Book publicists tend to think geographically, not climatically. When A Thread of Grace was published in January of 2005, the first week of the tour was on the West Coast. The events started in San Diego (sunny and 80), with stops in San Francisco (rain and 55), Portland and Seattle (more rain, 45), and ended in Anchorage (-4, with volcanic ash). Try packing for that itinerary in one 22-inch roll-aboard bag!

Layers. Many, many, many layers.

I just looked up the 10-day forecasts for Seattle, Phoenix and Tombstone, and this trip presents similar challenges. I’ll be in Seattle for four days: rain, all four days, and mid-50s, day and night. Then it’s two days in Phoenix with my brother, where it’ll be above 100 both days. Tombstone promises the best weather: 50 at night, low 80s in the day.

Layers again, but this time I’ll be peeling them off as I go along.

Mercifully, the Arizona monsoon rains seem to be over in Tombstone, so we won’t be riding in wet weather. And our guide Steve Shaw reports that the wild flowers in the mountains should be spectacular this year.

The Doc Holliday Memorial Fund at Smile Train is just $15 away from $11,500! That will be 46 smiles for Doc! Many thanks to the Friends of the Bay Village Library, the Taylors, Linda Hronek and Willa Eisele for the most recent contributions!

Please consider making a donation today. Even $5 will make a difference in the life of a child. Just click on the black banner on the corner of this screen. Remember, I’m matching the first $15,000 donated, dollar for dollar, so you can double your donation painlessly!