Mountain time

 We left the valley through the rich orchard lands along Hwy 70 then went up Hwy 20. As is our way we had truck things to sort out so I walked around the rocky wide river course way of the Yuba, enjoying poppy and lupin. We got up to Grass Valley to pick up bio-diesel but the folks had gone home early so we snuggled up next to their business in a cozy but sudden rain for the night.

 Our first day in the mountains Michael went to Sugar Bowl for some downhill and then we three headed from Sugar Bowl down to Royal George cross country as snow began. We met one of the old timers while Michael was preparing to hitch back up to Sugar Bowl and visited with him long into the afternoon, in the little ski museum of that area he keeps.
That night was bitterly cold at 8,900 feet at Mt. Rose summit and the next day the mountain was too socked in and windy for skiing so we went down to this relatively balmy large meadow on our way to Grover Hot Springs for a great wide loop. (This is just below Carson Pass.)
The next day the storm started in earnest when we were skiing up above Hope Valley on some of the back roads. The bare patches quickly covered and even though it was the last day of March, at least up there, the lion did not go out like a lamb.

Before that though, while we were taking off to ski kids were finishing up this saucy snow person but when we returned she was taking on layers onto her grass skirt and the humans had quite evaporated in the near-blizzard.

 We didn't know what conditions would be in the morning so we drove around to the north side of Lake Tahoe and spent the night in a casino parking lot and in the morning had the sight of straggler cells of storm still showering snow over various parts of the lake. By the time we were past Truckee it was a brilliant blue day and we got in some more skiing off Hwy 89 before the long roll home to our beautiful pregnant valley at dusk.