Friday, June 8, 2012

Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, CA….

tule lake

We left Reno, Nevada and headed north with the plan of stopping at Likely, California or the Tulelake Fairground in northeastern California. The drive out of Reno was uneventful and then we turned north on 395. This road started out really nice but when we hit Susanville and it became a narrow, windy road with shear drop-offs along the passenger side. Needless to say Sharon was not enjoying this part of the drive. It was odd since I didn’t remember any mountain roads in my planning.

white pelicans at tule lakeAfter about 150 miles I started looking for Likely, CA and never saw it. I assumed we must have missed it which was no big deal since I really thought we would end up at Tulelake instead. It wasn’t until after we pulled into the agricultural town of Tulelake that I realized that if I removed Likely, Ca. on my Microsoft Streets and Trips map it rerouted us over the mountains. I think we got lucky there were no other problems with the road other than it was a long and narrow road. It was an enjoyable scenic drive despite the challenges.

canada geese at tule lakeWe parked our rig in Tulelake-Butte Fairgrounds where we are the only ones here and have full hookups for only $18.00 per night. About half of what we were paying in Reno, NV. which will help this month’s budget.

The location is great for visiting the Lava Beds National Monument and the next day we planned to visit it. However, mother nature conjured up a cold snap that eared grebe at tule lakebrought morning rains and chilly temperatures. We waited until the rain stopped after lunch and drove west of town for a few miles. Unfortunately the drizzle started again and when we got near Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge we noticed a road on the dikes around the lake so we got on it and found ourselves on a Self Guided Auto Tour, 9.6 miles one way.

Perfect! Drizzle or not we found something to enjoy. What we learned was that at one time Tule Lake was much larger but the settlers of course decided that by draining this land they could farm the rich soils beneath the waters.  This was the explanation for all the agriculture in this otherwise xeric grassland.  As a result the lake currently is only 25 percent of what it once was!

western grebe at tule lakeWhat we saw was an abundance of wetland birds and the highlights were sightings of Yellow Headed Black Birds,Eared Clarks’ and Western Grebes as well as several pairs of Cinnamon Teal. Teems of ducks including Gadwall, Mallards, Red Heads, Lesser Scaup, Buffleheads and many other wetland birds were  spotted.

After the tour the weather broke and we headed for the Lava Beds National Monument but that will have to be another blog as this one is long enough…

10 comments:

  1. That drive out of Susanville is kind of scary, alright, but the rest of the trip is pretty. We've gone that way a few times, and always enjoy it. Thanks for sharing all the nice photos! Love those Pelicans. My high school mascot from Klamath Falls!! Have a great trip on north.

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    1. I was too young for school when I lived in Klamath Falls.

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  2. Love those National Wildlife refuges. Thanks for showing me another one. Do they allow kayaks on the water??

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    1. not real sure about that Sherry but I really can't imagine that they wouldn't...

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  3. We are going to Lassen, then Burney Falls, then Lava. we are about two weeks behind you. I'm enjoying your preview!

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    1. Love, love, love Burney Falls! Are you going to camp there? Lots of deer wandering through.

      See this blog for photos: http://travelbug-susan.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-travel-tues-mar-20.html

      Have fun on your drive!

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    2. next blog will be about Lava and Volcanoes so stay tuned...

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    3. Also experienced the 395 road travel adventure in our MH. Picked up the Big EZ in Reno last April & drove back to Oregon taking 395 to I-5 North. No experience driving a MH anywhere. So navagate the narrow mountain roads, the 6% downgrades, 15 mph curves, down shifting plus exhaust brake. Needless to say learning curve was very high & tense plus almost lost my wife as co-pilot. Enjoy the open road.

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  4. Interesting about draining the lake to create farmland, sure would be fertile soil. Travel safe out there.

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  5. Another beautiful area we have not seen. Thanks for taking us along.

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