Bikecarson.com took this awesome picture of my ass and part of my head today while braving the 5 o'clock traffic on Roop street.  Scott had probably turned around just as Jeff took this.

 These trees are just a few of the remains from the aftermath of the waterfall fire.  Carson City's west side is a lot different than it was 15 years ago.  The whole area went untouched from fire for so long that the sage was over 6 feet tall in places.  Now when you tour the area all you see is downed trees and tall grass.  I think that this fire changed a lot of the residents of the west side's perspective on fire awareness.  Not just in a sense of the very real possibility of losing everything you have, but a sense of losing the beautiful scenery and natural resources in the area. The bright side to the fire was that it cleared the heavy undergrowth and cleared the path for a lot of really nice biking and hiking trails.  There is a network of dedicated people in the community who work hard to build and maintain these recreational trails.  I hope this area stays open for use for the next 100 years, although time and commercial development seem to ruin this kind of fun eventually.