Photo by Juliane McAdam (2018)
Driving back to Los Osos from Paso Robles,
on California’s Central Coast,
the afternoon hot and brilliant with sunshine,
I decide it’s a perfect day for Old Creek Road,
with its twists and turns, old barns,
unexpected views, sheltered glens. Not much traffic here.
I stop several times, savoring the silence.
Nearing the coast, I round a curve to see
Whale Rock Reservoir below me.
The late afternoon sun creates a
shimmering path across its waters.
At the far end, a tsunami of fog spills
over the shadowed rim of hills. I drive past
the lake and the fog engulfs me.