I’ve always thought Hannigan’s Meadow was a long way from anything. Probably because it essentially is. It is nearly on the border of New Mexico. It’s 275 miles from Phoenix, and 225 miles from Flagstaff.

It’s seclusion though gives it that inner beauty, that long away sense of isolation and independence. It used to be a favorite get away from the big city. But the Wallow Fire some 12 years ago tore through Bear Wallow Wilderness and consumed 538,000 acres, giving it the unfortunate recipient of Arizona’s largest fire in history.

It still wears the scars of that fateful 6 weeks in 2011 that raged through Hannigan’s Meadow, Greer, Alpine and the wilderness beyond. The two cousins that started the fire were sentenced to 2 days in jail and 200 hours of community service. Further restitution hearings to cover the over $79 million cost to fight the fire resulted in a further penalty that the two individuals pay $3.7 million at monthly payments of $500 for one, $250 for the other for 4,900 years.

The area will never be what it once was, but new growth has re-generated new wildlife, landscape, and campers to the area. We enjoyed several days in the mix of devastation of fallen and scorched trees, and meadows of grass and small lakes.

We found it be a beautiful place, peaceful and serene. It boasts few visitors these days, which made it more attractive for us.

The dawn of a new day yields lessons from our past, and hope that we learn and grow for the future.