Fort Bidwell in Surprise Valley:

Water Creek photographed from the bridge across from the
general store in Fort Bidwell, California.

The general store in Fort Bidwell is closed now. Not more than a few years ago it was still open ~ you could walk
wooden floors that creaked as they did over a century ago. Everything but the retail items was original. Now it's gone.

In these pages of Surprise Valley I've tried to give a taste of what it was like walking back into time the first time Brad and I discovered the area. What it was like the first time we drove over Cedar Pass, and then, the drive over Fandango Pass, and our return to the pioneer trying to find an easier route west than the Columbia River of the Oregon Trail. My imagination ran rampant. Fort Bidwell is not a town of cattle ranchers, as are Cedarville and Eagleville, and it was dying. Beautiful houses that made me think of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird lay empty, marked with for sale signs that seemed desolate in their hopelessness.
Since that first visit, the land has been restored to the native tribes. It seems funny to think that those new administration
buildings, which will better the lives of their people change the peaceful, somnolent character of the town, but that's time
... ever marching. It will be nice to see those homes full of families, and children playing in the grass again ...

Surprise Valley displays much that is beautiful, Fort Bidwell is an ever present memory/of our past carved out
of a respect for the danger and beauty of nature. But that's a small part. In the southern valley find the open spaces
of range land, hawks soaring the expansive desert skies, hot springs and the beauty of the Warner Mountains.
Hike, bike or horseback ride in the South Warner Wilderness Area. There is much to invite.

Forward ~ Pioneer Church in Fort Bidwell in
Surprise Valley.

Back ~ Vista from the Fandango Pass in the
Warner Mountains in California.

USFS: Modoc National Forest.

Warner Mountains South Warner Wilderness Area.

Brad and I are happy to share the Surprise Valley Warner
Mountain Outback Tour with you: Travel Directions, Map and
Scenery: Mountains, hot springs, wildlife viewing, south Warner Wilderness Area, hiking trails, equestrian trails and more.

Travel Oregon and northern California while staying at Gathering Light ... a retreat
located near Crater Lake in southern Oregon.

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Travel to Gathering Light ... a retreat via the Shasta Trinity
area of northern California: Directions, Map and Scenery: Hiking trails, waterfalls, mountains, Mt Shasta, McArthur Burney Waterfall, Castle Crags, Lava Beds National Monument ...

Directions to and Day Trips, including the Surprise Valley, Outback Tour, of around 100 miles from the retreat.

Little known Scenic Places near Crater Lake and the retreat: hiking trails, wildlife viewing, birding, and more: Directions Map and Scenery.

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