Summer Lake is a large, shallow, alkali lake in Lake County, Oregon. It is approximately 20 miles long and 10 miles wide. The lake was named by explorer John C. Fremont on his expedition into Central Oregon in 1843. It is also home to one of the tallest exposed fault faces in the world, over 30 miles long and 2000 ft. above the valley floor.
The marshes around the lake support a wide variety of birds and other wildlife and the second weekend of October it becomes a very popular place for duck hunters. My husband hasn’t missed opening duck hunting weekend there for the past 20+ years. He grew up going with his grandpa, uncle, and cousins and has taken our son every year since before he was 2. I haven’t gone the last couple years because it is just too tempting to have a weekend at home by myself, but this year a friend convinced me to go and I’m glad she did because I had a great time. I went on numerous walks, enjoyed the campfire, and was able to finish 7 1/2 felted bags 🙂 I love having a craft that can go camping!
I was inspired by Joan’s recent roadtrip photos and took a couple from the passenger seat on our way there.
I love the wide open skys in this part of Oregon.
We saw a lot of antelope.
On Saturday morning, while everybody else got up at 4 am and headed out to sit in the freezing cold marsh, I slept in until 7:30 in the comfort of our warm trailer. I took the dogs for a walk and enjoyed the sites.
This is a muskrat mound and the hunters often use old ones to sit on to stay out of the water. The younger boys like to go sliding down them 🙂
I love the various stages of cattails.
These two are such a couple of goof balls 🙂 Kate likes to lick Theron in the ears and he thinks it is hilarious.
The crew. Theron didn’t understand why Kate couldn’t be their hunting dog and go out with them. I got some pretty funny looks when I was walking them around.
The mighty hunters.
This kid knows how to work it! Complete with chocolate milk and bag full of snacks.
and they are off…
The weather was perfect and it was great to get one more camping trip in.
Stories from the Farm 
I am glad you went on this trip too, because we got to see the pictures and read your account. The pictures make me homesick for my old hometown of Klamath Falls and the surrounding area. What beautiful country, so rich in wildlife and amazing scenery. That Theron is such a little sweetie with his pets.
I love that area of the world too… so pretty! Great shots Shannon, glad you went so you could enjoy the camping. 🙂
Looks like a great trip!!