When I decided to embark on Day Two of The Big Parade this year (having missed last year), I knew I would encounter staircases. I knew I would encounter some hills. And I figured I could make it around the four mile Silverlake loop.
But I decided to try to make it all the way to Griffith Observatory, through Franklin Hills and Los Feliz.
I didn't pressure myself. I figured I would go as far as I could go, and I would know when I had to stop.
But curiosity got the better of me - I'd already seen many of the areas of Silverlake that we'd walked through, but I hadn't done more than drive through Franklin Hills once across the Shakespeare Bridge...
...and I knew, in this hidden city, there was much more to see.
Like who knew there were still movie studios that far east, like The Prospect Studios (near the heart attack-inducing Prospect Stairs)?
Curiosity kept pushing me forth, to go back again across the Shakespeare Bridge, this time on foot, this time in daylight.
At some point between Franklin Hills and Los Feliz, advancing towards my beloved Griffith Park, my walk no longer became a matter of how far did I want to go, but how far could I go?
And where was this secret Glendower Gate entrance to Griffith Park?
Past the infamous Ennis House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright...
...somewhere along Glendower Road...
...and to a gate that opens to a path that leads straight to the Griffith Observatory.
At 6 p.m., nine hours after departing from Silverlake, we arrived at the Observatory, just in time to join the crowds gathered to witness the solar eclipse, which spectators viewed through telescopes, souvenir glasses, holes cut out of cardboard boxes, and various other makeshift apparatuses (like the one woman who reflected the solar eclipse onto the Observatory facade using a commonplace cosmetic mirror that one might find at a chain hair salon).
Once at the Observatory, I collapsed onto the ground. I knew my hiking companions were going all the way to the Hollywood Sign, but I was done. My adventure was complete. I made it farther than I ever thought I would make it, and I could stop now and watch the moon pass across the sun.
Except then I had to get back to my car...4.5 miles away....
For more photos, click here.
Related Reading:
Photo Essay: The Big Parade Day Two (Silverlake)
Keep On Moving
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