Southern California, Disneyland, a Half Marathon and the Desert - Day 4
Monday morning we were a little bit sore, but nothing too bad. We hopped on a shuttle back to the Disney parks and did a little shopping in the Downtown Disney area. Dru bought a shirt and I got a Mickey pen for my niece. I bought myself a shirt at Disneyland the day before (it's a Jack Skellington Nightmare Before Christmas shirt).
We left Downtown Disney and headed back to the hotel to get Roger's luggage and take him to the airport. After a couple of wrong turns, we dropped him off at the Orange County airport. We headed back to the hotel, picked up all the rest of our luggage and made the drive out to the desert.
We made good time to Mimi's (that's what we call my grandmother). My dad and his wife Kip (her real name is Karen but she goes by Kip) were already there when we arrived. Dru dropped me off and then she and Dave headed for Desert Hot Springs for a relaxing evening in the springs.
Recently, there had been a large wildfire in the vicinity of her home. Her home was saved in the massive wildfire but I was anxious to see the state of the surrounding areas.
I don't even think I can describe it. The fire was incredibly destructive. We saw acres upon acres of of burned desert - so many the beautiful Joshua Trees were burned. The strange thing was that there would be patches unburned, like the fire jumped. Some parts were strangely beautiful - a stark and ghostly beauty.
Mimi's house is a small oasis amid the burned landscape. It was burned all around. It seems a miracle her house didn't go, but we know it wasn't a miracle, but instead, highly trained and persistent firefighters who worked hard to save people's homes. However, they weren't always successful. Two people on Mimi's "street" (I have to use the term street loosely here) lost everything they had.
It's not all bad though. There are already little shoots of green coming up. Residents are beginning to rebuild and even the woman I met who was one of Mimi's neighbors who lost everything was upbeat and ready to rebuild. We saw a number of different animals that seem to be surviving: quail, jack rabbits, kangaroo rats, road runners, hawks, lizards, and cottontail rabbits. My dad saw a snake and we heard coyotes howling one evening.
Click here for Day 5.
We left Downtown Disney and headed back to the hotel to get Roger's luggage and take him to the airport. After a couple of wrong turns, we dropped him off at the Orange County airport. We headed back to the hotel, picked up all the rest of our luggage and made the drive out to the desert.
We made good time to Mimi's (that's what we call my grandmother). My dad and his wife Kip (her real name is Karen but she goes by Kip) were already there when we arrived. Dru dropped me off and then she and Dave headed for Desert Hot Springs for a relaxing evening in the springs.
Recently, there had been a large wildfire in the vicinity of her home. Her home was saved in the massive wildfire but I was anxious to see the state of the surrounding areas.
I don't even think I can describe it. The fire was incredibly destructive. We saw acres upon acres of of burned desert - so many the beautiful Joshua Trees were burned. The strange thing was that there would be patches unburned, like the fire jumped. Some parts were strangely beautiful - a stark and ghostly beauty.
Mimi's house is a small oasis amid the burned landscape. It was burned all around. It seems a miracle her house didn't go, but we know it wasn't a miracle, but instead, highly trained and persistent firefighters who worked hard to save people's homes. However, they weren't always successful. Two people on Mimi's "street" (I have to use the term street loosely here) lost everything they had.
It's not all bad though. There are already little shoots of green coming up. Residents are beginning to rebuild and even the woman I met who was one of Mimi's neighbors who lost everything was upbeat and ready to rebuild. We saw a number of different animals that seem to be surviving: quail, jack rabbits, kangaroo rats, road runners, hawks, lizards, and cottontail rabbits. My dad saw a snake and we heard coyotes howling one evening.
Click here for Day 5.
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