Lassen National Forest

California, you wonderful beast. Just when I think I've become familiar with the habits of your pointed mountains and bored by the moan of your deserts, I take a turn on one of your roads and have my heart squeezed by the sparkle of a hurried river or my nostrils tickled by the color of your scent. You sweet-talk me with the hum of your sunshine. Bouquets of manzanitas brush away your faults. With another twist in the road, I fall madly in love with you again.



The Fife Carnival On Wheels set in motion this weekend again.



Our destination this time was Lassen National Forest. On the agenda were basic camping and mountain biking.

While camping may have been primitive, it was by no means boring - for most. Sancho was not amused at all and tried to sleep through the trauma of having no bed.



Sarah was a champ and thrilled by the entire process.



The following morning Sancho prettied himself up in the Susan River at the Goumaz access point to the Bizz Johnson Trail.



Mike readied our bikes and the Chariot for the princess.



Off we went from Goumaz toward Susanville.



The trail was magnificent – wide and smooth.



But, poor little Sancho just couldn’t haul his fat butt as far as we’d planned.



So, we cut the trip short to save him the embarrassment of weeping openly and headed to Susanville for lunch.

It’s claimed that Josefina’s, the restaurant that we chose, has the best Mexican food in town. Seriously, if that is the best that Susanville has to offer, Susanvillites must delight in a good stomach pumping. The food was largely inedible. Promptly after leaving town, Sarah sprayed the backseat with Josefina’s best.

Still, this could not dampen our mood. There were turns in the road to comfort our ills.