We decided to head east on Rt 140 out of Klamath Falls, planning to catch Rt 395 right near the California border in Lakeview. As John always teases me, I have a state road map obsession. The atlas and Google Maps are great, but I can always find more detail via a state map and today I proved my point. I don’t always pay attention to red squares on maps, but I saw two places on 140 that needed investigating. Both turned out to be “who knew?” moments that were pretty interesting. First was passing near Mitchell Recreation Area, where we learned that the only casualties from a bombing in the US during WWII took place there. Apparently in 1945 a local minister, his pregnant wife and 5 kids from Sunday school were on a picnic outing and one of the kids found a Japanese balloon bomb. The woman and kids all went to investigate and the bomb exploded, a really sad event killing most of the group. There’s a lot of info about the event online, including details on how many balloon bombs were dropped on the US and that the Japanese scientist who developed the ordinances visited the spot years later, laid a wreath on the spot and apologized to the families.
Onward we drove, eventually arriving at the second red square on the map for the day. This one was listed as Geyser, not far out of Lakeview. There’s a geyser that’s been named “Old Perpetual” that erupts 60 feet into the air every 90 seconds. Lots of geothermal activity in the area and apparently Old Perpetual was faithful until 2009 when it stopped erupting until 2015. The info on this one said that in 2009 the local correctional facility started tapping into the geothermal for their hot water and that’s when the geyser stopped erupting. You can’t get close to it since it’s part of a hot springs “resort” that’s currently closed down, but we saw it from a distance.
On we went, back into California on 395. Lots of agriculture and big valleys with mountains in the distance. I found a USFS campsite for the night that looked good outside of Janesville so that was our goal.
We stopped in Susanville for a break (and a McDonalds coffee) and then back in the van for the final drive. It was quite a drive up here, all on a paved and twisty road. I think we went about 20 miles to reach Antelope Lake and our campground, climbing through lots of forest, rocks and a burned area. This campsite is another Forest Service gem, sitting on Antelope Lake and perfect for water activities. I talked with the camp host who pointed me to a great site, #22, that’s at the far end of the 38 campsite loop and looks through the trees to the water. The water was really warm, but a very cool wind was blowing so I wimped out on a swim. Walking, reading, dinner, campfire and no internet. A perfect end to the day!
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