I returned to the High Sierra Festival for the fourth time on July 5, 2008 at the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds in Quincy, Calif. At an elevation of 3,500 feet, the festival area is usually clear and cool with bright blue sky. This year, with wildfires burning in three directions surrounding the festival, the sky and the breathing air were smoky (don't know how you young 'uns could stand on the smoky main-stage field and puff on cigarettes. Yuk!) And due to road closures, we had to take quite a roundabout route to get there, turning a two-hour route into three hours. Festival attendance didn't seem to suffer, and in addition to the usual rainbow of colorful sights, sounds and people, this day featured Bob Weir & Ratdog, Railroad Earth, Papa Mali, The Slip, Robin Ford, James Hunter and Lebo. It was a good day. Alan Sheckter (NorCalEdit@sbcglobal.net) Permission must be granted for re-publication.