Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument, California, the second volcanic site on my summer trip north, had just re-opened following a fierce wildfire. The journey through the Modoc National Forest to the park entrance was jaw-dropping in its devastation.
I had never seen a landscape so soon after an intense wildfire, and there was barely a drop of green for miles and miles. The Caldwell Fire left ash and skeletons in its wake.
It was with a mixture of horror and fascination that I was drawn to find ways to photograph what was left. It was morbidly beautiful. The park itself had 70 percent of its land burned and off-limits, and you could see untouched sage and juniper on one side of the road and a blackened wasteland on the other.
This may have been a controlled backfire meant to keep the wildfire from spreading further.
The visitor center was spared, fortunately, and the many small caves around it were open. I didn’t realize Lava Beds was known for its vast system of caves. Being claustrophobic, that held no interest for me.
Fire scorched the Schonchin Butte, a distinctive landmark with a fire tower at top.
The most fascinating (to me) portion was in a separate and detached section: Petroglyph Point.
The long wall of petroglyphs was behind a fence to prevent vandalism. Immediately before the fenced section is a wall of modern graffiti.
The piles of pigeon feathers may have been the work of peregrine falcons. There were also cliff swallow nests and interesting patterns in the rocks higher up.
The day ended at nearby Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, with thousands of American coots, juvenile and nonbreeding ducks, eared and pie-billed grebes, and ruddy ducks.
Eared grebe and chick 
Western grebe 
Eared grebe with chicks
I spent the night in Bend, Oregon and continued the next morning on Hwy 97, 26, and the “scenic” 35 to the Columbia River. The latter took me very close to Mt. Hood, but I didn’t stop for photos. I could never get used to not pumping my own gas in Oregon. It just seemed weird.
Once across the Columbia, I headed toward the famous Windy Ridge at Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. I stopped at a drive-up cafe for a delicious pulled-pork sandwich in the little town of Carson, and took a turkey sandwich with me for dinner.
Next: The Day Mt. St. Helens Erupted
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Lassen Volcanic National Park
I left on a road trip to visit my son’s family in Seattle four days before my 65th birthday. California had had a week of smoky skies since the August 18 barrage of dry lightning, and the drive north from Paso Robles was through a dreary, smoke-drenched landscape.
First stop was at Colusa NWR, part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refge system, but no water in the ponds meant no birds, so I moved on to the mother refuge. There I found white pelicans and Clark’s grebes, some with aggressively peeping young telling mom and dad they should hurry with those fresh fish.
However they were too far away for really decent photographs.
I love refuges that have auto drives for viewing wildlife. Sacramento is an amazing mecca for birds and birders in winter, but even in late summer it was a sweet drive.
Skipper on teasel 
Next stop: Lassen Volcanic National Park. I found a campsite in the North Summit Lake Campground – $12 a night with my senior pass. Unlike many parks, it had a very nice restroom. I blame a nasty campground shower at Grand Canyon 35 years ago for my toenail fungus. If we would fund our parks as if they were truly “America’s Best Idea” we would deserve them more.
Likely due to COVID-19 and the thick smoke, the park wasn’t crowded at all.
As it had for many days (and would continue for two more months in California), the sun was tinted orange as it set and rose. So was the moon.
After I looked at the places I wanted to visit enroute, I realized this road trip had a volcanic theme. Other than Mt. St. Helens, Lassen was the most fascinating in this regard.
The place I most wanted to see was Bumpass Hell, a Yellowstone-like bowl of boiling water and steaming mud. It was to be the most challenging hike since my hip replacement surgery five months earlier.
The 8,000 foot elevation added to the difficulty, but I took my time on the 3-mile roundtrip trail. I did not see the pikas that were supposed to be near the trailhead, or in the rock slope which generally harbors them. I’ve seen pikas at Mt. Rainier and Colorado’s Maroon Bells, but they eluded me here.
One advantage of getting on the trail early is that wildlife is more plentiful. This dusky grouse was unfazed by my presence. Though the elevation loss/gain was only 300 feet, it wasn’t easy. My hip was fine, but arthritis also owns my knees. The cardio, however, was a step in the right direction.
