Angel Creek and Angel Lake Photo Gallery by Ruth Moorhead at pbase.com

Angel Creek and Angel Lake

For years, I would drive into bleak and dusty Wells, Nevada, on Hwy. 93 from the north, and gawk at the snow-decorated (even in August, when I'd come back, from the west), green-swathed, jagged peak facing me from behind the town. In 2009, my first chance came to go investigate that fascinating topography. I had heard that a place called Angel Lake was up there, and found both that (with a functional but non-shaded lakeside campground) and the lovely, aspen-scattered Angel Creek campground lower down, plus a free, VW-sized parking pull-off that gave me the two hours I needed to enjoy an exhilarating ridgecrest ramble.
On the ridge I found 700 (before I stopped counting) mountain ball cacti. One other fascination I didn't photograph was the ground nest of a passel of huge (longer than bumblebees, but not as stocky), yellow, desert bees. I'm REALLY glad I didn't discover them by walking into their hole; my attention was drawn as I passed them both times by their very audible droning.
Then, 2 weeks after the first visit, I camped at Angel Creek (on the flattened, late-summer straw remains of a springtime field of irises) and hiked around Angel Lake with a friend.

Now, I camp there happily whenever I've reached Wells too late to reach my REAL destination, which is further west in Lamoille Canyon, further east in Colorado, or perhaps further south, at Great Basin National Park.

View from the Ridge	It's all Slopes and Angles up Here	From Ridge to Wilderness	The Ridge	Western Serviceberry
	Rocky Terraces on Ridge Knoll	Late Evening Light, Angel Creek	Carpeted with Cacti	Lichened Rocks at Angel Lake
Mountain-Mahogany Sculpture	Lichens, Lines, and--Wow, Cactus!	Petrophytum caespitosum (Nutt.) Rydb.	Piercing the Sky
Willow Gardens in the Chutes		Angel Lake from the Ridge Above	Chutes behind Angel Lake	Young Limber Pine
Monardella odoratissima Benth.		Splashy Yellow
		Those Decorated Slopes	Agastache by the Path at Angel Lake	Angel Creek Campground Awakens
		Citadel in Humboldt-Toiyabe Forest		Hear Those Grouse and Bluebirds?
		Moonrise at Angel Lake	The Cactus Ridge
Not Much Snow This Year
More Trees Dead Every Year	Heading for Smith Lake			View Over Valley
Pines Agree it's Too Hot!	Common Juniper	Smith Lake Ripples	Red Columbine	Sticky Purple Geranium...with Visitors
An Alumroot	Monardella...and More	Part of the trail	Fireweed
Infested...but still going strong!	Limber Pines	A Fine Sendoff	Late Summer at Angel Lake	Hairy Mullein Reaches High
Canada Thistle	Fireweed Fruits

The Eastward View

comment

jeff warren		05-Sep-2009 00:32
Ruth, Photos are Stunning. I hope to do this some time. Best, jeff

Paolo Peggi (aka Bracciodiferro)		02-Sep-2009 05:27
Excellent work,vote. Paolo

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