This year was a birthday that slams into you like a heavy icepick.

Lots of people have this birthday. I didn’t know how to be one of them.

It’s not that big of a deal. You have it. Then it’s done.

And that’s how old you are.

Watched carefully how the sun set the night before.

And watched carefully how it rose the next day. The day of.

Everything was pretty much the same after it happened.

So there you go. Life goes on.

This is in the Grove of the Titans.

Not everybody goes there. Not everybody can find it. Probably hardly any dogs ever have.

Tammy and Fred helped us find it. Tammy is basically a detective of trees.

A lot of roadtrip in not very many days.

A motel with a graveyard for a backyard.

Way up in the north country.

We like places where there’s surf and turf.

The turf is pretty dry everywhere.

Sorry Big Diamond. Don’t know how many birthdays you had.

Gary and the other dogs met us way up on top of a ridge later on.

Gustavo shouldn’t really be around bears.

We all survived the birthday and we came home with a new age. I’m getting used to it.

Sort of.