Hiking Lake Poway

Lori, Emily, and I went hiking this past Saturday around Lake Poway. We took the girl's puppies--Rocco and Zeus--with us on the walk. They loved jumping around in the mud and scaring the geese, of course :) It was such an amazing walk, though. The fires this past autumn went right through the Poway/Rancho Bernardo area, and this was my first time seeing the effects of the disaster. I can't believe how much damage was done to that area. The charred, leaf-less trees were striking. The black sticks sprouted out of the rocky terrain. They must be the pioneers of Lake Poway. Maybe in a few months there will be bushes or something else to help the vegetation grow upwards. Anyway, it was surreal to be a part of the fires, and I see that I'll continue to be affected by them at least for a little while longer. Check out the pictures on http://www.flickr.com/. Or try this: pictures.