John Muir

I'm feeling a very close appreciation and understanding of John Muir (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir). Muir is revered as the "Father of the National Parks". I'm watching the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" on netflix (for the second time), and ever since I learned of this man, I've always had a fascination and understanding of him.

During the documentary, after he left Yosemite to work on a farm to support his family, and to work as a writer, he found himself longing for the "wild places", and grew weary of the day to day. I find myself reflected in those words, as I grow weary of the day to day of the way my life is currently being lived, and long to take control of it so that I can live my life the way I wish to live it. I also grow weary of the same old boring flat land that does about as much to stimulate the mind or soothe the soul as a box of Oreo Cookies.

Laura expressed concern that watching documentaries about the west may make me feel sad because it would be hard to be separated from the awe inspiring landscapes that I fell in love with. At first I was concerned about the same thing happening, as I wouldn't have much exposure to images of the west aside from those in my photos section on Facebook. But then, I found a web site that changed that.

http://coloradoguy.com/

Colorado guy is a web site operated buy a guy named Steve. Steve describes himself as "a creative, laid-back and long-haired guy in Buena Vista, Colorado." I first spent time on Steve's web site when I was googling images of buffalo, hoping to find images of the Buffalo Herd Overlook near Denver, and found an amazing picture he took of Mt. Princeton (view the photo set that caught my eye at this link - http://coloradoguy.com/colorado-images/mountains.htm )!

I've since looked at page after page of Steve's web site, which have had the adverse effect that Laura predicted. Instead of growing sad that I couldn't be there (which I am), I'm sort of living vicariously through Steve's photography. These pictures have helped me realize that one reason I was going so insane was that I was not only separated from my new home physically, but I had no reminders to pacify me! So since then, I've been watching anything that will give me a glimpse of my beautiful mountains again, so that I can remember the dry feeling of the air, or the beauty of being in certain places, or the way my breathe would be taken away by a sunset over the craggy peaks.

And so I started watching documentaries about the west. First was the BBC's "Yellowstone: Battle For Life" series, which I watched last winter when Sarah and I were coming apart at the seams, and the other being the Ken Burns documentary I mentioned above (which also was first watched around the time that Sarah moved out….could it be that these images of the places I love helped me pull through what I knew was about to come at me that day last February by reminding me of home, and what I could have again one day")

I no longer feel sad. I still long for the mountains, and I thoroughly believe I will break down into tears of joy when I set my eyes on them again, but I'm ok enough that it doesn't preoccupy my thoughts in a depressive manner! I feel that by watching these, I can regain some form of connection with the land I love and now consider my home, and it will hopefully see me through till I can return home.

I totally understand what John Muir must have been feeling when separated from Yosemite.