Hot Rocks: Lava Beds National Monument

Our week's stay at Eagles' Nest RV Park in Tionesta, CA started with a surprise. As we pulled in, our hosts met us at the entrance and confided that they were expected "The Burners" to be showing up that evening.  It turns out that Burning Man was starting the next day, and although Tionesta is about as far off the beaten track as any RV park we've ever been to, it's close enough to the main route from Portland, Seattle, Bend, (and other hip alternative-culture PNW communities) to the Black Desert. It seems the Burners (participants in Burning Man) know all about Eagles' Nest RV Park and hundreds were expected to be camping all around us by nightfall. Barbara, our host, made it sound like it would be a major inundation, but after a moment's thought we decided it all sounded interesting, so we stayed.

About 15 miles from the campground is the entrance to Lava Beds National Monument, which covers only about 10 percent of the 700 square mile Medicine Lake shield volcano.  A shield volcano, in contrast to more mountainous others, like nearby Mt. Shasta, is a slowly erupting and widely spreading volcano. Within the National Monument there are volcanic buttes (below), cinder and splatter cones, massive lava flows and almost 700 lava tube caves!   They are all the remains of some very hot rocks.

Rick is not so into caves, so this was a park for Lenore the explorer. With my Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), two headlamps, lots of water and my walking stick I headed to the caves.  The rangers at the Visitors' Center suggested starting with the Mushpot cave, as it is the only lighted one in the park and a good place to figure out if you even want to go further.  

In addition to lights, Mushpots has stairs at the cave entrance, hand rails...

and paved walkways... 

These caves are also much cooler and more humid than the hot sun and parched desert air above. 

 So I guess in this case the rocks were pretty cool (rather than hot). 

The walk to the end of the lava tube and back took just a few minutes and was easy going all the way.

Lava tubes are made by the fast passage of very hot liquid lava flowing gently downhill. The floor and walls of the tube harden first as the outside contacts earth and air, cooling while the inside still flows, eventually flowing right out at the bottom of the hill, leaving the hollow tube behind. Many have collapsed, or partially collapsed, and their openings can be seen all over the park.  About 20 are maintained and open to the public.  The park provides an excellent brochure describing each one and their level of difficulty.  It also offers ranger led tours of some of the caves.

For my next lava tube encounter I chose the Sentinel Cave (above), also at the ranger's suggestion. It's rated as easy, with wide and tall passages, so no crawling is necessary. Below is what it looked like from the mouth of the cave.

Oh, did I mention that it has no lights? But I had my trusty headlamps so I thought I'd be OK.  Well, here is a picture of how far I got, looking back out to the entrance of the cave.  It was just too creepy for me, by myself. With a group I'd be fine, but as I tippy-toed into the darkness with my suddenly very inadequate headlamp, it was easy to decide that this adventure was not for me. 

OK. Not to be defeated, I drove on to two more caves, at the entrances of which there were reportedly pictographs to be found. If I didn't have to go deep inside the cave that sounded good to me. A 1.5 mile hike was required to get to their entrances.  At the first one I couldn't even see the trail down, let alone walk it, so I passed that one by. 

At the second one, Symbol Bridge Cave, I had better luck. The way down was evident, looked manageable, and wasn't dark.  In fact it was lighted by a collapsed section just a short way in, creating what I assume must have been the bridge referred to in its name.

And right at the entrance were the clearly visible pictographs, if you took the time to look. 

Pictographs are not carved, scratched or chipped into rock, but rather are created using liquid or powdered minerals, usually applied with fingers or other parts of the hand, or in some cases blown on. 

So, cave adventures complete enough, I headed to the northern sections of the Monument, passing some Giant Blazing Stars along the roadside. 

Of interest to history buffs is Captain Jack's Stronghold, another one of the Monument's easy access popular roadside attractions. 

Along the trail through the Stronghold there were many places where Mt. Shasta was visible in the distance.  There were actually two trails - a short and a long loop. (I opted for the short trial because of the heat and midday sun.)

