October 8
49mi/79km
+1500ft/450m
We had hotel breakfast and got riding by 9am, heading south out of town, through more ranch land. The cows stare at us as we ride past. We got a hazy view of Mount Shasta. We crossed State Line Road and we were in California.
We entered Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and saw more Great Egrets than I’ve ever seen in one place. Plus: Western Grebes (new bird for the trip list), a ton of American Coots, and Snowy Egrets, along with a few other ducks.
It was hot, there was no shade and no wind as we ride into Lava Beds. National Monument. We stopped at the various viewpoints and information signs. We learned about the Modoc War, which shares many similar traits to the Apache Wars in Arizona. The tribe had their stronghold in these badlands, although in the end, they were forcibly removed to a reservation far from their ancestral homelands – in this case to Oklahoma.
We stopped at the visitor center before going to the campground, where we got a little info about the caves from the ranger. We set up camp and returned to explore a couple of the larger caves. There are more than 800 lava caves and tubes discovered in the area. I don’t love exploring tight caves, but these larger ones were pretty cool.
The campground is mostly empty but the weather is warm and clear. It’s quiet out here.
