Lava Beds National Monument, CA

We left Anderson, CA after church services on the 24th, and drove up to Klamath Falls, OR.  We camped at Kingsley Field, where there was a FAMCAMP at the Air National Guard Base there.  It only had five sites in an asphalt parking lot with full hook ups.  Who would have ever thought a FAMCAMP would be in this little town.  Nancy found it while looking for a place to stay, and it was $12 per night.  We stayed 3 nights and visitied Lava Beds and Crator Lake while here.

 One of features of the Lava Beds NM is the lava tubes.  From Wiki:  Lava Beds National Monument has numerous lava tube caves, with twenty five having marked entrances and developed trails for public access and exploration. The monument also offers trails through the high Great Basin xeric shrubland desert landscape and the volcanic fields.

We went in Mushpot.  Here are a few pics from that adventure.  I normally don't go in caves, but I was able to do these here, because they were not too scary.  :))

 The entrance above and below Nancy got me taking a pic of her.  Note the red rope lights along the walkway.  It was damp & cool, but not totally dark with the lights.

 This was a different tube, but I can't remember which one, as they all have different names.  This had no light, so we had to rely on our maglites.

 The cameras had a hard time working in here though, because when it's dark, they have nothing to focus on, so we to shine our maglites in the direction where we wanted to shoot, and most of the time, they worked.

 And here is a different one again.  Each one had distinguishing characteristics.

 Above, I'm looking up thru a skylight in the tube.  Below, Nancy in Mushpot.

 In Mushpot below there is small amphitheater that the rangers use for talks and demos.

 Below, one of the entrances into a tube cave.

 Nancy at the entrance, and then descending into the darkness.

 She just walked right thru these things like it was a town sidewalk.  And there were bats in some of these.  They did have about half of all the tubes/caves closed during this time period as they were maternal habitats for new bats being born.

 The valley looking north towards the large marsh/lake area.  And Nancy below blazing a trail to the next tube.

 There she goes, down into darkness again.

 Unusual features above, and Nancy way up there getting ready to come in and join me.

Below, Nancy at the edge of Mammoth Crater.

 Below,

Lava Beds National Monument includes Petroglyph Point, one of the largest panels of Native American rock art in the United States. The region is the of the Modoc people. The Lava Beds National Monument Archeological District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in March 1991.

Here are a few of the petroglyphs from pics taken on the side of this huge rock wall, about 150 feet tall and 500 yards long.

 They had to put up a fence to keep folks going in and making their marks on the sacred Indian wall.  And below was a view opposite the Point back towards the main park, about a mile away.

 After we left the park on our way back to Klamath Falls, we went a different route (139).  Along the way, we came upon this interesting place.  An internment was here during the war, and many thousands of native Japanese-Americans were interred here.  :((  We have been to Mansanar in Lone Pine, CA, and it too was a sad affair as we were there during the annual pilgamage days and we were really moved that day.

So ends our day in Lava Beds NM and it certainly was educational and enjoyable.  It definately out of the way and I can see why is one of the least visited.  One has to drive miles to go there, but we feel it was well worth the drive.  On the way there, one drives thru a large waterfowl refuge.  So there are lots to see along the way.  So, until the next time, RVing Beach Bums saying happy travels.