Songs & Strings Tour Journal

Autumn 2002, West Coast
Michael DeLalla & Andrew McKnight

October 28, 2002: Crossing California, Part 1

After four straight nights of concerts, an off-day. It was hard to leave Bliss Mansion, where the innkeepers, Joyce and Ron, have put together a most magnificent Bed and Breakfast, with every possible comfort and accoutrement that never sacrifices a feeling of warmth and welcome. Tough life, this touring, I thought, as I soaked leisurely in the clawfoot tub and sipped my coffee that awaited me outside my door upon awakening. the dining room for breakfast was absolutely stunning in its decor (see photo). See it for yourself (the mansion, not me in the tub) at www.blissmansion.com. I heartily recommend a visit to anyone travelling through Carson City.

After breakfast and some parlor picking with Ron--no slouch of a singer and guitarist himself--it was off to the coast for the Tuesday show in Eureka, necessitating a drive through the high outback of Nevada and Eastern California. Beautiful, sparse, boundless. Desert country always amazes me, and we're blessed with a variety of distinct deserts in this country, several of which I have seen, all unique in their beauty.

Having Monday off also gave us some time to do a little exploring on the way--Lassen Volcanic National Park. Andrew made a great observation about this peak's most recent volcanic activity (1914-1917): "These rocks are younger than my grandmother". Indeed. I can get a sense of what the folks near Etna are experiencing--a violent, fiery birthing (or, in Etna's case, rebirthing). Given the late season (we saw our first shrouds of snow), we had the entire mountain and forest to ourselves, if not the time to adequately explore them. Even if it weren't for the smokeholes to remind one of the ever-present volatility underfoot, the geothermal potential is palpable, tastable. Whereas I can feel the trees in the great redwood forests buzz, almost hum with the business of standing impossibly tall for hundreds of years, these trees seem to hold their breath, waiting. I'm sure they are the first to know when the cap blows, their roots the helpless sensors whose warnings are useless.

We capped the evening with a long twilight drive down into Redding with the Coast Range peaks silhouetted ahead, great Mexican food and Monday Night Football (which starts at dinner time on the west coast). On to Eureka.

Michael