Gassaway's Adventures: TURNING SOUTH

Our choice of Lake of the Woods, just east of Medford for our next stop was a good one. We arrived on Memorial Day just as everyone was heading home. With just a few other campers, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Close enough to the lake that I could carry my new kayak down to the water. We had intended on camping at Crater Lake, but the campground had yet to open for the season. We did manage to take a drive there for a look, but not much else. All the hiking trails were still under several feet of snow.

DO PEOPLE REALLY NEED TO BE TOLD THIS?

Just south of the Oregon/California State line is the small town of Tulelake, home to the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and The Tule Lake Unit, WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument, the latter contains both the Tule Lake Segregation Center and Camp Tulelake. The segregation center was the largest camp were Japanese citizens were incarcerated during WW II and Camp Tulelake was a Civilian Conservation Camp. Although we didn't go to the actual site, there is a great little museum in town about the area's history and both camps. The town's Web Site has a wealth of information.

Just south of Tulelake is Lava Beds National Monument, where of course there is lots of lava. There are numerous (22) caves or lava tubes one can explore on their own without the assistance of guides or rangers. The caves range from short, less than 200 feet to the Catacombs Cave at just under 7,000 feet. Here is the description of the Catacombs Cave in the parks brochure.

"This very long cave is easily entered, but gradually increases in difficulty. It is possible to walk upright for approximately 800 feet to the stairway, after which the ceiling rarely exceeds 3 feet. A few places exist where the ceiling height is less that 12 inches."

Yeah, let's go do that one. Actually we were not prepared to explore caves, but I did manage to take a peek in the Hercules Leg Cave, one where I could remain upright.

While in the area, we attempted to go to Stukel Mountain, but we took the wrong road.

As we continue south our next stop was Eagle Lake, just north of Susanville. Another place we had never been to, so it was time to check it out. I did manage to get in a bike ride as the forest service has built a nice trail along the lake shore. Also I got the kayak wet one morning and did a little exploring and watching the birds.

CAMP AT EAGLE LAKE

We took a drive to the top of Antelope Mountain to pay a visit to the fire lookout. Upon our arrival we were met by swarms of bumble bees, which had taken over the outhouse. No one was on duty, but we were able to take a look inside.

MT LASSEN

After a brief stop in Reno, we continue our journey to our last camp at Robinson Creek, just outside of Bridgeport. This being one of our favorite camping spots, it was a good place to finish up this trip. We managed to snag a prime spot right on the creek, which due to the heavy winter snowfall, was roaring. Both Cathie and I have been coming to this spot since we were children and now our children are following our lead. Son, Eric called and said he was heading our way and since we had the best spot in the campground, he replaced our rig with his when we pulled out to head home.