My view normally/My view today because of Rim Fire smoke.
Not great news from Reno-Tahoe: The smoke from the Rim Fire in Yosemite (150 miles away) is so thick that there have been air quality warnings locally that it’s basically unsafe to be outdoors. It’s putting an unfortunate end on summer, but the fine particulate is so dangerous that it’s not worth trying to be outside. It constantly smells like a campfire (not in the good way) and I’ve been getting headaches in the few moments I am outdoors, just to let the dog outside or run into stores or to the neighbors. Here’s a view of the smoke from the International Space Station: The two lakes are Tahoe on the middle-left and Pyramid above and there’s me just under that big white cloud!
Anyway, between the headaches, my already-asthmatic baby and the fact that this will most likely still be burning for a few weeks, I don’t think I’ll be spending much time outdoors. Now I just need my writer’s block to go away and maybe I’ll find a silver lining to all this time indoors…
Alison O. Bender 