Happy Easter, Everyone! The heat has arrived in Sacramento! The river is a bit cold but still managed a float this last Thursday to check the route. I have never floated this early in the year, so late in the day (except intentional full moon midnight floats) or across such wide waters. The sunset hit right after seven and the surface blazed with ripples. I went over the poorest and mightiest section of the small rapids at the heart of the float, and a cartoon tongue of water splashed into my dry raft into my guitar and to overall Disney effect. I floated in darkness for another hour or so before walking out onto the banks of the American River Parkway, and another hour home. Next time I might even use a paddle. If you've read this far, you have until the end of the day to vote for endorsing all of the candidates for statewide office, and a few bylaw revision proposals. Check em out! IF you are the voting sort of person, anyways. Here is John Muir describing riding an avalanche. Have a restful Sunday, my thoughts are with Josh Jones, Veronika Fimbres on the passing of her father, Erik Rydberg, and Mike Feinstein, Take care everyone! Chris " When the avalanche started I threw myself on my back and spread my arms to try to keep from sinking. Fortunately, though the grade of the cañon is very steep, it is not interrupted by precipices large enough to cause outbounding or free plunging. On no part of the rush was I buried. I was only moderately imbedded on the surface or at times a little below it, and covered with a veil of back-streaming dust particles; and as the whole mass beneath and about me joined in the flight there was no friction, though I was tossed here and there and lurched from side to side. When the avalanche came to rest I found myself on top of the crumpled pile without bruise or scar. This was a fine experience. Hawthorne says somewhere that steam has spiritualized travel; though unspiritual smells, smoke, etc., still attend steam travel. This flight in what might be called a milky way of snow-stars was the most spiritual and exhilarating of all the modes of motion I have ever experienced. Elijah’s flight in a chariot of fire could hardly have been more gloriously exciting.