrow leaf yucca, juniper trees, barberry sagebrush, greasewood, white sage, shadscale and four-winged saltbush. Rabbit brush grows in areas along the roadsides and walkways.

As visitors walk the trails, they can look for dark, bumpy patches around rocks and other plants. This is Cryptobiotic soil. This desert glue is alive with lichens, mosses, algae, microfungi and bacteria. Cryptobiotic soil crusts help stabilize the soil by reducing wind and water erosion. These microcosms are fragile, easily damaged if disturbed and can take 100 years to recover from damage

Camping: The campground has 22 sites, each with a table, grill and shade ramada. Electric hookups are also available. Potable water available throughout the campsites and at the sanidump.  Sites cannot be reserved. Water and flush restrooms with showers are open year-around. Facilities adjacent to the campground offer large shade ramadas, grills, picnic tables and water. There are two handicapped-accessible campsites at the group area that also have a restroom with flush toilets and showers. Camping is limited to 14 days in a 30-day period.

Day use entrance fee:  $5.00 per vehicle

Camping:  $15.00 per night + $10.00 per night for utility hookups

Back to us ... It blew all night until around 3am when it finally settled down. At daybreak it was quite cloudy but it cleared shortly after the sun came up. Ray headed out for his first opportunity of getting some sunrise shots. Good morning Cathedral Gorge.

Most of Sunday I stayed inside working on the Twin Falls blog. Still a little breezy out. Ray was in and out taking pictures various times during the day for "optimum lighting". lol

Ray wandered around for a few days taking these shots and then took me to all the best places.

MILLER POINT OVERLOOK

THE CAVES

One of the Moon Caves

Narrow Passages

"Totem Pole"

Managed to sit outside in the afternoon for a couple of hours before the winds came up again. Freya had a rough night... so did I. She woke me up at 4 to go outside ... had the "runs". I noticed she had also horked up her dinner by the stairs and found another spot on the rug in the morning. Poor thing. Thank goodness for my little carpet cleaner. I see making homemade Rice and Ground Chicken in my future for some time as it seems to be the only thing she tolerates besides roast chicken. We fed her only about 5 small scraps of beef last night ....

Monday morning woke up to a glorious sunny day. Today we decided to tour Kershaw-Ryan State Park. It is only a half an hour away from Cathedral Gorge. What a gem of a place with it's gardens and children's wading pool fed by a natural spring. The gardens were beautiful in spite of the blooms mostly dying at this time of the year. I think the next time we come this way will stay there instead of Cathedral Gorge as there is not so much dust.

KERSHAW-RYAN STATE PARK FACTS

Kershaw-Ryan State Park encompasses a canyon of contrasting beauty.  Below the rugged, rainbow hued cliffs a sage ribbon of valley meanders upward into a verdant oasis, a rare jewel set into the rough geology of the high desert. Those who first visit Kershaw-Ryan are amazed by the prolific growth of trees, vines, and flowers offering welcome shade and color to the desert weary traveler.

Samuel and Hannah Kershaw first moved to the nearby Meadow Valley Wash in 1873 and soon planted an orchard and garden where the park wading pool and fruit trees now sit.  Rich with prolific springs and seeps, covered with wild grapes, Gambel oak and roses, it is easy to see why the park was historically named the “Kershaw Gardens” by local residents.

In 1904 the Kershaw’s sold the canyon to brothers James and Patrick Ryan, who also had other ranch holdings scattered along the Meadow Valley Wash.  The Ryan’s reportedly never lived in the canyon, but resided in their home ranch about a mile south of Caliente.  James Ryan became very successful in the cattle business and was very generous in the development of the city of Caliente. Not only was he one of the founders of the first Lincoln County Bank, he also donated the property for the Caliente cemetery.

In the early 1920s, a motivated group of Lincoln County residents convinced the Governor to create a state park system and in the 1930s Nevada acquired property which would later become Cathedral Gorge and Beaver Dam State Park.  The Ryan family then donated the Kershaw Gardens in 1934 for use as a public park for the enjoyment of generations to come.  That same year, the Civilian Conservation Corps finished construction on new stone picnic tables, fire pits, outhouses, a wading pool and a rock caretaker’s cabin. 

"Situated in a colorful canyon, with towering walls up to 700 feet high and a long, verdant valley in between, Kershaw-Ryan State Park is an oasis in the desert, a sharp contrast to the rugged landscape that surrounds it. Natural springs grow a garden of wild grapevines, white oaks, fruit trees and willows, and a spring-fed pond provides a refreshing children’s wading pool. It is not unusual to see wild horses, deer and other wildlife come to the water. With plenty of places to picnic and a series of trails that wind throughout, the park is a great choice for hiking, camping and nature study."

Camping: The park has a 16-unit campground with a restroom, coin-operated showers and an RV dump station. Each site has a shade ramada, picnic table, fire ring and grill. The camping limit is seven days in a 30-day period.

RV Camping: RV sites with 50 amp power and water hookups are available.

Hiking: Experienced hikers may explore the park’s back country above the canyon via the 1.5-mile Overlook Trail. During the summer hikers should be alert for rattlesnakes, particularly along the trails and in the cool shady areas of the park. Also be alert for thunderstorms that may cause flash floods in the canyons. Plan hikes for the morning or evening hours.

The pros for picking Kershaw Ryan over Cathedral Gorge is that you have nice gravel roads with concrete pads in the sites with water and electric right there. Not so dusty but you don't have quite the expansive view like Cathedral Gorge or the hikes amongst the spires.

