Michael's Birthday Voyage

 We brought the Veggie Voyagers book with us to do a book signing at the new location of All About Books in Redding. So, we sold three books, gave away three, spilled coffee on five... but the main thing is that we are still Voyaging on straight veggie oil and we spent this last week Celebrating Michael's 65th Birthday on the road.

 After leaving Redding we made it over to Big Bend and the hotsprings along the Pit River. Next we tried to make it through to McCloud but there was too much snow so we stayed by this Iron Canyon reservoir one overnight then followed the Pit the long way around to Shasta.

 We skied first up above the closed Nordic Track between McCloud and the next day on Mt. Shasta and up to the Sierra Club Hut at Horse Camp but I had a rough time skiing down so that discouraged us both.

 We had one more day of transitional weather and went to Stewart Hot Springs before camping up on the mountain road that connects the Sacramento watershed to the Trinity when there is no snow closure. We did a very long ski... Michael summitted the pass and I waited about two miles below for him.

 And yesterday we skied around and on Castle Lake and camped up there before coming home into the heat today-- to kids swimming in the Sacramento River and our home being inundated with weedy growth. It was a Good Birthday for a Good Man and also a Good Earth Day. Being in the mountains, in the clear air, with the extreme clarity of light and the physicality of moving along on skis... it's just been a lovely Birthday for us both.