What A Difference A Day Makes

Reader(s?) should remember this image from the collage in yesterday's post:

(if not, you can refresh your memory with a quick spin of the scroll wheel)

Anywho, here's the (semi-)unaltered image of the fishmouth bear..with the Oakhurst Lodge visible in the background:

Now, here's the strange encounter that inspired today's post:

TSG was on kind of an antique-store crawl along Oakhurst's main drag this afternoon when a random Oakhurstite (Oakhurstian?) said, "That's all because of a cigarette!"

Huh? WTF? We thought, until we looked across the street....

...oh, so that's what all those sirens were about last night! According to the ABC30 news report, the fire dislocated 22 guests and caused at least a million bucks worth of damage.  Talk about putting a damper on your vacation plans!

(Oh, by the way, the bear in the last post does seem to be rubbing its butt on a tree. Hey, bears get itches in those areas just like anyone else.  And sometimes those itches are just out of reach...whatcha gonna do?)

Here A Bear There A Bear

Despite the fact that our State Animal is long extinct and that Californians consider black bears pretty much a nuisance, you can't escape the ursine icon when traveling in the Sierra Nevada.

Giant Bull Chute

Although Mr. Fiberglass Steer is outfitted to be a Big Bovine Diner of sorts, TSG remembers this being used as an ATM from earlier visits to the area.  In our previous travels, we had a delicious burger at such an establishment in Why, AZ.

Later on we found out that cooks didn't last long at the job, since there was almost no ventilation to speak of. Getting lunch from a huge Holstein might be fun for the tourists who quickly jump back into their air-conditioned cars, but we imagine being the short order cook inside the thing would be a hot, uncomfortable way to make a living.

Nice Day For A Drive

Today's road trip slide show: from Ojai to Three Rivers, over the coastal ranges, along the Cuyama Valley, across the southern Carrizo Plain, and up into the Sierra Foothills. Song Credit: Al Kooper.