Captain Jack was the war leader of the local Modoc people in the mid-late 1800's. The Stronghold is a complex of lava formations with caves and fissures used by as many as 150 members of the Modoc tribe in the defense of their land against US troops in 1872-3 for 5-6 months.  In the photo below you can see Tule Lake in the distance. It used to come right up to the Stronghold before it was drained for farm land. It was the source of water for the Modoc during the siege.

The Modoc Wars are described in detail here, for those interested. (Like most conflicts between Native Americans and the US government - it's complicated - so I won't attempt it here.) 

It seems the Stronghold was an especially effective location to defend because of its complexity, and the dangers of unexpected holes and sharp lava rock for those unfamiliar with it.  The brochure and trail markers throughout the area explain how parts of it were used by the Modoc, for living, storage, defense, gatherings, even ceremonial dancing during the siege. 

Walking through, it's easy to imagine their temporary life here during the siege and the related battles.  The location and the significance of the historic Modoc medicine flag is noted in the brochure, and there is also what seems to be a contemporary medicine flag mounted on a nearby highpoint within the Stronghold. (No explanation provided.)

After the Stronghold I pushed northward to the edge of the Tule Lake Wildlife Refuge, and saw lots of white pelicans, Canada geese, white egrets, coots and black necked stilts.  My final stop was in the small town of Tulelake for some chicken tacos at a local burger stand before heading back to Tionesta.

BTW, we were not inundated with Burners, there was no late night pre-Burning Man celebration, 

we all got along, and we all slept well.

Alaskan Dream Cruise: Return to Sitka

On the last morning of our marvelous sea-faring adventure, we cruised along the length of Sitka,

past fishing boats and processing plants...

sea planes...

and into a private dock in the backyard of Bob and Betty Allen, the owners of Allen Marine and Alaskan Dream Cruises. Can you imagine having a totem pole and a dock in your backyard? It's not so unusual here. This is the Allen home...

…and this is one of several houseboats nearby, docked right next to a very old shipwreck.

During breakfast all our luggage was removed from the ship and we said our last goodbyes to the officers, expedition leaders and crew.  Owner Bob Allen even dropped in to express his thanks to us for cruising with his company. It was a surprisingly emotional experience! The crew had been so effective and generous in their professional relationships with us, that we all felt very grateful. Of course these feelings go a long way towards leaving good tips, which I feel certain many of us left behind.  (If you're interested in reading the review I wrote, see the Cruise Critic website.)

Bye-bye Baranof Dream! 

We had scheduled two days/three nights in Sitka after the cruise to rest and catch up on laundry, emails,  naps, and whatever else we might need.  It turned out that our new friends Dave and Judi also needed to do some laundry and planned on spending the day in Sitka. So we invited them to join us, as we had a rental car, and the four of us spent a rainy day at the laundromat and the McDonald's across the street. We had a great time. Good company makes any chore a pleasure.

After the laundry was done we had some more time before Judi & Dave had to catch their plane, so we used the free vouchers Alaskan Dream had given us to the Alaska Raptor Center.  The very well informed guides there introduced us to many of their birds, including this American Kestrel. What a beautiful little hunter!

The Raptor Center houses and rehabilitates all kinds of raptors, from tiny owls to bald eagles.  The only birds they keep are those that are not able to return to the wild due to disability of some sort.  This bald eagle was one of about 7 or 8 permanent eagle residents that we saw.  Neat to be able to see them so closely. They are intense birds.

We were introduced to several kinds of owls and hawks in their outdoor cages. Then we received a tour of the indoor space where they rehabilitate the birds. The eagles had the largest space - about the size of a gymnasium, where they could safely practice flying between different kinds of perches.   There were smaller spaces reserved for small raptors and owls.  There were no "shows" of trained raptors, like we've seen at various other museums and nature centers. 

The time finally came to drop Judi and Dave off and say goodbye until some future get together. We drove on to Frank & Gloria's Place, where we had stayed overnight right before the cruise. Although  our cabin on the cruise was plenty comfortable, it did feel good to spread out a little bit. 

The next two days were cold and rainy, but we just took it easy and saw some more of Sitka. The first day we drove all the way to the end of the road to the south, and the next day we drove all the way to the end of the road to the north. (The whole road is a total of 15 miles long.) 

