So, we decided to take a short trip into the mountains even though the the wind was howling and the rain was coming down in buckets at home.
Once we got off the freeway and we were driving along tree lined country roads we were sheltered from the strong winds and heavy rains.
We went to a favorite spot for lunch and I looked around town a bit but the rains were just too heavy for sightseeing out in the elements.
We slowed the car and I took a picture of the raging waters of the Bear River, it was so churned and
muddy and spilling over it's banks.
California definitely has water this year.
Everything is so green once again. Good news for our poor suffering forest. Experts say the drought has killed almost 1/3 of the trees. It is so sad to look out over the forest and see so many dead trees. They are such a hazard to the remaining forest, attracting rot and insect infestation that can infect the remaining healthy trees.
I snapped a picture of this tree as we were driving past. Love the snarled shape of its branches.
Here is a shot from a different angle. I think I might have to paint a picture with this tree as the subject. You can see the rain drops as I shot the picture through the car window.
Another interesting picture of a moss and lichen covered rock. I liked the different colors and textures on the rock.
On the way home I caught a glimpse of these bushes. They were filled with dozens of tiny birds hopping from branch to branch. They were so small you can barley see the one a caught in this picture.
There were only a few patches of snow left from the previous storm in shady spots along the road.
But the next day brought in new snow. What a difference a day makes. This photo was taken at about the same elevation one day later. Glad we drove up there the day before.
The real fun, not, began on the way home.
Our tire check warning came on once we were back on the freeway heading home and before we knew what happened our rear tire was completely flat and smoking. I was afraid it was going to catch on fire there was so much smoke and burning rubber smell. We quickly pulled to the side of the freeway and called for help. Luckily by this time we were down the mountain enough to be near a town.
About an hour later, sitting on the side of the road, with our lights flashing, a very nice Highway Patrolman stopped to make sure we were alright. He waited behind us until the tow truck had our car loaded and ready to go to the shop.
It was almost dark by the time we arrived at the tire shop. Unfortunately, the tire shop was out of our size tire but they were nice enough to put on our spare at no charge and called and made an appointment at a shop near our home for us to get a new tire installed the next day.
Our nice drive into the mountains ended up being quite the adventure.
One good thing did happen. We are going paint our house this Spring. I saw this building and loved the paint colors. I had already decided to use a similar body color for our house. I just couldn't decide on trim colors. I really like this color combination. Our house also has the dark roof and is two stories. I would have never thought to paint the trim black but I really love the look of tan, cream and black.
Happy Adventures!
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