After our visit to Oregon Caves and Redwoods, Corrie and I headed to Lava Beds and Tule Lake. It was our first visit to these parks as well.

Lava Beds National Monument

We arrived just in time to grab one of the last remaining campsites. We shared it with a nesting Bullock's oriole pair and a few other new birds for us. After dinner we went out for sunset. We had beautiful views of Mount Shasta and learned about the Modoc Indians of the area.

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The next morning, I woke up early with the sunrise and went for a little walk from the campground. We made coffee and we set out early to hike to the off-trail caves. We explored the lava tubes and pictographs, found new birds, and explored our favorite cave of the park, Golden Dome. It has a bacteria that shines gold with a headlamp. We spent the heat of the day underground until our tent received shade from the nearby tree in our camp spot.

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Back at camp we took naps, made dinner, and set out again for sunset. This time we planned to hit nearby wildlife refuges for birding and also catch the sunset at Petroglyph Point. The Tule Lake area used to be completely underwater and was drained for farming. This rock was once surrounded by water and Modoc Indians would float out to it and leave their mark. It's one of the highest concentration of petroglyphs in the US. The refuges are now in place to make up for the lost aquatic habitat lost when the lake was drained. On the way out we came across a rattlesnake in the road, saw tons of nighthawks, and had it essentially all to ourselves. We were able to stop in the road for photos whenever we saw a bird or other wildlife.

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Tule Lake National Monument

Before heading back to the airport, we took a tour at the new Tule Lake National Monument. They have a brand new visitor center that gives tours of the only building left of the Tule Lake Segregation Center, the prison. We were both fairly unfamiliar with the story of the relocation centers, and the tour did a great job of exposing us to another harrowing story of the history of America.

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I enjoyed visiting all the parks, but I have to say that Lava Beds and Tule Lake were the standouts for their natural and cultural resources, respectively. Carlsbad Caverns really got me interested in cave parks, especially those with off-trail caves, and Tule Lake has such a powerful story.

If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time and I'll be sure to share more blogs this summer as we have some cool upcoming trips planned!