Christmas card photos come to life in the Land of Giants.
Previously posted to Facebook on 5/18/18
Our explorations into this big beautiful country keep getting better and better. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is our first impressions of this special place in the Sierra Nevadas.
A land of giants
Ken said it correctly in an earlier post, we are in the Land of Giants. Every steep hairpin curve upward in the High Sierra brings a new surprise. Spring flowers in vivid shades of purple, yellow, red and white cover the mountainside like colored carpets. Herds of deer glide silently by. Bear forage after waking from long winter sleep. Giant grey squirrels chatter. A Perrigrin falcon coasts through the sky. You are surrounded by multiple, massive, icy cold rivers cascading thunderously down onto rocky faces and through lush mountain meadows. The smell in the air is a perfume no chemist could ever duplicate; it is pine and flowers, fresh clean water and woods.
The clouds touch the mountaintops and dance along the brilliant blue sky, so close you want to reach for them. And under the giant sequoia and pines, where it is dark and shaded, Christmas card photos come to life.
If Yellowstone is the diamond, then Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are the rubies and the emeralds. The Sequoias are Titans wrapped in soft, warm, bark robes, sometimes two-feet thick.
Uncrowded exploration
We have had dumb beginner’s luck and visited here just ahead of the season, with its masses of tourists parading from park-to-park on the weekends; so during the week, we have this playground virtually to ourselves. We hiked for miles and rarely saw anyone. We picnicked alone in splendor.
Mother nature puts on a fantastic show in the High Sierra. Snow is still on the mountaintops, melting and creating waterfalls everywhere you look. Trickling ones, roaring ones, gentle brooks that feed the meadows. And slow, wide, meandering ones. You think you have seen the best. But then turn the corner and your eyes pop because you encounter something even better. A mountain, a budding tree, blossoming flowers, or wildlife.
Get out and GO!
Many of you have mentioned to us that we are living your dream; to go around in an RV or travel trailer and see the country. Ken and I would both say DO IT! Do whatever you can and drag your children along too. Weekends in a van or months in an RV. Do it. You will not be disappointed. The world is big……
Always grateful. 👫
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have been our favorite National Parks so far. I hope our photos do it some justice.
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I’m not sure why we didn’t see Lava Beds National Monument when researching our route. The only defense is that you see so many forests and monuments on the map that if you stopped for them all, you would never make it to your destination.
North from Carson City
Our destination after Carson City, Nevada was Bend, Oregon with an overnight stopover in Tulelake, California. We researched our route and decided on Interstate 395 then across to State Road 139 at Alturas, California. The thinking was to stay east of the greatest elevation changes until the last possible minute and thereby save on gas. Our route choice was a good one and we made the very happy discovery of Lava Beds National Monument along the way.
I’m not sure why we didn’t see this park when researching
our route. The only defense is that you
see so many forests and monuments on the map that if you stopped for them all,
you would never make it to your destination.
We cruised up the highway, enjoying the sight of snow blanketing the forest floors. In the back of my mind, though, I kept wondering, did we move into the mountains too early in the season? And hoped that the answer was…it’s fine. We were nearing our overnight stop in Tulelake when the sign for Lava Beds National Monument appeared on the side of the road in what seemed the middle of nowhere.
The sign indicated that it was 16 miles to the park and, as we were ahead of schedule, floated the idea of heading there to look. We decided to continue to our overnight stop and try to include a quick visit before we pulled out for Bend.
Tulelake, California
Tulelake campground
Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds is a Passport America Park. If offers full hookup campsites in a lush, green, grassy area that is off to the side of fairground buildings and backed up to farm fields. This is a self-pay park and can still be used if you are a late arrival. Although there are not a lot of dining options nearby, it is a lovely and peaceful place to rest for a couple of days. There was a Visitor Center on the fairground property, though we didn’t go in. Happy with our camping site in Tulelake, we decided to stay two nights and see what was nearby.
Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge
White Pelican
Our first stop was the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge. After driving around on dirt dyke roads, through acres of sweet potato farm fields, we decided that this place would be what we call “an armadillo roll”, as in, roll on by. We did see our first ever pheasants with their beautiful plumage and, funny to us as Floridians, white pelicans. If you are into birds, then you may love this place. Various, huge flocks were floating, flying, and fishing in the waters.
Lava Beds National Monument
We used the second half of our day to drive into Lava Beds National Monument. Ken and I figured to just do a quick drive through look. Wow! We are sorry that we didn’t skip the wildlife refuge and just go straight to Lava Beds.
Acres of diverse volcanic features vie for your attention in the Great Basin High Desert. Hikes, wildlife and battle sites also abound but the show doesn’t stop above ground. Of over 700 caves in the park, twenty five of them are marked and open to exploration.
Caves
Skull Cave entrance
The caves are graded from easy to difficult and are yours to explore on your own. Yes. That’s right. These caves are open for you to explore completely on your own. To make sure that you have all the equipment necessary, you must first stop at the visitor center and obtain a pass. There the rangers will brief you on safety and equipment, you will be screened for white nose syndrome and helped with what caves may be suitable for you. You will need;
A helmet (bike helmet will do)
Flashlight (can be borrowed from visitor center)
Suitable warm clothing/boots
Gloves
Water
There is something otherworldly
about being in a cave all alone. It
really isn’t for the faint of heart but is something that I feel privileged to
have done. We went into Skull Cave where
you descend, down and further down, about eighty feet, until you reach the ice
floor at bottom. And the temperature change is dramatic. We were freezing down there.
Lava tube opening
We hiked back to another cave for
an attempted entry but felt that it was too steep for our capabilities. Even though we couldn’t go in that cave, it was
a beautiful hike, late in the afternoon.
We were treated to deer foraging for their evening meal and some
beautiful sunset colors in the sky.
We will be back
This is one of the places that we are kicking ourselves for not knowing about and planning more time to spend exploring. There is a small campground at the park. Although beautifully situated It does not provide hookups and only has a couple of spots suitable for RV’s over twenty-five feet. However, the Tulelake-Butte County Fairgrounds was nearby and has full hookups.
Tule Lake Monument
In addition, after we left the area, we found out that Tulelake, California was also the site of a Japanese American internment camp and prisoner of war site. This site is now memorialized at the Tule Lake Monument. This monument would be of particular interest to our family because Ken is half Japanese. The only way to tour the buildings at this site is with a Park Ranger and can be arranged at the Park Visitor Center located at Tulelake-Butte County Fairgrounds. The very place we stayed.
Klamath Falls Lake & Crater Lake National Park
Joey finds a mud puddle at Tulelake-Butte County Fairgrounds
The proximity of Klamath Falls Lake and Crater Lake National Park (about 1 ½ hours), makes Tulelake a great basecamp for exploring an activity rich area. I’m really sorry that we didn’t research our stopover more fully but very happy to have stumbled on it. Lava Beds National Monument alone is worth the visit but everything else is icing on the travel cake.
