Drive-By Nature

About a week ago, a large fire affected roughly twenty acres of park land near my house. I was out of town during this event, so I drove through the park this morning to see if I could find the impacted land. (I couldn't see it from the road.)

As I was driving - following all of the roads in the park, barely slowing down, never leaving my car - it occurred to me that mainstream American society today often relegates nature to experiences like this. It's as if we want a take-out order of nature, rather than staying for the real experience.

A litany of excuses ran through my mind as I drove:

- I don't have time to stop.

- I'm not wearing the right clothes.

- What if there are ticks?

The sad part is, I like nature. There is no excuse for my behavior other than conditioning and complacency. 

What barriers prevent you from experiencing time outdoors? Are they real barriers or imagined ones?

Website of the Week: National Park Service

Delicate Arch, Arches National ParkPhoto credit: National Park Service
If you are planning any travel in the United States this summer, head on over to the National Park Service and see what interesting places might fall along your route. You can browse through a listing of national parks, monuments, historic sites, (and more!) by state. Many parks have online video and photography like these gems:

Click to see a Live View of Half Dome at Yosemite National Park in California, courtesy of the Yosemite Association.

Take an eTour of Glacier National Park in Montana.

Explore a 60th Anniversary Online Exhibit of Everglades National Park.

Enjoy Photos and Multimedia of scenery at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, like this:

Grotto Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Photo credit: National Park Service
Or head on back over to the National Park Service headquarters and listen to the nature on the Natural Sounds page. (Be sure to click on the wolf!). You can also join the WebRangers or learn how to join the Junior Ranger program.