Nathan posted on July 20, 2011 15:10
We left Denio Junction this morning by 8:00. Several interesting things happened today. The first was crossing a lake. I’m not sure, but I think it was the bottom of Continental Lake (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=continental+lake,+nv&hl=en&ll=41.840281,-118.738174&spn=0.070083,0.110378&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.092988,56.513672&t=h&z=13). We were crossing the marsh below the lake, on a dirt road that rose above the water. The water was full of cattails, shrubs, and so many birds that I hope it’s a sanctuary. If we had a better camera, we would have taken pictures. I didn’t recognize many of the birds, but they were absolutely beautiful.
Crossing the lake, we caught up with Ken, Richard, and Kevin, the three guys we camped with last night. Got some fun pictures of them crossing the parts of the road that went under water. NH waded a couple of the pools for them, since he was wearing shorts, and they were in riding pants and boots. He picked up a couple of leeches, and he came out looking like a swamp monster.
Aside from the birds, we had a decent wildlife day. We haven’t seen bears or mountain lions, and even more impressively, I have not seen a single snake on the entire TAT. I’m not sure if there is a lack of snakes, or if it’s just a little gift from God, but either way, I’ll take it. What we have seen are jackrabbits. Lots of them. And too many lizards to count. Several coyotes, lots of deer, and a roadrunner. That was the coolest. He was running on the road ahead of us, kicking up dust, and we weren’t coming close to keeping up. Also, though we spent most of the afternoon driving across an antelope preserve, we saw only three antelope. However, we saw probably a dozen donkeys. Go figure. I also saw a family of quail. If you have not seen baby quail, they are quite possibly the cutest specimen ever invented. They look like fuzzy ping pong balls rolling across the road.
Hit Fort Bidwell, CA just before four this afternoon. Fort Bidwell is a beautiful, tiny little dying town. Many historic ghost-towny buildings. Then we drove up into Fremont National Forest, which has some of the best camping in the U.S. If you were to camp at Dismal Creek, you would find that it is not the least bit dismal. In fact, it’s absolutely beautiful.
Staying tonight in Lakeview, OR, another beautiful little town. Will write more tomorrow.
Written by E. Henson