THE GARDENS

The shaded drive up to the gardens and event picnic area.

They have grape vines behind the fence.

 Unfortunately most of the flowers have died off at this time of year.

I did manage to get one bloom.

Kids wading pool fed by a natural spring.

Koi Pond.

After spending an hour walking up some of the short trails it was time to head into Caliente and have lunch at the Side Car Restauran. Although lunch was pretty good they had this guy at a table and we wondered if that is what eating here did. LOL

Stopped and took a quick picture of the Caliente Train Station.

Apparently this weekend the "Big Boy" steam engine will stop there overnight. Unfortunately we will be gone by then.

Union Pacific 4014 is one of the largest steam locomotives in the world. The railroad's Steam Team has just completed a full restoration as part of a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 2019.

Back to camp and after walking Freya, Ray took me to see Millers Point Lookout and then back on the park drive to the caves he had already spent some time photographing. What a fabulous few hours.

One happy guy.

Here are Ray's favourite sunset pictures.

Back at camp for the rest of the afternoon. Another lovely sunny day. Fed Freya her dinner and then gave her her medicine. Unfortunately 1/2 hour later everything came up .... so I am taking her off of the anti-fungal and keeping her on the immunosuppressant that she gets twice a day. She does not throw that up from the morning so it must be the other one. Waited an hour and fed her again now she is happy. We shall see how she does tonight. Her butt problem seems to be fixed however, but she is losing quite a bit of weight. She needed to lose some but should not lose anymore. She will be checked out by a vet probably in Paige, AZ in a couple of weeks.

Tuesday, October 1st. Can hardly believe it is October. Was up twice with letting Freya out last night again. First time just to pee. She seems to have to do that more on these drugs. She woke me up again at 4am  "toss her cookies". Hopefully that was enough time to get some nutrition into her. This morning she was hungry so I only fed her a little and it seemed to stay down. After a leisurely morning and Freya seeming to be better we decided to take a short drive to investigate Spring Valley State Park, about 20 miles from here. We took her with us as I did not want to leave her home alone.

Volcanic tuff and sediment give Spring Valley State Park a beautiful light-gray, pink and white backdrop. A popular area for boating, swimming and camping, the park also allows visitors the opportunity to tour historic ranches built in the late 1800s. The 59-acre Eagle Valley Reservoir offers fisherman an opportunity to catch rainbow, tiger and German brown trout, and attracts an array of waterfowl and shore birds, including mallards, herons, avocets and the infrequent, yet beautiful, trumpeter swan. Campers and hikers share the canyons and valleys with soaring eagles, hawks and songbirds.

After a very bumpy road in we arrive at the first campsite, Horsethief Gulch, with a fishing lake. What an interesting park. Lots of strange rock formations and 2 stone houses from the past. This campsite had power and water sites. The campground road was kind of rough so too uneven for the motorhome or large rig but perfect for truck and trailer etc. There were half a dozen people fishing in little pontoons on the lake. Forgot to take a picture of the campsite. Here is a picture of it from google.

Unfortunately Freya went into the reservoir and drank some water. We later noticed a lot of green algae floating in the water. About 1/2 an hour later she was throwing up again. Yeesh. Bad mommy.

We continued down the road to see one of the Stone Houses and yard. Fabulous view and had a lot of old farm equipment on display.

The rock formations were awesome on this drive in the park.

Next up was a second stone house that is a museum of sorts but was closed. We walked around it anyways. Here is the sign describing how they lived.

When the Mormons settled here in the late 1700's they planted their crops as the valley was fed by a natural spring. Unfortunately their crops were eaten up by grasshoppers. They opted to grow root vegetables instead. It wasn't until the winter when the valley spring flooded and froze. They went into the ice business, storing the ice into caves in the hillsides. 

The root cellar.

Our last stop was the Ranch Campsite. Wow what a view and interesting rock formations. This campground really is for tents and truck and campers, or possibly a small trailer only. Reminded us of Joshua Tree National Park campsites.

We turned around here and drove back to Highway 93 and did a quick drive through Pioche. Not much there but they have maintained quite a few historic buildings. A lovely way to spend a couple of hours on our last day in this part of the country.

Shortly after we arrived back at the motorhome. I was concerned about Freya still having bouts of "yakking" so I called the vet in Saint George to see if I could make an appointment tomorrow. Her advice was to give Freya Kaopectate by syringe and then phone our vet tomorrow. She can order up new drugs from either Costco or Walmart in St. George. Apparently they dispense pet medications as well as humans. Who knew. Hopefully Freya has a better night tonight. I gave her the medication at 3pm and it is now 5pm and she is sleeping and not throwing up at this time. I fed her her pain medication at 7 and still she is managing to not throw up. Fingers crossed.

Wednesday, October 2

I was up five times with Freya last night ... only me checking on her because I was worried. She slept through the night and only woke up to move positions from the couch to the bedroom floor. This morning she seems much better and was looking for food. Not taking any chances I fed her Kaopectate first and then just a small portion of the rice and ground chicken. Hopefully this will stay down. I will wait an hour or so before giving her the immunosuppressant pill.

Today is travel day to Saint George, Utah. About a two hour drive so no hurry to get moving this morning as check in time is not until noon.

Wednesday night Freya Update: Since giving her the Kaopectate once last night and this morning she is eating and keeping it down. Hopefully this continues.