May 2 and 3 - California Here We Come!

As we said farewell to Oregon and crossed the border into the California nation with fear and trepidation, what could possibly happen. Could we strike gold, or become snowbound in some mountain pass, we might even be forced into the opium trade in the far off Orient. Anyhow, after missing several turns trying to find Lower KlamathWildlife Refuge, we wound up in the Indian Wells Campground at Lava Beds National Monument in northern California. We will tour this tomorrow as well as the wildlife refuge we finally found, so stay tuned.,
May 3 – Lava Beds National Monument
Rising early in the morn, we set out to see the Lava Beds. They are almost indescribable and our camera is not capable of taking photos that do them justice. At one time way back when, there was major volcanic activity throughout this part of the continent. There were also large shallow lakes in this area, resting place for the semi-annual migration of birds along the Pacific flyaway. The area was also home for Modoc Indians until the white man arrived in the 1800’s. The white man promptly drained the lakes for rich farm land and complained about the Indians until the army drove them out to reservations in Oklahoma and the migratory bird population has been greatly reduced due to loss of habitat and hunting.
A great example of these lava beds is aptly called “The Devil’s Homestead”, a dark foreboding plain of jagged lava rocks. Another feature throughout theses particular lava beds are caves.
The caves are formed by hot, molten lava about 1800° F. The outer edges and surface of the flow cool rapidly and begin to harden. This “outside shell” acts as an insulating material, while the remainder of the flow beneath it remains hot and fast-moving. The flow continues on somewhat like a river that keeps on flowing, even though the surface has been frozen over. When the eruption stops and the river of lava drains, a tunnel or tube ─ the outer shell − is left. We were able to tour one of these caves but most of them were beyond our capabilities. There are over 500 known caves throughout the Monument.










There were many other features we encountered, such as “chimneys”, “castles”, and the petroglyth section where the Indians had carved drawings onto the rock wall of a large cliff. No one knows what the drawings mean, much like we don’t know what modern day graffiti means.
We returned to our campsite late in the afternoon, weary but with our spirits refreshed by witnessing once again a magnificent portion of God’s creation.