"The Way West"...Day 52...Friday, August 3, 2012

As I'm enjoying my coffee this morning, people are talking about fire. Specifically, they're talking about two forest fires burning somewhere east...one north, one south of the Park. A guy and his son camping next to me stop by and urge caution on my planned route to Reno.
Reno is just three hours away, and I'm not meeting my friend, Tom Mirczak, until 3:00PM or so. So...I'm thinking that I can take a more "scenic" route to Reno by following Route 89 south and east to the town of Truckee, then east on I-80 to Reno.
It doesn't take long to stow away my lanterns, hitch up the camper and prepare to get on the road. A little after 9:00AM, and I'm heading out of Lassen Volcanic National Park.
I'm not looking forward to the drive out of the Park. I drove it two years ago, and it was pretty scary. It's about thirty miles...the first ten miles or so are pretty tame...but the last twenty miles involves a 2500 foot increase in elevation and long stretches of road cut into the sides of the mountains here. On the "BTPWS", this drive is an 8.5...with some stretches meriting an 8.8 or higher. The drive takes ninety minutes, and the last sixty minutes is all "white-knuckle".
I am much relieved when I exit the south end of the Park around 10:30. I'm still up at over 5000 feet, but the descent after exiting the Park is nice and gradual.
I stop for gas in the town of Chester, and the folks at the gas station have some updated info on the two forest fires. The one to the north poses no threat...it's far north and a bit west. But the one to the south is centered near the town of Quincy...which is right on my planned trip down Route 89. Route 89 is, in fact, blocked just south of Chester.
So...no scenic route for me this day. Instead, I take the more direct route to Reno...a drive that takes me to the town of Susanville. As I come out of the very southern part of the Cascades mountain range...crossing over to the eastern side...the change in the landscape is striking. One minute I'm in the lush green forest...the next minute, I'm in the parched brown desert. I'm thinking that I've probably seen my last forest for a few weeks...maybe Arkansas on the trip home from Dallas.
There is also a thick haze on the eastern side of the mountains...smoke from the forest fire near Quincy. When I stop to take a few photos, I can smell the smoke in the air.
I finally get to Reno around 1:00PM. I'm thinking hotel for my Reno stay, so I check in at a Days Inn...a great bargain at $41.00/night.
Tom comes by to pick me up from the hotel around 4:00PM or so, and we head over to his place for dinner. We are joined later by Tom's mom, a very charming lady that I met during my last visit two years ago. Tom loves Italian food...and tonight he puts together a great dish of scallops, shrimp and calamari in a cheesy white cream sauce over fresh fettucine. Some fresh asparagus makes a nice side dish, and I contribute a bottle of white wine.
After dinner, Tom and I sit out on his patio and enjoy our cigars. The temperature here during the day was a scorching 96 degrees but now, as the sun goes down, it cools off into the low 70's.
Tom and I decide that a cab would be the best way to get back to my hotel...we've both had a "few" Maker's Marks...and a lot of wine.
The cab arrives quickly, and the ride back to the hotel is short. A quick check of my emails on the netbook...and I'm off to bed. It's a real bed...very comfortable after many weeks of camping.