National Parks and Wildlife Refuges

After provisioning up in Roseburg, we headed over the Toketee Pass in the Umpqua National Forest.  Following the river for most of the way we reminisced about the time we spent there on our first anniversary, hiking along the North Umpqua River.

 As it was Labor Day Weekend, we should have known that Crater Lake would be crowded.  The line to the north entrance started before the turnoff, and the merging of cars coming from the east and the west was made for practicing peace.  It took us most of an hour to get to the park entrance gate, and then most of another to get to and find a parking spot at Rim Village.  We walked into the Lodge, but the number of people on the waiting list for lunch was long enough that we could call it dinner by the time we got in.  So, we just went out onto the patio and took pictures, but oh what a picture we got!  The panoramic setting on Lori's phone did a great job!  After that, we went to the RV made some lunch, and then headed on out of there.

Heading south, we drove into the Klamath Basin.  How lovely!  We had reserved a camping spot at Collier Memorial State Park on the advice of a good friend (Thanks, Spencer!).  What a lovely place.  Neatly tucked into the Ponderosa pines, the campground was neat and tidy, and adjacent the Williamson River and its tributary, Spring Creek.  We had a lovely little hike along the river, and Tsuki, always hopeful, chased after the squirrels. 

The next morning we rolled out of there and drove down Hwy 97 along Upper Klamath Lake. Before we got to Klamath Falls we found the Link River Nature Trail between Upper Klamath Lake and Lake Eowain.  White Pelicans, Egrets, Herons, Gulls, Terns, Cormorants, Mergansers, Canada Geese and White-Faced Ibis were everywhere.  We saw a huge covey of California Quail as well.  Along the trail, there were many Passerine birds (mostly little brown birds that hang out in trees) that Lori couldn’t identify, and a snake that stopped us short. It was stretched out across the trail just sunning itself.  It was at least 3 feet long! After admiring it and taking its picture, we just skirted behind it and went on our way.  It moved slightly, but not much. Anyone with knowledge of its species, we would appreciate an ID.

After our short hike and lunch, we headed for the Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife refuge, and saw many more Egrets, Ibis, and various waterfowl along the marshes. We even had a coyote and a Great Horned Owl cross our paths.  All in all, it was a pretty exciting wildlife viewing day.

We made a tour through the Lava Beds National Monument on our way to Mt. Lassen National Park. We spent the night at the South Summit Lake Campground.  It is a lovely spot with lots of trails to walk of various lengths.  We walked around the lake early this morning and were just awed by the sight, smell and feel of the place. The song by Yousef Islam (aka Cat Stevens), “Morning Has Broken,” came to mind.  And yoga stretches by the lakeshore with that amazing view was a perfect way to start the day.

Before we left the park we took a moderate 3 mile hike on Bumpass Hell trail. The trail ends at the largest hydrothermal area in the park, and makes the principal area of upflow of steam and discharge from the Lassen hydrothermal system.  Pretty cool...er...hot, really.

We have put this place on our list of places to revisit to explore more in depth.