We stayed put and didn’t do
anything significant today (other than get new tires for the truck) so I
thought I’d use today’s blog to post a story I read in our “National Parks of
the West” Fodor’s Guide. We’ve heard a
lot about why national parks are so important in all the films we’ve seen and
ranger talks we’ve attended, but this story really brings home the point. I also felt like it was good timing since we
are about to finish the national park portion of our trip (*sniff*). I am thankful for our national parks and
grateful that I have been able to see so many on this trip.
Story shared by Park Ranger Mary Wilson from her
time working at
Grand Canyon NP:
“I came across an elderly woman
sitting near the south rim of the canyon who was just sobbing,” Wilson
recalls. “Thinking that she may have
been hurt, sick, or missing someone, I approached and asked if I could help
her. She told me she was fine, but that
she was from NYC, had raised five kids, and that this was the first time she
had ventured out of her home state. She
told me that the one thing she had wanted to see more than anything else in the
world in her entire life was the Grand Canyon.
I told her it was so great that she was here now, to which she
responded, ‘Yes, but it makes me wonder how many other beautiful places I may
have missed in my life…and will never get to see.’ I sat down on the bench next to her and began
to cry with her. It reminded me of the
power these very special places we now call national parks have on our lives;
how they offer us a chance to reflect upon our relationship with nature, the
importance of beauty and solitude, and how lucky we are to have them preserved
for everyone to enjoy.”
I would encourage you to go
west. See a national park. Skip Disney or the beach one year (I love
both!) and pick a park to visit. It
doesn’t even matter which one. They are
all so uniquely beautiful. You can’t go
wrong. Don’t miss out!
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