Most of the day was straight blow-and-go down the four-lane, but the 75 miles from Fort Bragg to Williams offered some nice scenery and some contrasts. The first 30 miles or so toward the east reminded me of Hwy 1 yesterday, except the curves weren't quite so challenging and the scenery was just as pretty. Here are a couple shots I took during the wooded portion of the trip:
After 30 miles or so I got over the mountains and into the plains, and the scenery changed dramatically:
There were a number of lake resorts in the mountains, most centered on Clear Lake:
To give you an idea of how dry central California is, take a look at this:
And, the dramatic event of the day...a Real Wildfire. I saw smoke from about 20 miles away and rounded a bend and saw the real thing:
Look carefully and you can see the flames. California has, on some of its remote roads, emergency telephones for people to call in case of a car wreck, fire, or whatever. One of the tourists had made the call, and within five minutes of me taking this picture there was a helicopter overhead and a fire truck on the way. Pretty impressive.
Tomorrow, it's down Hwy 99 to Bakersfield and then east to Ridgecrest, near the China Lake Naval Aviation base (remember Top Gun?).
Miles today: 263
To Date: 11,666
