When a Ringtail Steals Your Hat, Winter Is Coming

When a Ringtail Steals Your Hat, Winter Is Coming You know it is going to be a cold winter when a ringtail steals your hat right off the picnic table and takes off running with it! That was how my morning started here on Peace Mountain. Before I had even settled into the day, I was chasing a ringtail through camp, trying to get my hat back. I guess he felt those cold mountain mornings coming too and decided he needed it more than I did. Once the excitement was over and my hat was safely back where it belonged, Breezie and I started breaking down camp a little at a time. If everything goes according to plan, we hope to pull out of Peace Mountain by September 15. The road is calling us again. Our plan is to head toward the magnificent Redwoods, then make our way down the coast along Highway 101. We want to see some beautiful country, breathe that ocean air, meet as many of you as we can, and hopefully arrange a few book signings along the way. After everything that has happened with the release of CONVICT: A True Story of Addiction, Prison And The Way Out, we are more excited than ever to meet some of the wonderful people who have supported us, encouraged us, bought our books, and followed this crazy adventure through all its twists and turns. There is something special about meeting someone face-to-face after sharing life with them online for so many years. A name becomes a smile. A comment becomes a conversation. A follower becomes a friend. Those are the moments Breezie and I carry with us long after the road takes us somewhere new. As excited as we are about this next adventure, leaving Peace Mountain is never easy. This mountain has given us peaceful mornings, wild storms, beautiful sunsets, visits from every kind of critter imaginable, and memories we will treasure forever. It has been our quiet place above the noise of the world, and every year it becomes a little harder to say goodbye. But we are not finished with Peace Mountain. Not even close. We already have big plans for next year. We hope to put gravel down on our pad and create something a little more permanent so we can stay longer and enjoy even more of the mountain season. These mornings are getting mighty cold, though, and when the wildlife starts stealing winter clothing, you know it is probably time to start thinking about warmer country. So, little by little, we are packing things away, making our plans, and getting ready for another chapter of this beautiful life. The Redwoods are waiting. The Pacific Ocean is calling. Highway 101 is stretched out ahead of us, and somewhere along that road are people we have not met yet, places we have never seen, and memories we have not made. That is the beautiful thing about life. Saying goodbye to one place does not mean the adventure is ending. Sometimes it simply means a brand-new one is about to begin. We hope you will come along with us. The road ahead is wide open, and something tells me the best parts of this journey are still waiting just around the bend.