Michel's 50th Birthday in the Canyon

Anza Borrego State Park, Canyon Sin Nombra, California, 7 December 2022

Michel's wish was to celebrate his 50'th birthday with his brothers, cousins and closest musician friends in an outdoor location, preferably in the wild, and play music. Earlier expeditions with cousin Carl had introduced him to Canyon Sin Nombra, in the desert about 3 hours drive from Los Angeles, and that's the place he decided was ideal.

Michel made elaborate preparations for the event (click here to download the invitation) which was set between 5 and 8 December, 2022. As the date approached, his original guest list dwindled to just seven, cousins Karl and Farrokh and cinematographer Jorge from LA, Kito from Connecticut, cousin Jon from Ohio, and brothers Farhad and Adil from Seattle and Canada respectively.

Michel had to plan for transport, food, wood for the campfire (very cold at night), sleeping bags, cooking equipment and fuel, musical instruments including the drum set, and other percussion instruments, keyboards and the associated electronic equipment, and a generator. His van accommodated much of this cargo, as also his brothers and cousin Jon, who used the van's bench behind the front seats.

The six non vegetarians in the group set up the grille for beefsteaks while Michel and Farhad managed very well with veggies, cereals and eggs.

The days flew by in jamming, cooking, exploring the canyon and trekking the surrounding sandstone mountains, and camaraderie in a unique setting.

Check out the videos and photos below...

Setting up the drums