I hope you've also been enjoying this superb PBS special by Ken Burns. I've been watching enrapt and often with dewy eyes, savoring the old photos and new video footage of America's most glorious landscapes, and hearing the words of the visionaries who invented the concepts of "national park" and "national forest," and appreciating the labors of the politically adept who brought these concepts to fruition over the last century-plus.
For this series showcases our priceless parks, but also highlights the people who discovered and grew passionate about these special places, to the extent that they devoted their lives to getting them protected in perpetuity for countless generations to enjoy in the future. They exemplify a line from the series, "Our natural parks are not only our best idea, but also our highest ideal."
I've visited 38 of the 58 national parks (so far) and have backpacked in 11 of them, and when asked which is my favorite, I must confess they all are, but for different reasons, for each is special in its own ways, and each deserves to be a national park, set aside for future generations to experience and revere as we do.
President Theodore Roosevelt, upon seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time, exclaimed, "Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it." The same can be said for all 58 national parks. Visit them, explore them, relish them, but do not harm them.
Here's an extended preview in case you can't watch all 12 hours...
Here are 2 interviews with Ken Burns...
No comments:
Post a Comment