Let Freedom Ring

With no party plans for the 4th, we decided to do something different: hike up to the observatory and watch the city light up.

Griffith Park is the largest municipal park with urban wilderness area in the United States. I spend a lot of time in it, usually during the day. But this evening, as the sky glowed from the just-set sun, we put on our hiking shoes, stashed our backpack with goodies, and headed up the hill. Twilight was descending, and the violets and blues of evening enveloped us. Hiking on the dirt fire road, we passed a couple of bewildered coyotes, who must have been wondering what all these humans were doing in their park at this hour.

Though our destination was the observatory itself, we settled on the butte just below it; before us spread the glittering carpet of lights that is LA, disappearing in every direction into the horizon, the sparkles dancing in the evening's heat waves. Above us loomed the majestic dome of the observatory, cluttered with mobs of people along its railings.

Night descended gently upon us, caressed by the silver light of a near full moon. The sounds of popping started around 8:30, but the first sighting of fireworks began at about 8:45. Then the valley floor came alive, percolating with bursting flashes and flaring colors. Los Angeles became a seething ocean of colorful bursts, its surface boiling with fiery motion as far as the eye could see. Sitting in the darkness, surrounded by strangers, we scanned the horizon from East Los Angeles to Santa Monica. As far south as San Pedro. Near and far, red, blue, green orange, and white explosions decorated the skies while thunderous percussive sounds accompanied the spectacle.

It is not possible to accurately describe the experience of viewing hundreds of thousands of fireworks simultaneously. More than just an extraordinary visual spectacle, it was a truly joyous celebration.

People were still arriving when we decided to head back down the mountain; we passed many other people who had just sat on the edge of the mountain to watch the city's splendor. There was no need of flashlights; the moon was so bright and clear, the pebbles on the road cast shadows. There was a sense of mischievousness as we walked through this enormous park at night, smiling at other strangers who were likewise where we shouldn't normally be. The sense of joy and freedom, and our celebration of it, were palpable; as palpable as the continuous booming of the unseen fireworks.
simultaneously