Downtown Mariposa

There is nothing more beautiful than downtown Mariposa in the Spring:
Frequent showers of drink for the new birth, with vibrant colors on fruit bearing & non fruit bearing trees that captivate the eye.
Summer:
The dried & parched trees & ground foliage gives a calming laid back feeling as an occasional thunderstorm rumbles by to quench the pine trees to scent the air.
Fall:
Foliage is every color of orange, yellow & red in hues that purely are majestic, along with the driest air of any time of year to make those leaves fall and their colors blend in hues so grand.
And in Winter:
A pure & white snow so clean, a pure Winter Wonderland, that when that snow melts, feeds the Merced river which provides water to the cites in & beyond Medera County and then some.
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Home to my 1 of my 2 brothers & sister in-​law, 1 of my many cousins, his wife, my aunt & uncle (My Dad’s brother-​also 1 of the 2 the Judges) and my Mom.
Yesterday it would have been home to my Dad too, but 3 years ago yesterday he died after a 2 year battle with Pulmonary Fibrosis at 77.
He bought the land from his Brother, built the home and Mom, began designing it (she’s good at stuff like that-​always has been), they bought the home down the road from friends and now that’s where 1 of my 2 brother & his wife now live, further up, my aunt & uncle.
Quite a legacy as they live 30 minutes from town, downtown Mariposa, with it’s consistent hellos from neighbors, friends & tourists, a place that offers up old style charm with a modern twist of the youth that will soon inherit the legacy of this beautiful town just 45 minutes from one of the 2 entrances to Yosemite National Park.
Also, you will find pizza joints, to cafes & eateries, to chocolate & candy stores, to antique shops to a movie theater, to a lodge, to a beauty and quietness that I’ve experienced only in other remote places of the USA.
The very first time I came, I was reminded that as much damage that has been done to our environment, there still lays a foundation of history that was established in 1854 (when the courthouse was built & still in use) and before.
My dad called this «His fair share of heaven on earth.»
And, he was correct on so many levels, and I still see him there every time I go, in his philanthropic endeavors, donations, preserved iconic places and his pictures in the church he & Mom attended, to businesses that he helped stay the course during a rough economy.
Now I know and always will know Dad why you chose this as your place to live out your days-​I miss you terribly, but I see you here, everywhere, giving me that wink and saying:
«Mike, this is what I was telling you about when you were a little boy, like the waterfalls of home in Rosario Argentina, I love you that much.»
I suggest, NO, I strongly suggest that you take some extra time to stop in this nice town, that at every season offers greetings, safety, kindness and some challenges for the young, appreciate the beauty offered up; you will leave with one thing, at least I hope you do, I’d love to come back someday.
I miss & love you so much Dad, thank you for showing & sharing this with me, your oldest of 3 boys, like you said and I say, that this WAS and still is «HIS & our fair share of heaven on earth.»