June 16-17, 2018
TLDR; This visit was sort of a sleeper success. We had no idea how beautiful the area was, or how much dust whips up out of nowhere. Bri had no trouble getting up at 5 in the morning to see birds; we thought we were being surrounded by bears at one point; and saw one of the most gorgeous sunsets yet.
The sights
Lava Beds National Monument
We were expecting this to be a big dump of lava, but it was actually a huge, expansive area with sweeping landscapes and gorgeous light.
Tule Lake bird sanctuary
Got up at the crack of dawn to see the birds. Of course Bri busted out the big camera for these guys.
We went on the 10-mile auto tour around Tule Lake, and had the whole thing to ourselves except for one “plumbing” truck with two adorable elderly ladies in it.
Saw mostly waterfowl: white pelicans, Canada Geese, terns, tri-color blackbird, white-faced ibis (these looked like hunchbacked vultures). Saw an actual vulture eating roadkill for breakfast.
Petroglyphs
Apparently the entire area used to be Modoc Lake but is now 16% of its original size. The petroglyphs are at the bottom of what used to be an island, but now you can walk all the way around it.
The glyphs are from as early as 4600 years ago, and a lot of the images looked suspiciously like aliens. Bri thought he heard an owl but… it was a pigeon.
Sheepy Ridge
The Sheepy Ridge look-out had a cute little rock house with a gorgeous panorama, including the man-made Discovery marsh below, where we saw more birds (joy!), black-tailed deer, and pelicans.
Details, details, details
Used the heat for the first time and it was amazing. So cozy.
Watched Jurassic Park III (the DVD) and decided it’s pretty underrated.
Had to reinforce the kitchen cabinets with a second latch because they kept flying open (did they even test drive her?).
And then this happened…
On the road from Modoc to Lower Klamath National Wildlife refuge, the road was completely obscured by dust. And then Google Maps led us directly to private hunting grounds. So we had to turn around and found ourselves in a blind, dust-filled intersection.
We made it.
Then, when we got back to our spot on the second night, it started raining… and then hail!
The more you know
Clean public restrooms are a treat and a half.
Road food
Where we stayed
Nights one and two: Modoc National Forest
Found a road in the Lava Beds National Monument that dips into Modoc National Forest (greatly shrinking the potential drive) and went about a half mile in to find a great little spot with a view of the surrounding hills and sun setting in the distance.
Big mosquitos. Birds in the background. A coyote trotting by! Heard a sound that surrounded us and thought we were being hunted by a bear. We later found out it was mule deer.
GPS coordinates: 41.7845976, -121.5732288
Just show me the pictures ALREADY
How fabulous!!! You are ingenious to build these incredible memories now. You will never ever forget this beautiful time together and all you have seen and experienced. Love your blog and getting those feelings across. You touch my heart ❤️ deeply.
Love to you both
Hi Richard! We’re very fortunate that it worked out timing-wise, and are having a blast so far. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the blog. Much love to you as well!
Welcome to the fun of fulltiming. Were you at the Winnebago rally in Iowa this July?
We have a full-timing group within WIT, and would have loved to see you there.
My wife and I have been full-timing for 10 years. I you have any questions, you can contact us at the email for this comment.
Hi Bob – thanks for reaching out (and sorry for the late reply)! We did not make it to the rally, but will keep an eye out for one in the future when our schedule settles down some.