Sorry to say that instead of leaving for Australia this weekend to join the Diamond Princess, we are at home while I await the outcome of discussions by my medical team (everyone has a team these days) and their recommendations for treatment. I had expected to be bringing you dazzling prose and unforgettable pictures, but it was not to be. My hopes now are aimed at taking the Eastern Med cruise again - this time with my sweetheart - in Jan 2011. That's assuming Egypt settles down because the pyramids are really the key to the trip, IMHO.

I don't know if I'll be updating the medical situation here, or on my Facebook page, but Facebook seems more likely. I'm either ED Denson or Eugene Denson on Facebook. Try them both, one will work.

CalTrans said that route 36 required chains or snow tires from Mad River to Forest Glen. Problem was that CalTrans website said this Sunday afternoon. Was it leftover from Friday conditions, or was it valid now. I had to decide because I had to go from Alderpoint to Red Bluff and going over the mountains on some back roads until I could reach Rt 36 would give me a clear shot at getting to Red Bluff by the most direct route. Three hours plus. Whereas taking 101 to 299 to I-5 to Red Bluff would take 1-2 hours more, but 299 over the mountains goes lower than 36 and CalTrans had no snow warnings concerning it.

I could have gone to 36 and then looked for myself. The problem with that is that it would take me an hour and a half of back country driving and if I had to turn back my trip to Red Bluff would take forever.

Usually I just plow on through, no chains, no snow tires, no 4-wheel drive. Just a Volvo and some true grit (in the driver, not on the road). This time I opted for the long way. Listened to most of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey. My client went staight across 36 with his 4-wheel drive, snow tires, and in the trunk some chains, just in case. He said there was snow for many more miles than CalTrans indicated and if he hadn't followed the snow plow for the first few miles up and down the mountains, he would have been reluctant to keep on.

Guessed right that time. All praise to CalTrans, too.

California is a north-south state. When you get on the East-West axis to travel, you're in for mountain roads. State Highway 299 runs from US 101 on the north coast to Redding on I-5 in the central valley. About halfway between those points it passes through the county seat of Trinity County, Weaverville.

I traversed the mountains from Eureka to Weaverville today. The road starts well, with a freeway that gets you through the valley where Blue Lake resides, and its pretty good over the first two high ridges - up over 2000 feet where the road crests them. By that point it is a two lane road, but still nothing breathtaking. Willow Creek is where things start getting really tough. The road follows the Trinity river up into the Coastal Mountains - it remains two lanes wide, after all it is a state highway - but it becomes more awful to drive. For possibly 20 miles out of Willow Creek there are towns - small towns with populations in the hundreds, or even at 100 - almost continually as the mountains rise on either side and close in until you realize you have entered the Trinity River Gorge. The last habitation is seen, desperately clinging to the steep mountain side, and now all is wilderness. The roadway is hacked out of the cliff face and the road twists and turns almost mimicing the river, which is now hundreds of feet almost straight down on the north side of the road. There are few guard rails, and it would be easy in the night to drift a few feet off the north side of the road and find yourself plunging down for a few frightening seconds until you hit and sank into the icy Trinity river, swollen by the winter rains. There is a white fog line along the edge of the road, but at night if there were fog, how easy to miss seeing it. Up the river canyon at points you can see the sunlight slopes of snow covered mountains, and you must cross one of those just before entering Weaverville. Today it was 40 degrees in mid-afternoon on the shadowy canyon roadway. A bit colder and it would be icing in the next rain. When you climb out of the canyon to the pass just before Weaverville, who knows what the roadway is like at the higher elevation which you must cross, or else turn back and go to Eureka to wait out the weather. I prefer my Weaverville cases to be summer cases. The one that drew me there this time, started as a summer case, but summer turned to fall and fall to winter and the case is still going on. One thing is for certain. I will not drive on California highway 299 after dark, so either the hearings are in the afternoon or I go the day prior and spend the night (writing highway horror stories).;

I am in Eureka this evening, and if is a very foggy evening. It is always chillly and never cold here, but on the foggy nights, like tonight, it is hard not to think of the night of the living dead when figures emerge from the fog, bundled against the damp and cold, and looking not quite human until you are close enough to see the faces.

My feet took me to Mazottis this evening, at 4th and F. I hadnt been there for months, but tonight I was looking for heavy Italian food, and I found it. Good thing I was not looking for company because the restaurant was unusually uncrowded. My waiter was young and not quite sure when to ask for my order, but all went well. As usual I overcame my determination not to fill up on the appetiser - bread with seasoned butter dipped in olive oil and vinegar. Who could not eat the whole load. It wasn't very big.. Larger than the baseball a strong person can compress a loaf of Wonder bread into, but not much. And it was so good. Not warm enough, but still good.

I had the handmade meat ravioli. I was offered the vegetarian sauce for the dish but I thought as long as I'm having meat why not go all the way and have the meat sauce over the meat ravioli. Its like eating at the annual Cattleman's dinner. Meat everywhere you look.
Actually, I attribute the offer of vegetarian sauce on a meat dish to my waiter's youth rather than to a flavor option.

Had a nice red wine blend called "Friendly Red" from a small winery which probably found itself with some left over reds and put them all in the same bottle. Read the Chronicle - it is so much easier these days because it has gotten so much smaller, and the Northcoast Journal which is always easy as there is relatively little content other than ads and notices of events.

Walked home with a small cup of green tea icecream from Bon Boniere (spelling) which is right down the block. Delicous cap to the meal.

I didn't really care for the Purple Plum the first time I ate there, but it is right by the motel and after 5-6 dinners at the place I've come to appreciate its merits. It is, by and large, American food and lots of it. They have 2 or 3 red wines, which are not bad, and serve breakfast all day. That got me to order corned beef and eggs for dinner - a treat I have not had for many years. I was envisioning a patty of corned beef with an egg on it. Foolish me. Two eggs over easy, corned beef about 8" long and 3" wide, and an even larger serving of hash browns. Two pieces of wheat toast. Without asking they brought me ketchup and strawberry jam. There was so much that I couldn't finish it - I left most of the hash browns - but it tasted just like it should.

10% discount for those of us who stay at the Best Western.

Good night all, and if I don't write again before then, have a good Thanksgiving.