Wrightwood

I thought I would write about my impressions of Wrightwood now, and then a year from now go back and see if things have changed much.

Wrightwood is a little town in the mountains in the middle of a desert. It's different than the usual forest towns I knew growing up, but in the short time I've been here, it's really growing on me. There are only about 3,000 people in this town, I think (depends on how often the "Welcome to Wrightwood" sign is updated). This also includes the people here who are considered weekenders, who's second home is here and they only come up on the weekends or a few times a year. Because Wrightwood is in the mountains, they usually get a lot of snow in the winter. There is a ski resort here called Mountain High. During the winter I'm told that the schools often have early out days so the kids can go up to Mountain High for ski lessons. How weird is that? Luckily Jac's Dad and brother do a lot of snow plowing in the winter so we can get in and out of our driveway!

Mail is not delivered to your house in Wrightwood so you have to go to the post office. It's actually kind of neat though because people are soooo friendly. Mostly people don't seem to be in a hurry so they stand there and hold the door for you or just start talking. Getting the mail is one of the girls' favorite things to do and they even have a system worked out. One girl carries the key from the van into the post office. The next gets the mail, and the next carries the key back to the van. Silly, I know, but the girls seem to love it, and I can't complain when they get such joy out of something so little.

There is only an elementary school here in town-no upper grades. I guess each year they do several combo classes, which means they combine some of the grades depending on class size. For example, this year they have 2 1/2 second grade classes. The 1/2 class is combined with a 1st grade class because there just aren't that many kids. Kind of weird, but I've heard from several people that they really like it a lot. I drive Makayla to and from school every day. I guess she could ride the bus, but I would have to walk or drive her to the bus stop that is a ways away. Oh yeah, then I would have to pay the $360 fee! Seriously, it's just amazing why so few kids ride the school bus. So far I don't mind taking her, and Kelli and Laney really love it so I think I'll stick to that for now.

The church ward here is quite different than I'm used to. Most people in this town are not LDS. There is just one ward in the whole town and I think it's kind of small. For most people it would be considered a small ward, but since the ward we just moved from was the size of a branch, it's big, if that makes sense. Thankfully, there are a lot of kids, especially girls the same ages as my girls. Next week we have stake conference. This involves driving to Barstow, which is about an hour away. I'm sure there are other stakes that are closer, but Wrightwood has always been the oddball ward and usually just gets sent to whatever stake can take another ward.

The main businesses in town are a small grocery store (which is VERY overpriced), a gas station (which, again, is overpriced), and a hardware store (which has decent prices). This means I do my grocery shopping in Phelan, which takes about 15 minutes to get to. However, you have to go a different way on the way home, so it takes about 20 minutes to get back. Phelan is also a small town and only has one grocery store, but at least it's bigger and not as much money. There are bigger towns nearby where you can find most any store you want, but who wants to drive 1/2 an hour to get to the grocery store! There are several different cafe's in Wrightwood but the only place we've eaten at so far is Mile High Pizza. There are several different boutiques and other tourist shops in town, but I haven't had a chance to go there yet. Wrightwood does have a library, but it's so small, I can't imagine it has very many books.

There is not much traffic in Wrightwood unless you are around the school in the morning or afternoon. Or if it's Labor day or Memorial Day. Every year they have TONS of yard sales during these holidays. Tons as in over a hundred in one weekend. Since the roads here are narrow anyway and they usually don't have much of a shoulder, most people just park 3/4 of the way on the road, 1/4 of the way off, and people just go around. Sounds like it would be annoying, but people are so friendly about it that it's not a big deal at all. Plus you get a good deal at the yard sales, so you're happy anyway.

I could go on and on about all the quirky little things I've noticed so far. I never thought I would see myself liking such a small town as this. I'm sure the transition has been easier on us because Jacob grew up here and he's "Herb's son." People are pretty nice anyway, but as soon as they find out we're related to Jacob's Dad.... well, let's just say that he is very well liked in this town. I can't complain about that! This town is so different than any I've ever known, but I LIKE IT!