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| One day, we took a hike to to the Thomas-Wright Battlefield. This was a significant engagement of the Modoc War. Hardin Butte was being scouted for artillery placement when the company was ambushed by the Modocs. Many were killed in the depression seen in this panorama. Hardin Butte is seen to the right. |
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Later, we visited the Discovery Marsh, which was constructed by the Klamath Wildlife Refuge from reclaimed farmland. This place was very popular with deer. The photo shows mustard in bloom. | |
| We also drove through the wildlife route, which winds around portions of the reclaimed Tule Lake. Literally millions of blue mayflies were on every plant lining the waterways. This enhanced photo shows some of them. |
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The Newell/Tulelake area grows most of the potatoes distributed in the West. Take a look at where the bag of potatoes you are buying comes from next time! | |
| This building in Tulelake was formerly a movie theater. Today it is a secondhand store crammed mostly with bicycle parts. It's a fascinating place to visit. |
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We hiked to the top of Schonchin Butte one day. This photo shows the bottom of the trailhead, with the lookout tower and a waxing moon above. The trail is steep but short. | |
| It was a nice day when we reached the top of the butte. Mt. Shasta was covered with snow and impressive. The mountain usually is shrouded in clouds it creates, but not today. |
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From Schonchin Butte, you can see the old shoreline of Tule Lake by observing where the intense green goes. Gillem's Bluff is to the left. | |
| The lookout tower at Schonchin Butte was installed in the 1930s, and retains some retro elements. It sits on top of the lava plug and is attached with guys. Looks like solar power is what is in use these days. |
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Surprisingly, a large lava tube cave is visible from the extreme edge of Schonchin Butte, right next to the main road at the turnoff to the butte! This cave is virtually invisible from ground level. | |
| We next climbed Gillem's Bluff, which overlooks Tule Lake and the site of the Army encampment during the Modoc war. This panorama shows Tule Lake to the left and the Lava Beds to the right. |
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We saw this dead tree on the top of Gillem's Bluff while looking for the old road into the Monument. | |
| One of the park rangers told us about a trail which used to be a road following an old powerline into the monument. Dave and I decided to hike this trail from the Gillem's Camp area. This photo shows some of the rolling country near the start of the trail. |
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We didn't have a map showing the route of the trail, which was quite winding and took us near Hardin Butte, shown in this photograph. | |
| We decided to climb the butte and see where the road led. The butte overlooks the Schonchin lava flow to the east, shown in this photo. We saw that the road joined the main highway to the west. |
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After hiking the road back to the main highway, we continued down past the Devil's Homestead, a recent flow of lava which is very rough. We took a break here to remove cheat grass from our shoes. Some junipers have managed to get a foothold here. | |
| We climbed out of the Homestead to an overlook. This country is virtually impossible to enter overland. We ended up hiking approximately 13 miles this day. |
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We took a day to visit Mammoth Crater near the southwest boundary of the park. This is a cone which, according to the signs, was filled with lava at one time. | |
| A trail nearby leads around Mammoth Crater. From this trail, you get a good look at Cinder Butte, one of the most recent additions to the Medicine Lake system. Note how the lava has flowed around older cones. |
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We also drove out to Clear Lake, which is also a wildlife refuge. The lake appears to be completely fenced, so this panorama was taken from a distance. The Lost River flows from this lake to Tule Lake. | |
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