Wetsuits may be an ultimate nightmare for many guys and gals. The thought of wearing a skintight body cast in front of friends or strangers makes many tremble out of vulnerable discomfort. I am no different. Embarking on this trip into the ice-cold river on the outskirts of Yellowstone National Park (it is not allowed to whitewater raft in the park), the wetsuit is the one mountain I must climb before my River Wild venture. Just as you should not look down if you are on a cliff or any other tall structure so as not to become terrified, I suggest not peeking in a mirror while in a wetsuit. Overcoming my fear and anxiety, I saddled up onto the second to front seat on the right side of the raft. It felt invigorating to be in the wilderness for another day.
Each national park has meant a break from life and an exploration into how to love life more. The lumberjack in me would stay out there and enjoy the smells and noises, which I am too busy to hear.
As I dipped into the hot springs after paying my fee to enter, I scoffed at the idea that this experience and land was not free. The group had to pay to go down the river and to get into the hot springs. Where I am from, the river is free to go and come or tube or fish whenever. It also costs a fee to get into Glacier. It makes me laugh to think of the land of the Free, yet it is not free as far as money goes. Free to enter, but there must be money involved to experience. It ties into several responses our group has received for the question, “What does it mean to be an American?”. “Freedom to make a buck.”
Ken Burns film title, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, provokes an interesting suggestion to my discovery of making a buck off national parks. The implication is that nothing else America has done is as great as preserving national parks. I can agree with the title because it does not indicate Americans made nature just the idea of national parks. Even if money is still produced, the publicity for a park brings people and tourism to an area that would otherwise be an unfamiliar location. Also, the title does say this idea of national parks is a perfect idea, but merely the best one that imperfect people and society had developed.
As far as I go, national parks guide me to where I want to be as a person and citizen. I can always come home from a park a little refreshed with a potent outdoor aroma.
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