I left San Louis Obispo CA at a leisurely 9 am or so; no sense in rushing when the trip is on the fast Interstate highways. Carmen, much like her predecessor Emma, had other plans.
At times, it seems that the shortest distance between two points does not necessarily involve staying on the 65 MPH Interstate that you're on. Apparently, the girls feel that a side trip on a 55 MPH highway may save a few feet in total distance travelled... All this to say, Carmen took leave of Interstate 101 and I think we took Cal # 154 to save a few feet [miles?] while extending the arrival time by almost a half hour. In spite of the time delay, the side trip was well worthwhile. The scenery was inland and quite spectacular. I drove through a native reservation where land was respected, properties were clean and well maintained, and the scenery was hilly and spectacular. At one point, I crested a mountain and the puffy super white clouds were below me. Quite a sight, but no place to stop, no pixels to expose...
Further on, I stopped in a private lane and shot the next two pictures. I'm not positive, but I think these are Oak trees particular to mid California. They're leafless now and just coming out of dormancy. Their craggy demeanor looks simply stunning. These two pictures were on opposite sides of the same farm lane; what a beautiful welcome home sight!
This highway had few turn-offs or 'vista points' but the few that I saw in time to access, were quite spectacular.
This one had a view that went on forever.
Just to the right of the last picture was this next sight.
On the way back to the parking lot, I looked over the highway and noted the different tactics to avoid the ever-present erosion. At the top of the bare spot are some very large boulders. I thought they'd cause serious damage if they decided to go downhill...
The next picture shows erosion measures that seem quite common. The grey stuff is cloth covered with steel fencing. This seems to work quite well. The other tactic with the strong horizontal lines does not seem as effective [IMHO]. It stops general slippage of soil, but the bags of sand [or whatever] are fairly stiff and if water does seep underneath them, a fairly deep ravine seems to develop...
I guess taming Mother Nature will always be an unending task...
That's it, that's all. Got back to San Diego mid afternoon and couldn't get into the condo; ladies were shopping, so I did too. Then a fairly quick oil change and we should be good to go, when we're ready.
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