The plane landed at 7:30p San Jose time. Mika and Misha met me at the airport, bringing Igor and Jasmina's SUV with Mozart in the back. After a brief greeting, they went their way home and left me to try to navigate myself to Hazel Dell.
I'm not crazy about driving in the mountains in the best of conditions, and the deep shadows of twilight made the switchbacks of Rt 17 seem like the minotaur's maze. Igor had kindly printed the directions to Hazel Dell, with pictures, but the late rush-hour California traffic is not so forgiving of a clueless traveler.
It's not so much the first 25 miles through the mountains, but last 8 miles after exiting Hwy 1 that makes this an adventure. A little light would have helped, but except for the veiled glow of an occasional house, it was dark and deep. Finally, after only a few false turns, I made it to the sometimes one-lane Hazel Dell Road. I had been pretty much steadily climbing since leaving the airport (when it was still light out). Trying to make conversation with the taciturn German shepherd helped a bit, but Mozart's navigational help was minimal. I came eventually to the last 1.5 mile climb throught the redwoods to the house.
I don't like to walk from one end of my home to the other when it's dark, much less travel to a mountain aerie that I only visit once a year, but when I finally got to the house I was comforted by a note from Jasmina that there were freshly-baked muffins in the oven and to make myself at home. I'll be seeing them in a month, but until then, it's just me, the dog and the stunning, if indifferent presence of Nature.
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