Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of joining my brother and his wife on a day trip to the area around Mount Pinos for a picnic. I left home in Orange by 8:30am, hopping on the freeway, and heading north past downtown Los Angeles, ending at their home in Burbank. That 44 mile part of the trip took just over an hour… not bad, considering. We loaded our folding chairs, picnic foods and water into their vehicle and headed up the 5 freeway, exiting at Frazier Mountain Parkway, and continuing on a two-lane road toward Mount Pinos Campground. That leg of the journey took about 1.75 hour for approximately 80 miles. The scenery was so pretty, though, that time flew by.
As we were nearing our destination in the Los Padres National Forest, we noticed all campgrounds, side roads, turn-offs, etc, were closed. Signs stating EXTREME FIRE DANGER were in abundance. Well, that put a damper on our original plans, so my brother kept on driving, for miles and miles, hoping to find a spot where we’d be allowed to stop. He eventually noticed a small road that wasn’t blocked, so he pulled off and we spotted a shady patch where we could have our picnic. My brother was extremely careful where he parked the car so the heat from the engine wouldn’t spark any dry brush. As you’ll see from the pictures, everything was so bone dry, scary dry. The temperature was wonderful, though… lower 80s, compared to the 103 it would reach back home in Orange, the sky was clear blue, the soft scent of pine filled the air, and there wasn’t a sound to be heard (so wonderful coming out of the noisy city). We had a really nice picnic after all. After lunch and some time at that spot, we drove around and found another area where we could have a bit of a walk. It was such a wonderful day! ~SueBee
SueBee and Kat 
It does look fearfully dry but I am glad that you had a good day out anyway.
Thank you.
I am truly saddened by the news of fires and the damage that is being done. We live in troubled times, and this is just one more thing to deal with. So very sad.
I’m right there with you.