The power and majesty of our Lord!

Today's post is mainly pictures. We are on our way to San Diego to celebrate our grandsons' birthdays.  Born on the 15th and the 19th of August, they will be 9 and 5 respectively.  But I digress...(they are great kids, though)... We left Dallas yesterday and drove to Crescent City, CA.  I would have posted pictures from yesterday's drive, but we forgot to charge the camera battery. That process is underway, as I write.  Look for yesterday's post as the next one. Who says I am a bit backward??

Today we traveled from Crescent City to Calistoga. We are parked at the Calistoga RV Park. It got great reviews on RVParkReviews.com (a great place to get consumer reviews of RV parks, BTW), but so far, the best thing about the park was the drive to get here. But I digress again.

My beautiful bride, Jill, does amazing things with a camera in a moving vehicle.  The following photos bear witness:

Here's a shot from the navigator's seat in Red Ryder. That's fog and not rain collecting on the windshield as we left Crescent City.

 The North California coast between Crescent City and Eureka. 

It was foggy last night, and the fog persisted into this morning, 

but it was lifting when this was snapped.

And further down the coast.

 Here's a shot going through the redwoods.  

Obviously, the fog had lifted by now.

 As we got closer to Laytonville, the smoke from a large forest fire began to thicken. 

 Here's another shot of the smoke coming from the fires.

 And another as we began to get past the fire zone.

 

 Near Laytonville, there is a base camp for firefighters battling this blaze. 

Here are a couple of the helicopters they have been using.

 ...and the main camp...

 ...and I presume this is where the "grunts" call home, when 

they are not immediately involved risking their lives.

 All supplies have to be hauled in. This truck was labeled "Potable Water." 

Our hats are off, and our hearts go out to the brave men who take on such risky jobs. We were glad to see several fire trucks from surrounding areas leaving Laytonville as we passed through, although we don't know that that means the fire is more under control. Maybe the trucks were just needed at their home towns.  I choose to believe the former explanation.

 On a cheerier note. Once we were past Laytonville (and in fact, past Ukiah) the skies cleared up and we saw acre after acre and mile after mile of vineyards.  The wine industry in Sonoma County is not going to die any time soon.

 We turned off of US 101 about 45 miles south of Ukiah onto CA 128. This road took us to our destination in Calistoga.  The entire drive on 128 was gorgeous, as we passed among vineyards, wineries and some very charming private residences.  Jill's iPhone was beginning to overheat by then, so we don't have photos.  

And finally, a photo of the Old Blogger on the beach in 

Crescent City yesterday afternoon. But more about that later.

The title of this post came from the awe I felt as we drove through the majestic redwoods and saw the incredible mountains, the seashore, and finally the power of a lightning-caused fire that will leave a scar on the mountains for years to come.