ACROSS THE MILES

CITY OF SIMI VALLEY

I thought it would be nice to share some facts about Simi Valley , a place I have called home for the last 16 years. Previously I had lived in large cities like Michigan and Chicago , so it was a nice change when we came here. It is a really small town located about 40 miles NW of Los angeles. It has been ranked as the safest city in America for a number of years. When we first came here the population was about 100,000 now it has grown to aprox 110,000. It is a beautiful place surrounded by hills but also is at a high risk for wild fires. We also are at a high risk for earthquakes because of the many earthquake faults that surround us. Southern california has a high fire risk ,usually the hot weather and the high winds cause several fires to sweep across the hills .Last year the whole city was surrounded by fire, we were very lucky not to have been harmed. From our bedroom window we could see the fire on the hills, it was an awesome but scary sight.

Simi valley was once inhabited by Chumash Indians. The word simi valley comes from the word "Shimiji" which means little white clouds. Simi Valley is home to the Ronald Reagen Library and also many western movies have been shot here, also tv shows like Little House on the Prarie and Mash and the 2003 Movie Dr Seuss " Cat in the Hat" . For transportation we have Metro buses, and the Amtrack and Metrolink trains run through the city. Simi Valley average temperature is 60 degrees F. The average low temperature is 51 degrees F. The average high temperature is 77 degrees F. We also get the santa Anna winds which usually shreds all the leaves .the banana leaf looks fringed and most of the weaker plants fall to the ground.
Even with fires and earthquakes it is still a nice place to live in, no place is perfect and we have to make the best of what we have. I have posted a few pictures of the hills and the fires.