The Great Outdoors in Southern California

The Great Outdoors- Where could one even begin in this Mecca called Southern California to describe all the beauty, tranquility and even the harshness of our climate at times? We do, after all, live in a desert, supplied by water from many sources, including the far off Hoover Dam. We have the Pacific Ocean, lakes, rivers and streams, all to be enjoyed by rich and poor alike.

At this writing our beautiful Santa Barbara, rages with fires from drought conditions; a situation all over California that is becoming more and more critical with each passing year. (Is it global warming? Poor residential planning?)

But we live on and so does the beauty of our world here and your world there, wherever you may be, for the beauty of the great outdoors is in the eye of the beholder. What one person sees as a bone dry desert with nothing of interest, another sees as brilliant rock formations, vast sunsets that would put any flower to shame, and a place teaming with life.

Woody Allen once said, "I am two with nature." a truly hilarious line and typical of someone grounded to a city such as New York. Perhaps, many people believe they are not nature people because they slept in a cramped sixth grade tent or got poison oak. Perhaps their idea of serenity is a yoga position and mood music. Be well all of them. It's certainly nothing to be scoffed at. But, a true nature lover can't help thinking that these indoor dwellers are somehow impoverished by their lack of adventure.

To surf in trestles along our coast is to somehow be 'one with nature' , as much as it is to climb and hike in Malibu or scuba dive the Yukon (a submarine sunk years ago to create a reef) 105 feet below our ocean, where one finds coral reefs upon ship wrecks that could win first prize in any rose parade for color and beauty.

Many less mobile people still in love with nature find a way, by wheel chair or assistance to have a time of meditation and reflection on the beauty of nature that is everywhere, such as that off the Palos Verdes Penninsula.

If you are a nature lover, please be encouraged by this writing to help another less ambulatory person get out of the house, even if it's a stroll through the neighborhood and or a glance at the melting snow or a bird in the sky.

How can one describe even our humble mountains compared to other places on earth, but Big Bear, California is where most natives here in Southern California learn to sled, ski and snowboard or just throw a snowball for the first time. It's a beautiful little town.

You can't force someone to enjoy nature, but if it were possible to reveal its wonders, how many might be reformed? My guess is more than not.