The chilly temps allowed for dramatic steam. Lassen, like most of the Cascade volcanoes, is dormant. Meaning it can come to life again. The last major eruption was in 1915 but there is still geothermal activity.
The trail started to get “crowded” around 10 am. Most people seem to need to sleep in and eat a leisurely breakfast, but we photographers and folks who like solitude tend to be crack-of-dawn types. About 60 percent of hikers pulled up masks when passing, which indicates that too many of us are anti-science eejits.
At the south entrance visitor center I got a latte and lovely turkey sandwich, where COVID protocols were being followed. Then I motored to Manzanita Lake for gas, but they were out. (How rude!) I had to drive an extra 15 miles to Old Station to fill up. I wanted to get a nice image of Lassen Peak reflected in the lake but it was too darned smoky for that. So I stopped at the Devastation Trail. The story there was fascinating.
There were several giant boulders attesting to the strength of an erupting volcano. They had been hurled during the May 19, 1915 eruption and carried three miles below the summit by the avalanche. (A side note: Mt. St. Helens erupted May 18, 1980, nearly 65 years to the day.)
This one is red dacite formed 27,000 years ago when Lassen Peak first erupted.
Black dacite is one of the various types of rocks on the trail, but is a much younger age at 105 years, having been formed during Lassen’s last eruption. It is thought the joining of hotter basalt and cooler dacite magmas within caused that eruption.
An even larger and more devastating eruption occurred three days later. This trail, more than any in the park, helps explain what happened when this volcano blew.
On the morning of Day 3 it was time to move on. Only early risers like me get to see dawn light on Lassen Peak. Thankfully most of the park was above the worst of the smoke, but a truly devastating wildfire scene awaited as I drove north…
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
Feel free to reblog or share
Website: Â CindyMcIntyre.com
Online gallery:  Smugmug and Fine Art America
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Merced-San Luis Refuge System
I had a few hours over the weekend of Dec. 7-8 and visited the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge complex, starting with the San Joaquin River NWR. Wasn’t able to get close to the noisy flocks of geese to see the Aleutian Cackling Geese, as the roads are off-limits.
So I went to the San Luis NWR – the light was amazing but didn’t get as close to the birds as I had hoped.
Read the rest of this entry »California Condors
I have seen California Condors, mostly from a distance, though I did see some juveniles close enough to read their wing tags about five years ago at Pinnacles National Monument.
But on Nov. 9, 2019 I was fortunate to go on our tour of the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Southern California where I saw approximately 8 free-flying and 14 captive condors in the flight pen.
Read the rest of this entry »Salton Sea Birds
One of the great joys of living in California four years ago was discovering the burrowing owls at the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge on the Salton Sea in Southern California’s Imperial Valley.
On my trip to view the wildflower bloom in the desert, I stopped by specifically to look for them. I was not disappointed.
Read the rest of this entry »Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
May 2011
I have several GB of images I’ve never gotten around to editing. I found this folder while looking for another old file, and decided to edit it. Unfortunately these were taken with the Nikon D80 and the sharpness is not good. They look fine on the web, though. Read the rest of this entry »
Bald Eagles
Juvenile Bald Eagle
A family of bald eagles lives in Lockwood, California, not far from Fort Hunter Liggett.
I saw this adult, and then a few minutes later saw two juveniles. One had caught a ground squirrel and landed in an oak tree to eat it. Read the rest of this entry »
Pretty Pintails
Northern pintail drake
Several northern pintail ducks at the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge near Sacramento, California were at the pond at the beginning of the auto tour. The soft light brought out the subtle colors and designs in their plumage.
Between snoozing, preening, swimming and feeding, the pintails deserve a post of their own. Read the rest of this entry »
Colusa NWR Birds
Black-necked stilt
It was another foggy day at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex, but it didn’t seem to bother the birds much at the Colusa NWR to the south. Read the rest of this entry »
Morro Bay Birds
Morro Rock
Morro Bay and the coastline to the north and south of it is my favorite part of the California Coast. It is also the most picturesque and interesting from my point of view. Read the rest of this entry »
