Fire! in the Mountains

Hello:

I'm writing from a Traveloge Inn near Coalinga, CA.


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Poppop and I woke at 5:30 am, and left Washington at 6.  We drove with little traffic south through Washington and Oregon on the 5 freeway, or I5 as my Washington friends insist on calling it.  I want to say right here that our federal highway dollars are well spent.  The freeway is in great condition and is really  a nice ride.

All went smoothly until southern Oregon, where you start to rise into the mountains.  Sorry, not sure the range.

Smoke!

These photos are in order as I took them from the car window (I was not driving at this point).

It got thicker and thicker as we got closer to the border.

It finally cleared up before we crossed the border into California.  We switched drivers so I don't have photos of the next part, but as we descended into the Mt. Shasta National Forest, I am not kidding, THERE WAS ANOTHER FIRE!  And this one was right on the side of the road.  The flames were right next to our car.  This is the 3rd time I have driven through this forest in 1 year.  I have now seen 3 fires. 

Here is the last photo from the fire when the smoke was thickest.

Peace,
f1bercat
shaping the planet through the smoke.