Blue Goose ~ Day 162

November 7, 2014 ~ Klamath Falls, OR to Medford, OR

Waking in the dark, googling the nearest coffee shop or McDonalds, driving a mile to McDonalds, drinking coffee, waiting for the sunrise...which this morning was obscured by intermittent fog.

Long-billed Dowitcher - Tule Lake NWR - CA

I wanted to go through the Tule Lake refuge once more and this time did it in reverse, starting on the east and ending at the VC. The fog was lifting by the time I arrived, and I immediately saw several Red-tails. At one point there were two perched on rock piles directly across the road from each other.

By the time I reached the VC, it was noon, and I watched the feeders for 15 minutes before continuing to Lower Klamath NWR on the other side of the volcanic ridge. There was much less open water until I got to the western part where 1000s of ducks were moving and feeding in an area of flooded small bushes. I did not go to Upper Klamath Lake this time but had been there in July. The whole area comprises the Klamath Basin which is a major rest stop on the Pacific flyway with an estimated 1-2 million ducks and geese using these refuges in October and November each year.

Clark's Grebe - Tule Lake NWR - CA

I found a lesser route over the Cascades from just south of Klamath Falls to Ashland. The road was curvy with narrow shoulders, through Ponderosas and other conifers, but as I moved west, there were also hardwoods in full color. I hadn't seen trees with red leaves for days. The last 15 miles were unexpectedly dramatic. I felt I was driving into Heaven, as the road dropped off precipitously, leaving nothing but huge expanses of sky spanning wide valleys.  Fortunately, I was on the inside lane for this portion as guardrails were often non-existent. And the sky was a mass of brilliant low-hanging white cloud-fog with the sun shining on and through it, making the whole scene wondrous. The forests gave way to immense brown hills, spotted with cattle and occasional trees as the road serpentined down into the valley.

I was then soon on I5, but I decided to stop early and work, so stayed just north of Medford and had vending machine choices for dinner - peanuts, Chex and trail mix.

Lower Klamath Lake NWR- CA