![]() ![]() Things went south when his instrument’s bit snapped off in a tree trunk and rangers allowed him to retrieve it by cutting the tree down. ![]() In order to gain some traction in his Ice Age research, he was granted permission to take core samples from bristlecone pines, which are considered “climatic vaults” for the thousands of years of weather data “stored” within their rings. In 1964, glaciologist Donald Currey came to Great Basin. And then there’s Prometheus the bristlecone pine, which was already a mature tree when Hesiod first penned the early poem in the late 8th century BC. There’s Prometheus the mythological Titan, who stole fire from Zeus and returned it to humankind, sparking our technological development. Looking to branch out into new travel turf? Peruse this lineup of fun facts, tips, and history then come get face-to-face with some funky flora that was flourishing at least a few thousand years before you were. And today, you can walk right up to them on the slopes at what is now Great Basin National Park. ![]() The completion of the Great Wall of China, the development of the printing press, the “discovery” of the New World… the list goes on-these bad boys were already twisting their way skyward when all those things happened. The reign of Cleopatra and the construction of the pyramids? They’d already been growing quietly for 2,000 years. Yep-bristlecones were already alive by 1,500 years by then. Imagine them clinging to rocks when the Romans were having their heyday. Most of these (literally) gnarly trees have been alive 3,000 to 5,000 years. But at the top of our list, you’ll find the oldest living things on the planet-the fascinatingly tough, element-defying, Great Basin bristlecone pine trees. When it comes to attractions, the Silver State is home to all kinds of intriguing blasts from the past-from ghost towns and Wild West saloons to fossils and geological phenomena. ![]()
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