Saturday, July 25, 2026

Yesterday's trip to Lava Beds National Monument


Captain Jack and the Modocs v. The Army


Caves were everywhere around the visitor center


Caving Instructions.  Read and Heed.


Western Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana var. demissa) is native tree or shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It is fast growing and short-lived. It grows in an upright form to height of 20 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer.

This stuff was common in the Monument


Looks almost man made


Geology Lesson


Tiny little pink flowers.  Also pretty common.


Ever have Tule Lake Horseradish?  That's Tule Lake in the left distance and probably mountains in Oregon in the far distance


Closed for body recovery (just kidding)


Going Down?


Schonchin Butte Lookout


The rangers aren't really sure what the army was using this for - maybe a corral?

 

Lightning Struck Ponderosa


The distant Warner Mountains from the Monument, starting to disappear over the curvature of the earth.  Alturas sits just there at their feet.

10 comments:

  1. I was wondering if you had gone there! Good book on the Modoc War: "Burnt Out Fires" by Richard Dillon. Wild, beautiful country.

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  2. The tiny pink flower is wild radish. The taste is stronger than the round red radish.

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  3. Good hunting of water fowl at Tule Lake. Then after years of annual hunts one gets tired of sitting in the cold, wet, and mud.

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  4. I'm wondering if those caves might actually be lava tubes. Lava flows in them but when the supply of lava is exhausted they can either be filled with lava or left hollow. Steve_in_Ottawa

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  5. I went as a scoutBSA. had fun crawling in the spaces and see the lil phosphorescent diamonds ,so quite.

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  6. I am in Florida, I really miss Northern California. Hot and dry with that great smell of dried grass and pines.

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  7. Craters of the moon here in south central Idaho. Very similar landscape and caves.

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  8. Went there as a kid with my parents. They had some land in "California Pines." Great fun in those caves.

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  9. Thanks, CW! These places bring back fond memories of past visits.

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