GILLEM BLUFF TRAIL
this is a trail that tells the history of Gillems Camp. During the Modoc War the U.S. Army camped here for seven weeks what looks to be a strange place to camp this was once near Tule Lake which could provide food, and water for drinking and bathing. They could also travel by boat to the Army’s eastern Post at Hospital Rock.
This is the location of the original cemetery that once held 30 soldiers killed in the Modoc War.
According to the National Park guide this circular “corral” was used to hold a Modoc prisoner. Of course it was a bit taller back then.
TULE LAKE WILDLIFE REFUGE…(part 3)
the biggest portion of what is left of Tule Lake….
skipping over to the Lava Beds and Captain Jack’s Stronghold trail….
as a comparison the above sign is in the lower right hand corner and I am facing where the lake used to be…BITTERSWEET….my car is in the parking lot…and it has been a great day…inspite of the wretch who ran into my car….
From the Lava Beds visitor center….
Then driving over to Petroglyph Point (more on this at a later time)
the petroglyphs run along the bottom of the cliff….no more lake though…place to park my car though…BITTERSWEET…
I wonder that canoeing out here was a form of prayer…
LUMBERING WATER BUFFALO HAS ALBINO LEGS….
I haven’t done a Lumbering Water Buffalo post in awhile…SHAME!!! Yes I am still running have not missed a NIKE 10 MILES A WEEK IN 2010 CHALLENGE (I was in 4,656 place and am now at 3908since I started…..weight not so good…hanging out between 193 and 195….too much eating out…that time of month binge on sweets…OUCH!!! But my friend Tiffy had a challenge on her blog to stick with an activity for 100 days….chose to NOT do an activity….eating desserts!!! the only thing I allow are hard candies…sparingly..IT’S DAY 8 so far so good…loaded up on fruit at Costco…hard to believe no ice cream just as its getting hot!!! I love ice cream on the coldest day but even more so when its 80+ out!! Has anyone tried the new Haagen Dazs Five Lemon?? OMG!!!!
ok so yesterday was the first day I put on shorts….I think maybe my legs could light the way in a blackout!!
Oh and I joined more Nike Challenges….2010 GUYS VS. GALS…2010 REP YOUR STATE…(Oregon is in sixth with Texas and Florida ahead)…and since I love my Equalons so much better than the Asics I bought previously…I joined WHAT NIKE + DO YOU TRAIN WITH. Now some people who joined the challenges take it way to seriously….I look at it as making it fun and it is ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN…I consistently log in 18 minute miles because I ALWAYS have my camera and take photos.(But really I am the s…l…o…w…e….s…t runner.) I have been struggling in the heat though and gave up after a mile and a half yesterday-walked another 4 but just could not run for the life of me!
Anyway I’ll try to do regular posts.
I have phobias….clowns…carnivals…heights….being surrounded by water…..balloons…telephones….metal scraping(fucking drives me insane)…BUT NOT MY SCALE!!
TULE LAKE WILDLIFE REFUGE/SHEEPY RIDGE…(part 2)
As I said in the previous post after the threat of dangerous pesticides at Marsh Trail I went looking for a little stone on top of Sheepy Ridge. Low and behold right behind the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center there was a trail head…
My head wasn’t in a good place…not bad but you can tell with the photos…this day was one of the worst photo wise…just not being in the moment and taking the time to reflect while I am aiming…too much of a hurry…and for what?? Just distracted…
This is the start of the trail..
Would have been a great photo….
a ways to go….mind you I’m deathly afraid of heights….but less so when on my own two feet verses driving in my car…my sister accused me of trying to kill her while driving around Crater Lake. I was hyper-ventilating while trying to overcome my phobia!!
Is there anything better than big fluffy white clouds in a bright blue sky??
That is Marsh Trail below…you can see a little bit of how much Tule Lake was drained…
there are hundreds of birds that live on the cliffs. Amazing to see and hear!
More photos of the farmland and the little marsh…
see those fence posts on the side of the cliff…yeah that is the trail to get to the stone lookout…my hands are sweating at the memory of it! But I went…now most people might think no big deal but to me….like climbing Mt. Everest….and to think that jumping off the top of the barn was great fun when I was a kid!! Now I am plagued with phobia with my only saving grace being my sense of humor about it all!
almost there!!!
looking out the windows you can get a better idea of how big the lake used to be…
the visitors center below….
