Days of assiduously monitoring the roads and weather indicated one possible window of opportunity to make it over Donner before the next atmospheric river descended on Truckee

so soon after moondown Thursday we packed up and headed for 447

south to Gerlach,

 

ditto through Empire,

Nixon and,

after gas in Wadsworth, 80 west.

Skies were clear until nearly Truckee, the highway

dry with light traffic moving briskly

for the most part

until west of Sacramento but

in Benicia said skies unloaded.  We were happy to substitute Benicia enchiladas* for the deluge

on the hill and although the storm here brought down a huge tree at the Capitol

behind us the upside of that was a showering of the grounds with free grapefruits from the Fisher-Hanlon House gardens [the tree in the center of the second photograph actually].

*also, as pictured, a relleno.