Wilderness in the City

We took a wonderful walk on the hilltop behind our LA son's house, somewhere between Highland Park and Montecito Heights. It's called Flat Top, and was purchased in the 1920s by evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson and the Foursquare Church of Echo Park. Over the years portions of the property were sold off, but the remaining approximately 37 acres is now officially a park and is preserved from any further development. Flat Top is a popular place for viewing fireworks on the Fourth of July, and judging from the discarded bottles and cans it seems like a well-known party destination. There are changing quirky art installations, killer views of the city, small settlements of rural looking homes that were built before the land was protected--in short a dazzling array of contrasts and delight. You can hear roosters calls bouncing from ridge to ridge. Coyotes, skunks and possums regularly come down the hill and jump the fence to A's backyard. We spent a lot of time trying to find landmarks in the distance--there's the museum, and right there near that red line is the street we turned down on the way to that restaurant, and look there's the Hollywood sign! It's such an intriguing place that I'm surprised it hasn't been featured in some noir LA film. Maybe it has. Keep your eyes open.

The Extra is a sign posted at the beginning of the trail. Please read it all.