Day 3 June 8
Alturas in far northeast CA. to Crater Lake, OR by way of Lava Beds National Monument
Alturas is a small town, but with about 2500 population and a regional high school (the Braves and lots of signs congratulating the recent graduating class) it seems to be a regional hub for the local agricultural industry, lots of cattle. The population seemed to be all white, but we did not go to the local Thai restaurant
Awoke to two vastly different, but discouraging events. The lessor, but of greater significance to me was that the car would not recharge, but later learned that the problem was the power supply at the Rim Rock Hotel was not adequate to charge up our electric car. So much for getting charged up every night. The greater event was James Comey's testimony before Congress. Nothing materially new or a departure from his prior news accounts or the earlier released prepared statement, but it reaffirmed the ethical morass our President has lead the country into. Fortunately, it was done on east coast time so we could watch it and get out and going at a reasonable time.
We found a Chevy dealership on Main street in town to check out the car charging situation. I spoke with the service manager and explained the charging problem. She confessed that she had never seen a Chevy Volt, ("we mainly sell trucks") that they had never had one in stock, let alone sold one and were not certified to work on that model. But she was willing to try to help so I pulled in and plugged in. Everything worked and charging commenced. The problem apparently was the Rim Rock motel's electrical system. Relief, but could not stay around to get a meaningful charge because they did not have a super charger.
Off to breakfast at the Wagon Wheel. It was reasonably crowded and the waitresses seemed to know most of the patrons. They were very friendly and a few stopped to speak with us, where were we from, where were we going, how did we like the town, etc. Prices were low and the portions large, but it is not a good idea to have chicken fried steak as part of a breakfast.
Took off for the Lava Beds National Monument, about a 1.5-hour drive through some very wooded, scenic and desolate country. Very little up there except forests and as we approached the Monument the landscape became volcanic, lots of black rock fields.
The Monument is set in a forbidding land scape that looks very foreign to this urbanite. It sits on top of a shield volcano that has been active for 500,000 years. You probably have not heard of it because its eruptions from hundreds of surface vents are gentle rather than explosive and rather than creating a volcanic mountain, such what we just visited at Lassen Volcanic National Park, what is left are cinder cones, deep chasms and more then 450 lava tubes. That results in a low, gently-sloping shield-like profile.
Interesting history here. The Modoc Indians inhabited the area before the arrival of the Euro-Americans after the Civil War. The white settlers claimed the “empty” land, conflicts ensued and escalated and violence resulted. The Modoc were forced into a signing a treaty that moved them on to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon that was already inhabited by two other tribes. That proved untenable and the tribe rebelled. The warriors fled to Captain Jack’s Stronghold, a natural fortress of the lava beds and held off several thousand troops under General Sherman. After about a year of fighting the tribe was defeated and its remaining member exiled to a reservation in Oklahoma. That was the last major Indian war in the northwest and the only major Indian war fought in California.
The other item of historical interest is that this Monument is very close to Tule Lake, which was the site of one of the WWII concentration camps used to confine Japanese Americans. It was reserved for internees who were considered the most dangerous and held all the internees who refused to positively respond to the 27 point “loyalty” questionnaire distributed in 1943.
When I approached the Ranger desk I discovered that I had lost my senior parks admission card. I do not know if I left it in the motel or it dropped out of my wallet, perhaps when I was changing in the Volcanic National Park, but in any event, it was gone. The young Ranger looked at me and said he believed me, I guess my appearance confirmed my age, so he let us in. They gave us each a big flashlight. Karen purchased her own senior card at the end of our visit to the Monument.
