Knowing more of where you actually will be staying helps a lot. You said Cities are not for you. One day in Sacramento coming from the Camp Beal area - first - Airo Space museum at McClen AFB - the to Sutter's Fort in down town Sac just off the freeway near 29th & J st - then west across Capital Ave to the California Rail Museum - then next door to Old Sacramento.

If you are set on going to Reno - please take this rout instead of the freeways:
Go up to Marysville take Hwy 20 east - go to Grass Valley - Nevada City ( some great Gold Rush Historical spots & museum in both towns)- follow #20 to where it merges with Interstate 80 enjoy the ride & scenery over Donner Pass - there is a very nice rest stop & visitor center at the top of the pass. When you get down to Truckee get off I-80 and take 89 south - up the Truckee River to North Lake Tahoe - at Tahoe City keep to the left and go around the north & East side of the lake - when you come to a junction that says Mnt. Rose / Reno turn east on it and be set for a fantastic vieu ( 1,000s of feet below) of he Carson Valley as you go over the top of Mnt Rose - at the valley floor you will find Hwy 395 turn north to Reno just a few miles - then take Interstate 80 back west to home. trust me on this - never put your camera away the whole trip

Sounds like you'll be near Vacaville or Fairfield, those are around 40 miles west of Sacramento. Sacramento will have some good photo ops, I would assume ... never shot there. But, you won't be that far from Napa and Sonoma County, so the wine country will be calling you and until the wine kicks in, you can probably find some good shots between Napa and Calistoga (north of Napa on Hwy 29). Going a little farther west you'll hit Sonoma County where there are just as many wineries as in Napa. There are also some beautiful Redwood forest areas along the Bohemian Highway out of Occidental on the way to Monte Rio and the Russian River. Turn left at Monte Rio and go out to the Pacific Ocean, and then turn left on Hwy 1 to drive down to Bodega Bay. Whew .... and I haven't even gotten to San Francisco yet! I'm getting tired though ... I'll let someone else give you more info on San Francisco, the Bay, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Sausalito, Alcatraz, Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Mavericks, Pacifica, etc. Enjoy!!!