The sun rises slowly and reveals beautiful green pastures. It is true sometimes people do need to slow down and see the beauty of the country outside of the cities. And if they have to travel to do so, it might turn out to be an adventure of a lifetime. You pass over a
The road winds through national forests and unmarked forests. You pass by many babbling brooks and you even spot a couple does. The land is dry, but it is beautiful. How sad that so much land is being burnt. Over 90 fires are ablaze on the west coast burning up the beautiful land and amazing creatures. The animals are losing their homes and their lives.
When you enter California, the road curves east and then continues to wind south. The beautiful forests are dry and the grass is starting to yellow. The further south you drive the more yellow and dry the land gets. The incredible toll the drought has taken on this land is unbelievable. You start to smell smoke and the air gets hazy from fires nearby. The smell of burning timber is immense. The yellow haze seems to float just above the ground and avoid the trees. You look out the window and see cigarette butts lying on the side of the road where people have thrown them. It is amazing people are so careless and don't seem to realize just one partially lit butt can cause a 300,000 acre fire.
As you descend out of the mountains and hills, the smoke becomes thinner and eventually you can't even smell it. The haze is completely gone when you reach Nevada. You reach Reno where you stop and get a snack of peach rings and a slushy. Most definitely a sugary snack, but sometimes it's a must. The city is another casino town. There are plenty of casinos to go around. One of the biggest is Boomtown. This casino has its own section for kids to play in while the parents are away gambling. It is complete with carnival rides and arcade games. The casino is joined to the kid area by a wide hallway. Inside the casino area, the slot machines make so much noise. They ding, sing, and ca-ching.
You leave town and head south toward Las Vegas on Hwy 95. You don't spy any animals and the land becomes barren. There are some sagebrushes here and there, but mostly it is hard compacted dirt. The you feel the sun's warmth as it becomes parallel to you. It sinks behind the western hills. You feel exhausted. You watch the stars in the sky. Not many cars pass by so you view goes pretty well uninterrupted. You make it to Tonopah, which is know as the best star gazing city. Outside of town without any lights around you can see the milky way and over ten thousand suns. It is a beautiful sight and is like a dream. Tonight you will sleep well in the desert night.
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