TULE LAKE WILDLIFE REFUGE…(part 1)
and pesticide/fertilizer bath. I have visited the Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge previously and at the time was stuck by how many birds were there…hundreds of pelicans and herons….just beautiful birds….Bald Eagles…ducks and geese galore. The various refuges are chopped up and surrounded by farmland that used to be desert. Mostly potatoes and alfalfa are grown there. It takes an incredible amount of water and chemical fertilizers to make things grow in the desert….oh and I can’t forget the pesticides…
So anyway after work I headed to Tule Lake visitors center…and right across the road was Discovery Marsh Trail!!! How exciting and it is such a beautiful day!!!
But as I got closer……Not the clearest photo but yep you can’t walk on the trail because of DANGER PESTICIDES!! But apparently all of those pesticides aren’t dangerous to the wildlife refuge??
Look at what a beautiful day it was!! Truly this is where the word BITTERSWEET resides…
Dejected I turned around to walk back to my car and drive to the lava beds once again….then I looked up and spotted what looked to be little house. I zoomed in as much as I could and this is what it looked like! Now that looked like a place I needed to go to next!
GLASS HALF FULL…
Even though they didn’t leave a note….and I can’t open my door….I suppose I should be thankful the damage wasn’t worse…could have included the door….been on the drivers side…
CORVETTE AND ROSES
After taking photos at the car show I noticed a garden of roses in Hawthorne Park…never ever get tired of flowers!
CAR SHOW
The car show was still going on when I went to go running…so I stopped by on my way back…me in the wheel of the below red truck
the car show wasn’t all antique cars there were much new models…but I like the older ones…
How cool is this interior???
Nomad…that will end up as a blog header!
I love the shiny paint and chrome!
T for Tool!!
here is a newer car engine
and what ever this is…looks cool though!
There was even a contest for kids who “tricked” out their bicycles. You can’t tell in the photo too well but they all have lots of shiny chrome
Gotta love the old white wall tires…..thank God they aren’t on my car….wouldn’t be white for long!
TOLOWA DUNES
As I think I stated in a previous post the wind was unbelievable on the coast when I was there last week. I love variety of grasses at Tolowa…
this is the trail to the beach….lots of shelter from the wind!
no shelter here!!
I didn’t bother crossing the “creek” to the beach….the wind was so fierce!! I snapped a few photos and headed back.
I took pictures of Dead Lake which I posted on Stellar Healing and then visited the more protected part of the dunes…..hardly any wind
One of my little slug friends!
and hard to take well focused photos of the flowers as the wind once again was present….should have put it on the moving athlete setting!
FORD OVERDRIVE F100
While walking to work yesterday I encountered this old red Ford…apparently there was an antique car show not far from my house that I missed….that would have been much more exciting than work!
DEAD LAKE/TOLOWA LEGEND OF THE FALL
When the Redwoods are crowded with tourists Tolowa Dunes is my favorite place to go!
Yesterday I braved the over grown trail to take photos of this remarkable place. Truly not many people make it to this lake…see more photos and read about the legend at STELLAR HEALING
BLACK CRATER
Black Crater and the Thomas/Wright Battlefield start out on the same trail….then fork off in different directions….the Battlefield needs its own post..
Its not a big crater in the ground but rather a giant mold of lava….with some dips….and lots of interesting scenery.
FLEENER CHIMNEYS AND THE DEVIL’S HOMESTEAD
I love all of this volcano stuff!
The whole area is cool covered with little caves and lava tubes….and like I said I didn’t even bother with the real caves….
The description of hot oatmeal bubbling is accurate later there is an area called the Devil’s Homestead with lava rock that goes on and on….like a child in a high chair for a million years flinging hot oatmeal(not that instant stuff the real oatmeal) on the floor.
The vents that spewed the lava actually have bars around them so people won’t be tempted to go down them.
Onto the Devil’s Homestead….but the sun is rapidly fading behind the ridge….
here it is completely gone….this looks awesome in the light chunks of lava
I’ll take better photos next time!!!
THUNDERBIRD AND FLOWERS
Although there is a Safeway right by my apt….I walk the mile and a half to Sherm’s Thunderbird…a locally owned grocery store. I haven’t even had the time to get to the Medford Growers Market but Sherms has a huge organic section….this particular location is actually called FOOD4LESS not sure why…the other three stores are Thunderbirds as are all of their trucks….as seen below
It was such a beautiful day I took the scenic route home and stopped to take photos of the blooming flowers!!
MR. COOPER
My brother is transferring to Eastern Oregon University next year so I was helping him and his girlfriend with a yard sale on Saturday….this is their dog Cooper
SNAKE
I almost stepped on this little guy who was trying to soak up some sun…
Of course I had to get some closeups…
I was just assuming that he was harmless…..he could have easily me….later I tried to look up what kind of snake it was but couldn’t find him…regardless he was quite well mannered.
