How many National Parks have we visited? Each is so wonderfully unique. We always leave a part of our heart behind. The beauty, the vastness, the scenic wonders that take our breath away are God's creations. Just like genealogy, the richness is in the story of how it all happened. The Hopi Nation believes that the first people arose from the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The Hawaiians believe that the lava flow from Mauna Loa volcano represents tears from the creator. The Yup'ik Eskimos believe the glaciers represent rivers of ice that will never die but are constantly regenerated just like they are. The sequoia sempervirens are older than we can imagine, some over 2,000 years.
My 2 favorite Parks are Yellowstone and Carlsbad Caverns. I have seen Yellowstone in the winter and summer. My most intense memory is of following the wolf paw prints along the creek at the edge of the Lamar Valley. I watched the buffalo in the Valley for over half a day. Yellowstone is the last stronghold of the buffalo. I talked with some of the ranchers who live outside the Park and discussed what attempts are being made to create cohesion with the wolf populations. There are few and battles continue as to whether the wolves should be eradicated again. The original wolf pack named the Druid pack brought in from Canada are all gone now but the future generations prosper from the abundance of elk in the Park. What will happen to the wolves is unknown but the Yellowstone ecosystem has never been healthier since the wolves were destroyed at the end of the 1800's. The beaver are back, the flora are more abundant and a symbiosis has been created between all species, except humans.
Carlsbad Caverns is a wondrous place that changes so slowly I cannot see any difference although I have visited the Park since my childhood. The cave was created from a vast long reef in an inland sea which eventually disappeared. Erosion began to uncover the buried reef. Rainwater seeped in and formed the underground caverns. The crystal shapes of the stalagmites always fascinated me. I liked to see my face in the clear waters of the inner streams. I always wondered what the original reef looked like. The Guadalupe Mountains that surround the Park have many wondrous features and are home to many birds of prey and species of cactus. I made jelly from the cactus flowers one year and it was delicious.
Let's rejoice in the treasures the Lord has given us. What better place to feel his love than in our National Parks? We find inner strength in the glory of the wilderness and we must vow to protect them at all costs. Can we imagine that the beauty of the Parks is a vision into the heart of the Creator?
Barbara
What a beautifully stirring post. I truly believe, M-Boo, that my children and I love the national parks because YOU taught me to love the national parks when I was young.
ReplyDeleteWhat vision those original people had who decided to preserve them when it didn't seem needed. Can you imagine the condos and vacation homes that would line the edges of the Grand Canyon? There's something so pure and wonderful about getting away from it all. I remember sitting in Lincoln Forest in Ruidoso, New Mexico when I was young and just listening to the trees moving with the wind.
I know the kids all still remember the trip we took in 2004. We visited as many national and state parks in Arizona and New Mexico as we could. We saw places that we couldn't even have imagined in green and verdant Germany, and we saw animals that looked like they were from another planet. To think that native people could live off of the desert! Carlsbad was the last place we visited. Although we didn't see the bats come out of the cave, I remember seeing them as a child.
I'm so thankful for Ken Burns and National Geographic and other organizations that work to preserve our earth and bring us visions of these heavenly places. Thankfully, too, they educate us about what still needs to be done.
M-Boo, you have a beautiful soul to appreciate the beauty of the earth so much. I am reading a really cool series of books by Robert Jordan called the Wheel of Time series. In it one of the characters named Perrin has a magical trait thrust upon him such that he has the senses, and can contact wolves. He can reach out to them and communicate with them. He describes how they do not think of names or words but of feelings they have. One of the wolves saves him from an attack by some bad guys but gets killed in the fight. His name is Hopper and before he died he always expressed his desire to fly like an eagle. When Hopper is dead, Perrin finds him again in a world of dreams where the wolves go when they die. In the dream world Hopper is alive again and he can fly and it is really touching to read this story of the wolf that wanted to fly and gets his wish by sacrificing himself to save a boy.
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