It's been two weeks since my dad fell and broke his hip. He made it through surgery to set the fracture and he's struggling toward recovery at a convalescent hospital, but his heart and kidneys are bad, so we have a long way to go yet. We're travelling down to see him most days -- it's about 90 miles round trip.
The mountains we live in form a climate barrier -- Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean are below us on "the front side" and the Mojave Desert is below on "the back side." Dad is at a hospital in Victorville, a city of more than 100,000 population down on the desert side. Here's what our daily commute looks like:
Rounding the curve coming out of Bear Valley -- this is the first view of the desert below from Cushenbury Summit, elevation approx 6900 feet. Click on the pics to get a feel for the distance.
The first leg of the trip is about 15 minutes going down the canyon to the desert floor.
I often feel like I'm in a pretend western movie set, but it really looks like this!
When we get down to the bottom, it's a 30-mile stretch straight out across the desert. Ranches along the way ...
Looking back the way we've come -- the arrow is approximately where we live. Those are the lingering clouds from yesterday's thunderstorms.
And this is how it looks when we get back up here to Big Bear Valley -- such a change from the desert below! I'm always so glad to get back home.
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GRATITUDES
1. Dad is hangin' in there
2. It was 103* in Victorville when we left yesterday, and 64* when we got out of the car at home
3. We've settled into our new routine ... taking it one day at a time
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3 comments:
The scenery makes it interesting, but I bet you wished he was closer!
Do hope your dad continues to improve - he's doing very well considering his age and frailty - you both take great care too (((hugs)))
Wow, what a difference a few (ok more than a few) miles can make!
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