Yesterday I commented on the haziness in the Salt Lake area. The haze extended across the eastern part of Nevada -- and in retrospect, I figure it must have been smoke from the wildfires in the region. As I progressed westward across Nevada, the haze vanished and I had the sparkling blue skies I expected in this region.

Northern Nevada was a surprise! I expected a wasteland similar to southern New Mexico -- basically a brown dirt landscape. Instead I saw mountains, and green vales crossed by a twisting serpentine river sunken in a vertically-banked cut, and a lot of vegetation including not only the usual low desert scrub but also lots of grass, mostly summer-gold. Much of the scrub was green, though.

I particularly loved the purple tinge to the mountains through here, following the smoke-blues of the Rockies and Wasatch Mtns.