At the northern end is Starrigavan Recreation Area, which has lots of trails to explore. After some deliberation we chose the Mosquito Cove Trail. There were brown bear warning signs, indicating that bears had been seen in the area a few days ago. No surprise. Did you know that there is an average of one brown bear per square mile in southeastern Alaska?  Well, we decided to do it anyway, be alert, and make a lot of noise, as is recommended.

It was a beautiful trail, traversing the steep shoreline and passing through rainforest-like terrain. Of course this means dense vegetation, lots of dead trees and big rocks: plenty of places for bears to hang out without being able to see them. Well, we were nervous through the whole walk.

An hour and a half later, no wildlife sightings. That was fine with us. 

But, minutes after getting into our car and driving back toward town, an adolescent brown bear came  bounding across the road in front of us like a big sheepdog, followed by three officers with dart or stun guns in close pursuit! The bear got away into the woods, and the officers stood around deciding what to do next - then waved us on. We had to assume the young bear was getting into trouble in the neighborhood and these guys were problem solving. This was the closest encounter we had with a bear during our whole Alaskan visit. 

I made one more interesting stop while we were in town: the Sitka National Historic Park, also locally known as Totem Pole Park.  I was very impressed with the beautiful collection of Tlingit and Haida totem poles, as well as other native arts and historical artifacts. Many of the poles are mounted along the shore in the deep woods, where they are truly striking, mysterious and powerful, especially in the misty rain.

That about did it for Sitka. We left feeling ready for the next leg of our Alaskan adventure: Anchorage.

Full-time Fun in Phoenix

We had to make some tough decisions while we were in the Phoenix area, because there's so much to see and do.  After getting parked at Usery Mountain Regional Park, north of Mesa, and doing some research about the area, we settled on our top four choices: the Musical Instrument Museum, the Desert Botanical Gardens, a scenic drive on the Apache Trail, and Taliesin West. (I managed to fill in any available interstices with hikes and bike rides around the campground as well.) I'll take each of these fantastic experiences one at a time.

Usery Mountain Regional Park

This park, just beyond the northeastern fringes of the Phoenix metropolitan area, is a real treasure. The campground has roomy sites with lots of desert scenery and vegetation around them; electric and water hook-ups with a convenient dump station; brand new, clean and roomy showers with lots of high pressure hot water; interesting hiking/biking and horse trails of many levels of difficulty; several nice playgrounds; and state of the art natural archery and shooting ranges. 

We had reserved one of several easy in and out pull-throughs more than a month ago. The park seemed to be full every night we were there.

It's very conveniently located in relation to commercial development of any kind you might want, but feels like it's much more remote than that. We found Phoenix very easy to navigate. We got to all the attractions we were interested in on the 202 Loop - a smooth, quick highway with beautiful landscaping and striking desert themed concrete art on the walls that separate it from the surrounding residential areas.  

By the way, while in Tucson and Phoenix I added nine birds to my life list: the curve billed thrasher, gilded flicker, Gila woodpecker, black-chinned sparrow, verdin, cactus wren, Chihuahuan raven, and two with the best names - the phainopepla and the pyrrhuloxia! Although these birds are very common around here - they are not found in other areas of the country at all. We were also revisited by many Gambel's quails and several greater roadrunners.  Not bad!

Musical Instrument Museum

I keep a list of peak experiences I've had since starting full-timing, (there are about 12 of them) and this museum just made the list. I'm an avid fan of musical instruments from around the world so I knew I was going to love it, but I had no idea how spectacular this museum was going to be.

This is the theme of the museum, and it truly conveys the message in so many ways. This banner is posted prominently in many languages throughout the exhibits.

The two floors of this large museum are divided into the major geographical areas of the world, and the large rooms are subdivided into countries. For each country there is a selection of instruments and videos depicting the music, and in many cases the dancing, of that country. It was fantastically interesting. When we entered the first room, I thought I might never be able to leave.  The videos alone were worth the price of admission and the time it took to view them.

