Shipoopi!

The name of this park is Shabarum Park, but for some reason whenever I say the name I want to sing Shapoopi, from The Music Man. That was a really fun musical, both to watch and participate in, ( I was in the crew when my high school did that show). "Shapoopi shapoopi shapoopi, the girl is hard to get..." So silly, and innocent, I think that is why I love musicals. They are an escape, into a world of life and color and expression. Fun fun fun! Well not all musicals are as lighthearted and mindless, but the early ones at least were.

Aaaaaanyway, I wanted to tell you all about this beautiful secret, Shabarum. This summer a friend and I wanted to go for a hike. But where was there a trail in this asphalt jungle? I wasn't familiar with any good hiking trails, and walking the mall was NOT an option, so I called up my friend Rod, the local hiking trails connoisseur. He told me about Shabarum Park, a place he had recently discovered and was thrilled with.

Shabarum is located just across the street from the Puente Hills Mall. No wonder I never noticed this unlikely trail. Two seemingly opposite places sitting just across the street from the other. Yet there it was. And it was lovely, but only after you put a good 40 minutes into the hike. At that point the houses and businesses begin looking small enough to not be distracting from the view around you. In the distance (of the above picture) you can see rooftops, and this is also the point where the hike begins to get exciting!

Still no matter how high we got, and how small the city became, we could not completely forget it. These two towers were eerie reminders of the marks we have left on this world. They stood there as sentinels, alone and out of their element, but surveying the land nonetheless. I envied them, and the beautiful sunsets and sunrises they must see everyday.

These ghostly reeds almost made me believe we were in a different world. Like some place out of the fantasy books I read. I never knew places like this were so close. There aren't many, and you can imagine how many people we bumped into on the trail, still it was refreshing. There is something truly cathartic about exploring nature, and exerting your energy in the process. And as you sweat, the beads forming around your brow, your breaths becoming deeper and more calculated, your strides feeling more taxing than before, your mind and body at bay to the rigorous climb, your spirit is suddenly freed. Free to run around and play, to hide in the ghostly reeds, to explore the blue skies, and just rejoice in the realization that there is something greater at work here, and thank God for that.