an intermission.

"we simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. for it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope."

-wallace stegner

i've never given nature a second thought. i've mainly lived in the midlands of south carolina, so nature to me meant hot, sticky, sweaty, cockroachy grossness and i'd rather not be a part of that. and though i have had the privilege of traveling far and wide, my vision of nature had become terrifyingly myopic.

but paul introduced me to the world of US national parks. never a big fan of anything related to "american nature," i was surprised to hear of an underground super volcano in wyoming. that seemed way cooler than the wilderness i was used to, so i investigated. one thing lead to another, and in july 2010, i found myself booking flights to bozeman, montana for a visit to yellowstone national park.

before yellowstone, i was a 26 year old victim of ennui. i thought i had seen everything and nothing would surprise me anymore. but yellowstone woke me up, shook me gently, and placed my feet upon earth that was breathing and moaning and beckoning me to be amazed. and i was.

to this day, my trip to yellowstone national park continues to be one of the most profound experiences of my life. i believe that trip was my right of passage. and what's even more amazing is the fact that yellowstone is just the beginning. there's shenandoah, virginia. there's mammoth cave, kentucky. crater lake, oregon. badlands, south dakota. everglades, florida. acadia, maine. death valley, california. glacier bay, alaska.

every corner of america parading her finest features.

if you're bored, unimpressed, or simply uninspired, i urge you to open your eyes and see the great things that have been waiting patiently for your attention for thousands of years.