Photo Friday: It isn't as terrible as it could be...

I'm going to start this post assuming that most people have seen some news this week... either in print or any coverage nationally.
Which means you have seen that the forest fire I briefly mentioned blogging on Sunday night turned quite disastrous this week. After some growth Monday, we all put it out of mind and mostly went about our business on Tuesday.
But about 3:00, the winds picked up and the fire went from a couple miles away (from the northwestern most edge of town) to in suburban neighborhoods and destroying many houses in a very very short period. Over 30,000 people were evacuated in about an hour, giving them only a few minutes to grab what they may need from their homes and leave. Now that the fire has retreated some, the devastation includes 346 houses on 34 streets, a well known historical site called the Flying W Ranch, and one man's life.
Should you have not seen the pictures, you can google the Waldo canyon fire. I am not going to re-post any here because they are upsetting.
When my family first moved to Colorado, we lived in that area of town. I know many people who live over there still. It was hard to see the devastation and think of all the great memories we made there.

I've also been feeling a little cabin fever ish this week, since the smoke affecting my lungs has kept me indoors.

But this morning dawned bright and clear with very little smoke on our side of town. I was headed back into town at sunrise after taking Pete to the airport. And taking a look at the wonderful day, I decided a walk was needed. I grabbed Ursa and we headed to the nearby dog park. Below are pictures of our "adventure"

The sun peaking into the neighborhood. Pardon the power lines, I live in suburbia...

Pikes Peak. 

Ursa is looking forward to the park. The dog has been cooped up too with owners trying to avoid smoky conditions.

Walking path over a stream nearby. I love all the greenways in our town. They are especially nice since most of our big parks are closed until the fire danger is lower.

Wildflowers

 

North side of fire effected area from blodgett peak to the rock quarry (AKA: scar on the mountain). You can't tell from the picture that the range is quite a bit more black than it would usually be in late June.

South side of fire affected area. If you remember my post from Sunday and the picture I took Saturday, there was a giant plume of smoke coming up in what would be just about center of this photo. 

Southern side of Pikes peak with Garden of the Gods at the left most edge of the photo. I love how those rocks just glow in the early morning light. 

Garden of the Gods. I don't have much zoom on my camera, so that is the best it gets from the east side of town.

Please do not think that I am trying to downplay the devastation of this fire. It has been so unfortunate. I hate seeing our mountains on fire, and the fact that 346 people have just lost their homes is so sad. But, after looking at pictures that look like the world is downright ending and hearing endless errors in the news reporting, I wanted to show my out of state friends and family what we see. Our town is still mostly here, mostly intact. That which has been lost will be rebuilt. Those that have been left homeless are seeing compassion and community that many of us probably didn't believe still existed in this day and age. The loss of life has been minimal due to quick decision making by our leaders and the officials working on this fire.

Furthermore, as calm as it looks, there is still a fire actively burning just the other side of these mountains. And there are many more burning in other parts of Colorado. With our record heat, record low humidity and dry winter, the conditions are ripe for much of our beautiful state to be dealing with fire for all of fire season (until the weather cools).


Now, on to the rest of our walk. We stopped by the dog park, which was... for the first time that I have ever seen, empty. Apparently 6 am on a Friday is the time to be there, (or not there depending on how social your dog is. Mine is social. But not to worry, there were still plenty of balls for her to play with so she did not notice)

I've never noticed this sign before. It cracked me up. No funny business at the dog park canine friends!

Once Ursa chooses a ball, she will NOT play with any other. See the nice new bright tennis ball on the left. Yeah, that isn't the one she insisted on playing with. The one on the right, pretty much the ugliest tennis ball I've ever seen: that is the one she wanted thrown. And she WOULD NOT go after any other.

The great thing about a ball camouflaged by its ugliness is that fetch becomes a game of hide and seek. And since she would not use any other ball, I got breaks in between throws while she searched for the "correct" ball.

Again towards the mountains from east side of park

Better view of Pikes Peak from dog park

Ursa, relaxing in the sun on the deck after our walk.

A delicious healthy breakfast of yogurt and fruit.

And now, since I got up at 2:45 this morning to take Pete to the airport, I'm off to have a nap before work. 

Take care everyone, crazy things happen and it is always hard to predict when...

Lia