DOWN SCHONCHIN BUTTE
Of course the way down is much easier..
the trail loops around the mountain so you can see the lookout from the other side…
I was quite startled by the noises these young lads made….wasn’t sure whether to grab my serial killer bear spray or my camera….but once I figured out it was just deer and not the mountain lion they warned about….they were quite nice to pose long enough for me to take a photo!
I took this while driving away….I guess that this is the side that gets all the wind…and therefore has little vegetation.
UP SCHONCHIN BUTTE
I arrived at the Lava Beds later than planned (funny how that ALWAYS happens) There are tons of caves but I decided to save that for another day….the sky was too beautiful to spend time in the dark. (and I people had been telling me stories of getting lost in the caves….I would just rather have an earlier start!)
So wanting to get exercise I headed for this mountain…Schonchin Butte there is a fire lookout on top….
If you look closely you can see the lookout on top!
Really it was just an amazing day and I loved every single minute of it!!!
starting the climb…I’m not very far up but it certainly looks like it!
love how this photo turned out…all mysterious and such….no I don’t photoshop…occasionally I crop though and lower the resolution for the blog…..
I love the shadows of the clouds on the ground off in the distance
Now that’s a long ways down!!!
I would love to have a job like this….just bring books and my drawing pads…..lots of pencils….I could easily go for three months without seeing anyone!
Oh and I can’t forget my camera too!!
This is standing on the deck of the lookout and looking down…tried to be brave….but its such a long way down!!!! and the wind was blowing my hat off!!
the road is where I left my car….
have to zoom in to see it!!
I have no idea what this is but looks to be a scale of some sort…it was nailed to the front of the tower…what would they be weighing?
this is a door underneath…of course I want to know what is in it!
Down photos later….
LUMBERING WATER BUFFALO ON THE OC&E TRAIL AGAIN
I was in Klamath Falls for the night…and having been lazy all week I went for a walk….too damned tired to run. I decided to go in the opposite direction on the OC&E trail through the town. Well for the most part it was b…o…r…i…n…g… except for this old railroad bridge.
seems crazy to me in these times of drought and ground water being depleted at such a rate that the CIA warns that our next wars will be fought over water instead of oil….that the high desert has been turned into farm land for alfalfa and potatoes….onions…and Medford which has farmland in abundance and would require a lot less irrigation is mostly taken up by residences and businesses….God forbid we do anything that makes sense…
Now as you can see when I am tired I get cock-eyed….photos tilted….I wish I could blame it on the builders of the bridge!
I have such a crazy fear of water that looking over the edge was hard…I know its crazy and unreasonable. Swimming pools??? dumbest things ever invented!!! (I used to be a good swimmer…can’t even stand the thought of a bath….none of that jacuzzi nonsense…saunas are great though!) I get sweaty palms just thinking about stepping on a boat! About two years ago my brother and I were on a hike it went between a river and an irrigation ditch…..and at one point narrowed to a two foot metal walk way between the two. I didn’t think anything of it at first but in the middle I started hyperventilating every muscle in my foot started cramping and I fell to my knees clinging to the metal walkway. Even as this was happening I was thinking STOP BEING SUCH A PUSSY!!! And I really do try when faced with the challenge….I did stay on the bridge for a few minutes…trying not to let my imagination run away!!
now this would be a great idea if put into practice……park benches on railroad tracks….just move around the whole city….if only you could burn calories at the same time!
the trail cuts through a part of town with larger lots and several people have horses……although these poor horses as you can see have no grass….five of them in that little space and while there is plenty of hay and feed around horses like to graze.
the wind had started blowing hard and I wish I had made sure this was in better focus…
this was a 5.58 mile walk….so in over two and a half miles….there wasn’t too much of interest…but then I saw this shoe hanging from a fence post. Next time I’m in Klamath Falls I’ll drive to the trail outside of town…that might be more interesting!
the next day I finally made it to the Lava Beds….THAT place was much more interesting!
lots more to come from the Lava Beds National Monument
NATIONAL CREEK FALLS
More from Saturday’s excursion….after the snow at Crater Lake I headed for National Creek Falls. I had been intending to go there for a year(last year when I tried to go it was snowed in)
It was only a half mile hike through the woods…down hill and of course…UP on the way back….well it burns more calories!
As you can see the spray from the falls soaked the lens….had to move back and use the zoom.
There is a great big log completely covered with graffiti carvings
After climbing back up I still had lots of energy and had my brother drive my car a few miles ahead while I went for a nice run…stopped to take some photos…that’s my car in the distance.
apparently not only are there heavy trucks but signs too heavy to hold their own weight.
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