We first went to the Mushpot tube. That is the only one which is lighted and has a paved path. About 800 ft. in length, it was not too difficult. It was cool in the tube and there were only a few places requiring bending. We then drove out on Cave Loop Road to Upper Sentinel, which connected to Lower Sentinel. Together they were about 3800 ft. If the flashlights were turned off it was very, very dark in the tube. The footing was uneven and the ceilings were covered with lots of bumps and protrusions, so progress was slow, but no stalagmites. It took us about 30 minutes to traverse that tubes and we did not have to retrace our steps. That was a least challenging tube, so emboldened we next went to Sunshine tube, which is rated moderately challenging. This was much shorter, about 800 ft. and had three openings to the sky so although the terrain was more difficult, it was not too forbidding. Then we went to Golden Dome tube. This was also rated moderately challenging, but it was 2200 ft. and no skylights. It was difficult and dark. On the return trip, we had difficulty finding the way back. We took a few seemingly wrong turns and it would have been easy to panic in there. But we saw the lights of some incoming visitors and finally made our way out.
That was enough tubing for the day, so we drove out the north entrance and quickly passed into Oregon. We skirted around Klamuth Falls and shortly thereafter were caught in a torrential downpour that necessitated pulling off the road for a few minutes. When we turned onto the road for Crater Lake Park we entered an incredibly green and lush forest.
As the road climbed he tress became thicker and taller and we road along a roaring creek. We arrived at the park entrance after the ranger station was closed and began a seven mile climb to the Lodge and the edge of the crater.
I think that the entryway and Great Hall in the Lodge are awe inspiring. Soaring ceilings held up by tree trunks with large windows overlooking the lake and large comfy chairs and two large fireplaces make for a nice way to spend an evening. Our room on the first floor was large, but as in all rooms at the Lodge, no TV. (That was fine.) Alas unlike during my prior visit I was not permitted to charge up the car at the store’s loading dock after hours. Instead I was directed to a charging station seven miles below in the Park’s village.
The first time I look over the cusp of the caldron at Crater Lake takes my breath away every time I experience that. The blue water, mists over the lake and alternating clouds and sunshine make for a magical vista. Lots of snow fields on the slopes surrounding the Lake. All this can be viewed form rocking chairs on the wide porch.
We took a brief walk before cold and rain drove us indoors. We had a wonderful dinner at the Lodge restaurant. That is not to be missed. Our service staff was from Macadonia and Ohio.
Alturas in far northeast CA. to Crater Lake, OR by way of Lava Beds National Monument
Alturas is a small town, but with about 2500 population and a regional high school (the Braves and lots of signs congratulating the recent graduating class) it seems to be a regional hub for the local agricultural industry, lots of cattle. The population seemed to be all white, but we did not go to the local Thai restaurant
Awoke to two vastly different, but discouraging events. The lessor, but of greater significance to me was that the car would not recharge, but later learned that the problem was the power supply at the Rim Rock Hotel was not adequate to charge up our electric car. So much for getting charged up every night. The greater event was James Comey's testimony before Congress. Nothing materially new or a departure from his prior news accounts or the earlier released prepared statement, but it reaffirmed the ethical morass our President has lead the country into. Fortunately, it was done on east coast time so we could watch it and get out and going at a reasonable time.
We found a Chevy dealership on Main street in town to check out the car charging situation. I spoke with the service manager and explained the charging problem. She confessed that she had never seen a Chevy Volt, ("we mainly sell trucks") that they had never had one in stock, let alone sold one and were not certified to work on that model. But she was willing to try to help so I pulled in and plugged in. Everything worked and charging commenced. The problem apparently was the Rim Rock motel's electrical system. Relief, but could not stay around to get a meaningful charge because they did not have a super charger.
Off to breakfast at the Wagon Wheel. It was reasonably crowded and the waitresses seemed to know most of the patrons. They were very friendly and a few stopped to speak with us, where were we from, where were we going, how did we like the town, etc. Prices were low and the portions large, but it is not a good idea to have chicken fried steak as part of a breakfast.
Took off for the Lava Beds National Monument, about a 1.5-hour drive through some very wooded, scenic and desolate country. Very little up there except forests and as we approached the Monument the landscape became volcanic, lots of black rock fields.
