The Narrator’s Freeway At Dusk.

…“When we’re through the folded hills we come to Medford and a freeway leading to Grants Pass and it’s almost evening. A heavy head wind keeps us just up with traffic on upgrades, even with the throttle wide open.” (Cont. Next)

Ten mi North West of Medford, OR. Why did the Narrator experience a strong wind from the West, whereas I, at dusk, found no wind at all?
…The Narrator came through here during mid-afternoon in hot, sunny conditions. And here, typical of all daytime coastal regions (or lake edges), there will be winds from over cold water toward the sun-heated inland areas. These “thermal winds” are caused by the land-heated air rising and being replaced by cooler air from over the water. These “thermals” would have created a direct headwind for the Narrator and Chris who were traveling West up this long, steep grade.
…I have experienced these same winds in several mountain areas inland from the California Coast. This is especially true where electrical power generation wind mills called turbines have been recently built. These are in the Mountain Road Pass Northeast of the San Francisco Bay, called Altamont Pass. Click Here.
…In any of these places, when the sun goes down, the fierce winds stop. The coast-mountain-desert-sun relationships here at Medford are similar. So, it is not too surprising that when I came along this Freeway, an hour after sundown, there was no wind while I took this photo.
…But the noise and speed and congestion of the traffic was insane!! There was no time I could snap a photo without speeding cars in it! ********************
(Photo = 114-1479cb ...... ZMM Page = 318 ...... WayPt = 393x 1314ft)