Our original destination was closed due to extensive damage from the Woolsey Fire. Undaunted, Barbara and I headed for nearby King Gillette Ranch off the 101 at Los Virgenes Road at Mulholland Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains near Calabasas. Tucked in the heart of the Malibu Creek Watershed, razor magnate Gillette bought this 588-acre property in 1926, and built a Spanish Colonial Revival-style mansion on the grounds. After his death, the property changed hands several times until it was purchased by a collaboration of the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), National Park Service, the Santa Monica Conservancy, and the California State Parks. Today the Ranch is the home of the MRCA botanical center and the Anthony C. Beilenson Interagency Visitor Center, a showcase for the largest urban national park in the US. Though Barbara and I hiked King Gillette Ranch once before, this version led us from the Visitor Center to the bunny-populated botanical gardens, and then up the new-to-us Inspiration Point Trail. The overcast, 58-degree weather still offered gorgeous views and it sounded like the woodpeckers, hummingbirds, parrots, and feathered chorus couldn't have been happier to see us. At the top of Inspiration Point, we met a company of MRCA Rangers on a training drill (hard to decide which view was better), who greeted us with a loud but smiling "HIKERS." It was heartwarming to see the faces of some of the amazing young men and women who preserve and protect our mountain lands, and we thanked them for their service as they passed us on the trail. Inspiration Point Trail circles down to the Gillette mansion and pond, where we headed back to the Visitor Center—formerly Gillette's stable—an excellent stop if you (like us) are into learning about California Mountain resources. A stroke of serendipity led us exactly where we needed to be today—inspiring hiking, great views, wonderful learning experience.