Surprise Valley and Warner Mountains

Just got home, Mom and I were in Alturas the last few days

visiting my Uncle Ed, Mom's younger brother.

Thursday Ed took us on a "Guided Tour"

Heading north, pass Davis Creek over Fandango Pass that 

crosses the Warner Mt., it amazes me how the high desert go's

right into timber.  At the top you can see Surprise Valley.

A long narrow valley, mostly taken up by the three alkali lakes,

but along the edges are old homesteads, ranches with fat cows

 and hay field.  Some of my dad's family still live in the valley.

I would have taken a lot more pictures but !

"Ed" said I was beginning to be a pain in the but.

He was doing the driving.

When we got to the valley floor, we drove up to Fort Bidwell at the

 far north end and turned around (that's all there was) south past 

the big town of Lake City, (don't blink) on threw  Cedarville and Eagleville.  

It was after Eagleville, that we took the wrong road.  You see most 

of Modoc county is gravel road except the main highway and 

only have forestry markers "AND ED SAID HE KNEW THE WAY"

Anyway, we ended up at the Emerson trail head. Nice spot for 

camping and to see the antelope.

Now on the right road, we were headed back threw the Warner's 

again, to Likely.  It was fun listening to Ed tell us whose cows we were

passing and stories of the people who owned them and were their home 

ranches were.  He pointed out placed he and JS  had been hunting 

and were JS had helped him gather cattle.

We dropped into a place called Blue lake........."Beautiful" then followed

 Parsnip Creek to Jess Valley where I took the pictures of all the horses.

Uncle Ed says he likes it here.....

"Their are more cows then people and that's how I like it"