MILLARD CANYON CALLS

Having grown up in the green lush state of Michigan, whenever the topic of Los Angeles came up in my youth one thing always came to my mind and that was... CEMENT. I always envisioned a hot concrete, sprawling, ugly city in my mind. The first time I visited the sunny city of angels, I remember being in an absolute stunned, delight to discover that there were trees all over the place and not just wimpy, skinny trees either, I am talking huge shady magnolia trees with roots so large you could hide between them. There were also beautiful flowers in full bloom spotting the city with vibrant colors and... to my surprise there was even... grass, imagine that!. I don't know quite how I came to the conclusion that the entire city was paved over, but my first trip to LA surely broke up my preconceived cemented views.

Those first few magnolias that gave me the courage to move to LA have not led me astray. Since then, I have found so many lovely places in the Los Angeles and the nearby mountains to call refuge from the bustling city. This morning we woke up early to hike a new trail we just learned about in Millard Canyon nestled in the foothills of Los Angeles National Forest. I am fortunate enough to have this beautiful place just fifteen minutes from our home. I dare say it has become my favorite place to hike yet.

This new trail we found, wandered along the side a winding, bubbling brook that meandered down the mountain side. Large boulders were strewn about the shady creek. Zane took off up stream quickly gripping boulder after boulder in a spider man like fashion. Audrey who has had difficulty on past hikes because of pesky pebbles getting into her shoes, did not even flinch when her shoe filled with pebbles and soaked with water when her foot went astray right into the river. Today there was not a complaint to be heard from my almost three year old princess, She had a mountain side to conquer and boulders to climb. We hiked about a mile and half to a beautiful 50 foot waterfall. Just the fact that there was water falling from the heights was a miracle to me. Los Angeles has had one of the driest years in a long, long time. I was fully prepared to hike up a dry river bed this morning, but was absolutely delighted to find and hear the water percolating over rocks and then to find water falling off the side of a cliff. That sound... that sound of water trickling over rocks was enough to refresh my soul right there in the shade of huge trees that stood guard over the stream below. I felt at peace, I felt alive!





On the way back down the trail, Zane caught a salamander and a millipede. Audrey was so very proud of her brother as she told other passing hikers of her brother's great achievements. The hikers would smile politely as they nodded, trying to understand her high pitched and what seemed to be gibberish. They knew it was important whatever she was saying.

The hike was perfect for the kids and it was amazing for Scott and I. I came back refreshed and at peace. I will most definitely be frequenting this new found retreat often. Zane and Audrey both agreed that their cousins and their Aunt, who will be visiting soon from the lush, green state of Washington will surely love this place! We'll have to take them there and see what THEY think .