Saying goodbye to Covelo

It was sad to say goodbye of course. We felt so welcome and our visit had been so brief. But it was also the halfway point of our journey - a high valley transition from our adventures in the mountains to our trip out to the coast.

We love the show "Avatar: The Last Airbender" with its Aristotelian four elements - air, fire, earth and water. We had seen these in many forms so far, in the intense heat of Dinuba, the belching sulphur of Lassen and the crackling of our campfires. From the waterfalls and roiling rapids of snowmelt in the Sierras to the lakes of Donner and Tahoe. From the dry trail dust that sticks to everything to the towering cliffs of Mt Whitney. And the clear air of T-shirt skiing at Mammoth to the hot winds blowing smoke over Yosemite.

And yet now we were off to a new adventure. Back on the road, just the three of us packed in the van - all of us missing Kha in our own ways. To the coast and up up up with more earth, fire, air and (much more) water to come.Read more