A Hike

When you drive north from Reno on your way to Susanville, there is a marked point in your vista when you see the red rocks. They are visible from three miles away and they mark the road that leads to Red Rock Valley, so named for the rocks.

As for driving by Red Rock Road, this is just about the what you're going to see of this unique anomaly. I mean, everyone who has driven this route, and that includes me before we moved out of town, saw the rocks, saw the sign. It meant that we had driven for close to an hour.
Yesterday my neighbor and I had planned to take a long walk, but instead we ended up exploring the other side of the red rocks. This area burned last July after a trailer chain sparked a devastating fire. I suppose all fires are devastating.
These century old trees will not come back ever, and eerily, there's a Volks-
wagon bus carcass. I see it as representing the wildlife and habitat lost.
And then there's this peculiar red cone thing that we can see from the road. What heck is that and why is red when the other stuff is white? The white stuff is "fluffy" and is powdery but we couldn't help wonder about the bits of seashell. Too bad the local School of Mines is so busy looking for gold. This is interesting stuff.
I'm trying to keep this brief and not bore you, but Sandy and I were just stunned by the whole hike. It was so steep that at times we had to scramble on all fours. At one point I lost my glasses and was stunned and happy to find them on our descent.




In any other context you'd think you were at a volcanic crater, right? There is no crater here, and none for many miles. I do so love the alive geologic west. It's a mystery. Another mystery. What is this, our first wildflower sighting. We think it's of the pea family - that's our guess.
















Yes, those are the Sierras.