The Monument is set in a forbidding land scape that looks very foreign to this urbanite. It sits on top of a shield volcano that has been active for 500,000 years. You probably have not heard of it because its eruptions from hundreds of surface vents are gentle rather than explosive and rather than creating a volcanic mountain, such what we just visited at Lassen Volcanic National Park, what is left are cinder cones, deep chasms and more then 450 lava tubes. That results in a low, gently-sloping shield-like profile.
Interesting history here. The Modoc Indians inhabited the area before the arrival of the Euro-Americans after the Civil War. The white settlers claimed the “empty” land, conflicts ensued and escalated and violence resulted. The Modoc were forced into a signing a treaty that moved them on to the Klamath Reservation in Oregon that was already inhabited by two other tribes. That proved untenable and the tribe rebelled. The warriors fled to Captain Jack’s Stronghold, a natural fortress of the lava beds and held off several thousand troops under General Sherman. After about a year of fighting the tribe was defeated and its remaining member exiled to a reservation in Oklahoma. That was the last major Indian war in the northwest and the only major Indian war fought in California.
The other item of historical interest is that this Monument is very close to Tule Lake, which was the site of one of the WWII concentration camps used to confine Japanese Americans. It was reserved for internees who were considered the most dangerous and held all the internees who refused to positively respond to the 27 point “loyalty” questionnaire distributed in 1943.
When I approached the Ranger desk I discovered that I had lost my senior parks admission card. I do not know if I left it in the motel or it dropped out of my wallet, perhaps when I was changing in the Volcanic National Park, but in any event, it was gone. The young Ranger looked at me and said he believed me, I guess my appearance confirmed my age, so he let us in. They gave us each a big flashlight. Karen purchased her own senior card at the end of our visit to the Monument.
We first went to the Mushpot tube. That is the only one which is lighted and has a paved path. About 800 ft. in length, it was not too difficult. It was cool in the tube and there were only a few places requiring bending. We then drove out on Cave Loop Road to Upper Sentinel, which connected to Lower Sentinel. Together they were about 3800 ft. If the flashlights were turned off it was very, very dark in the tube. The footing was uneven and the ceilings were covered with lots of bumps and protrusions, so progress was slow, but no stalagmites. It took us about 30 minutes to traverse that tubes and we did not have to retrace our steps. That was a least challenging tube, so emboldened we next went to Sunshine tube, which is rated moderately challenging. This was much shorter, about 800 ft. and had three openings to the sky so although the terrain was more difficult, it was not too forbidding. Then we went to Golden Dome tube. This was also rated moderately challenging, but it was 2200 ft. and no skylights. It was difficult and dark. On the return trip, we had difficulty finding the way back. We took a few seemingly wrong turns and it would have been easy to panic in there. But we saw the lights of some incoming visitors and finally made our way out.
That was enough tubing for the day, so we drove out the north entrance and quickly passed into Oregon. We skirted around Klamuth Falls and shortly thereafter were caught in a torrential downpour that necessitated pulling off the road for a few minutes. When we turned onto the road for Crater Lake Park we entered an incredibly green and lush forest.
As the road climbed he tress became thicker and taller and we road along a roaring creek. We arrived at the park entrance after the ranger station was closed and began a seven mile climb to the Lodge and the edge of the crater.
I think that the entryway and Great Hall in the Lodge are awe inspiring. Soaring ceilings held up by tree trunks with large windows overlooking the lake and large comfy chairs and two large fireplaces make for a nice way to spend an evening. Our room on the first floor was large, but as in all rooms at the Lodge, no TV. (That was fine.) Alas unlike during my prior visit I was not permitted to charge up the car at the store’s loading dock after hours. Instead I was directed to a charging station seven miles below in the Park’s village.
The first time I look over the cusp of the caldron at Crater Lake takes my breath away every time I experience that. The blue water, mists over the lake and alternating clouds and sunshine make for a magical vista. Lots of snow fields on the slopes surrounding the Lake. All this can be viewed form rocking chairs on the wide porch.
We took a brief walk before cold and rain drove us indoors. We had a wonderful dinner at the Lodge restaurant. That is not to be missed. Our service staff was from Macadonia and Ohio.
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