Getting Ready for Christmas

 The kids in Snake Valley have been busy getting ready for Christmas. Last weekend was the annual gingerbread house event at the Border Inn. I think this is the third year of this event, and it keeps getting more popular! The kids (of all ages) have lots of fun trying out their creative ideas.

 The results are so scrumptious!

 The Garrison and Baker school kids performed to a packed house at Baker Hall. Following the elementary orchestra number (wow!), the younger elementary students did a play about a Very Classy Christmas, with a school of fish and other sea creatures. The costumes were fantastic! It is always amazing how well the kids do in front of a big audience.

The older elementary kids did a play about Santa and his reindeer going through a time warp and meeting some dinosaurs. They did a bunch of songs as part of it, and it was great to watch them.

After the program, Santa Claus put in an appearance to the delight of the kids.

There's still more Christmas fun coming up. The children's Nativity play at EskDale on Christmas Eve is always memorable. The smallest kids inevitably goof up a few lines in the cutest way imaginable.

2012 Harvest Festival

 Every November, Baker and Garrison schools hold a Harvest Festival. A potluck dinner is followed by an auction with over a hundred items that range from exercise equipment to apple pies. Here are some photos from the fun evening.

The schools are in their last few days of selling See's Candy, another fundraiser. Contact a school kid or one of the schools if you'd like to buy some.

The Baker/Garrison schools Christmas program will be the evening of December 19 in Baker Hall. That's always a huge crowd-pleaser. And the Winter Carnival will be February 22.

Snake Valley Calendars

Beautiful 2013 Snake Valley calendars make a perfect holiday gift. All the proceeds from calendar sales go to the Great Basin Water Network.

Calendar prices are one calendar for $15.00 ($3.00 postage), two calendars for $25.00 ($5.00 postage).

Make checks out to GBWN.

Please contact Susan Wetmore at sywetmore AT wirelessbeehive.com to order. You can also call Susan at 775-234-7265.

NOTE: If you're in Snake Valley, you can buy the calendars at the Border Inn 24/7.

Thanks for your support!

Halloween Hayride 2012

 Here are some sights from the 2012 Halloween Hayride. We traveled around Baker, stopping at places with their lights on to go trick-or-treating. Over 25 kids went on the hayride (which prompted a few people to ask "Where did they all come from?"). We ended at the community center, where quite a few folks had joined together to put on a grand finale. It was a super fun evening!

 A horse

 Transformers

The mummy in the apartments

The weather was perfect!

A Cute Denizen of Snake Valley

 I noticed this kit fox on the side of the road in Snake Valley today. I circled around, went back, and he was kind enough to let me take some photos. He's on some newly established burrows.

 He wanted to pretend I wasn't there.

I just hope he (or she) isn't too close to the road and gets run over. It's such a treat to see a kit fox, I haven't seen one in awhile. Hoping you're getting to see some wildlife this beautiful autumn.

A Survey of Road Art by Jenny

Want to see all the road art in the Baker area? Jenny Hamilton has a wonderful post about it! Be sure to check it out, as the road art keeps changing (and hopefully we'll see more soon!).

Great Basin Paleoenvironmental Database

Snake Valley is in the Great Basin, a huge geographic area where water doesn't drain out to the seas. As a result, it was one of the last places in the U.S. to be explored. Due to its remoteness and lack of water, it also has been an area of much lower population concentration than many other areas in the U.S. This has resulted in a paucity of information about the Great Basin. Fortunately, over the years, a number of researchers have studied the Great Basin, including what it used to look like. What they've found has been fascinating--huge lakes, very different wildlife than today (imagine relatives of camels, saber-toothed tigers, and more), and a variety of ethnic groups that used the lands in various ways.

Desert Research Institute just announced a new tool where you can look for all that information in one place: the Great Basin Paleoenvironmental Database. From their website you can download a kml file to use on Google Earth to see where different studies were done. They also have an Excel spreadsheet listing the different studies focusing on the paleoenvironment of the Great Basin, plus additional information about the project.