Leaving the Crowds Behind for a Magical World Along the Lake

Saturday morning is cloudy and cool, the smell of rain in the air - lovely. Needing to access email, and check in with family, we opt for breakfast at the general store. The staff and locals are friendly, and my homemade spinach and feta croissant is delicious. Something about hanging your purse on the gumball machine, and sitting in front of the soda cooler that gives everything a "tiny town" taste :-)

We head to Convict Lake where we hear the fish are biting. Apparently this information has been broadcast widely as the place is crazy-crowded. Not only are there dozens of people fishing along the shoreline, but several fishing boats dot the small lake. 

A peek of Convict Lake 

In addition to all the fishermen, tourists taking photos of the fall color fill the walkways, parking lot, and benches. The combination of bearded, camo-wearing sportsmen and non-English-speaking women in heels and skirts (really!) is bizarre. We belatedly realize it's Saturday, and although it is a beautiful spot, we have no desire to hang around with a couple hundred other folks.

A short distance from the lake we find a dirt road to a creek in the trees. The growth is too thick to access the water, but it's so wonderfully peaceful, we hang out a bit just to enjoy the quiet beauty.

Color along the creek

Just look up

Natural still-life

When we return to Hwy 395 dark clouds sit on the mountains surrounding us, but we're not ready to stop exploring. The skies above us are blue with pretty puffy clouds.

Bill has an "idea" so we head south of Crowley Lake and turn east at Tom's Place. After a couple miles through log cabins we take a wide dirt road that runs alongside a deep gorge in another valley that seems to go forever. Eventually we cross the dam that created Crowley Lake decades ago.

Another dirt road taking us to interesting locations

Crossing the dam with no signage, dirt road to dirt road

On Friday, Pam had sent us a link for access to the Crowley Columns that bypasses the climb down (and back up) the steeper route they had taken a few days before. Bill connected the dirt road we were on to Benton Crossing that would take us to those directions.

The very narrow dirt road is a kick to drive except for the jolting bumps that are a bit rough with the trikes on the back of the Jeep. 15 minutes after we leave the pavement, we land on the north beach of Crowley Lake. 

The Columns are absolutely amazing and completely isolated. Another Jeep Cherokee arrives ahead of us, but there are no other vehicles or people anywhere nearby. After a short hike across the white sand beach with brown scrub brush to our left, the landscape makes an extreme change.

Large, round rock covers the beach and steep cliffs replace the brush. In the distance, strange caves and columns come into view.

We knew what we were looking for, but seeing this unique landscape still takes us by surprise. The skies are overcast, and rain is threatening, but we continue until we find another sandy beach with columns of white ropes along the cliffs. It is absolutely magical here.

Finding our way through the rocks on the way back to the Jeep, a few rain drops remind us that we are surrounded by storms. 

Back on pavement we find the clouds have dumped a good amount of much needed water. Excellent.

A celebration of water

Overnight the rain at our elevation turns to snow on the mountains, and we awake to white mountains all around us.

Sunday morning delight

With less than thirty miles to our next stop, we sleep in and watch the first quarter of the Steelers game before heading south.