Of course, after a couple of hours we were both totally saturated and staggering. The museum was closing, so thankfully we couldn't stay longer, or we would have been tempted. I will definitely come back if we're in the area again, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. It is truly a world class museum.

Here is a quick selection of some of the most photogenic instruments.

And finally my personal favorite, the air guitar. Seriously.

Scenic Drive on the Apache Trail

We and Ms. Subaru tackled the scenic loop (or at least part of it) west of Phoenix, called the Apache Trail.

Our first stop was a scenic overlook of the Salt River. 

You can just see a fly fisherman in the middle of the picture.

Second stop, Saguaro Lake, where there is a scenic boat ride one can take, 

as well as a marina and restaurant. But we moved on.

Third stop was Roosevelt Reservoir where we had a scenic picnic lunch. 

Well here's where our plans changed. After lunch, Ms. Subaru wouldn't start back up again. I guess she wanted to stay a little longer. An hour and a half longer as it turned out, as we waited for AAA to come and give her a little extra encouragement in the form of a jump start.  Seems "someone" had left the lights on and the key in the ignition, and her battery was probably a little low already. It took a long time for the tow company to find us as you can imagine by our location below. How the heck do you explain where you are to a AAA dispatcher hundreds of miles away,  when you've never been where you are before and are on some dirt road in a remote recreation area? Google maps was not so helpful, as many readers may know. When in remote locations their identifying notations can be a little off.  NIce place to be stuck though.

While waiting for AAA I had plenty of time for photography.

  

I had hoped to take the most scenic dirt/paved Route 88 from Roosevelt Reservoir to Apache Junction, but we needed to drive over to Globe to get a new battery instead. The scenery was still wonderful. 

The last stretch of the drive, from Globe to Apache Junction skirted south of the Superstition Mountains and offered some dramatic desert scenery as a storm passed through. This is a drive-by shot. Yes, by the end of the long day it was a kind of a blur.

The Desert Botanical Gardens

No, this is not a desert bloom.

There was a Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens, so we had a great time taking pictures of his striking glass sculptures that we scattered throughout the landscape and gardens.

Chihuly really does a great job getting his work out there. We've seen him in the Garfield Conservatory in Chicago, and at the Tacoma Museum of Glass, and other places too. 

Some of it is gorgeous and seems to enhance its surroundings. Others…not so much.

The cactus blossoms and other flowering plants were the stars of the show though.

 Not even Chihuly could out shine them.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West

We've been to several other Frank Lloyd Wright (FLW) buildings, and so were excited to add Taliesin West to our experiences. This was his home for the last part of his life and is still a school of architecture, as it was in his lifetime. We had a very informative and experienced docent guide us around the property and tell us stories of FLW and his family and apprentices who lived here.

One of the challenges of living in the desert, is creating a safe place for your kids to play. I never thought of that! But of course, all the plants are prickly and there are poisonous biting creatures lurking under rocks and bushes. 

FLW created this soft, contained, lush place, complete with a shallow pool, for his children's safe enjoyment, where he and his wife could oversee their play from many vantage points. 

Taliesin was created by FLW and his apprentices out of very rough concrete and local rocks. Maybe the look grows on you, but it seemed harsh and "Frankly" kind of ugly to us. This perspective shows how the house echoed the colors, shapes and textures of the surrounding hills.  In this picture the patterns of stone walls remind me of a Kandinsky watercolor and I begin to appreciate them more.

Anyway, when FLW and his family lived here, there was no glass in the doors and windows - it was all open air. He felt that was THE way to live in the desert.  He also used lots of rough and raw materials, like the concrete, and rough hewn wood surfaces on furniture and wood trim throughout the interior.  Other typical FLW architectural features included low ceilings and the "squeeze and pop" treatment as you transition between spaces.

There seemed to be more irregular and repeated angles than in other FLW buildings we've seen. Above, the sculpture in the foreground accentuates those angles. The property was sprinkled with sculptures by apprentices gone by and other artists, and with pieces of FLW's extensive Asian art collection.  We especially liked the collection of Heloise Crista, who was also a dancer. This one is called "In the Present Moment," a sentiment we try to embrace in our lives. 

So, on to the next present moment, as we move north toward Utah.