How Do We Do It?

How can we impart the beauty and value of our natural landscapes while protecting them? How does one National Park become a mecca while others sit idle?

Yosemite gets a lot of traffic. And justifiably so. I haven't even been, but I can feel its enormity just from the Ansel Adam prints I was handed in high school. This video highlights its beauty. It also highlights the traffic through the park.

<p>People in Yosemite: A TimeLapse Study from Steven M. Bumgardner on Vimeo.</p>

More people then ever are flocking to our nations parks and open spaces. Natural habitat is being used the "treat" people suffering from depression amongst other things. So when will we bring nature back to our cities. Direct traffic and resources to other parks. Come up with some way to see nature besides 3mph crawling through Yosemite? Maybe dropping the fees on cyclists?

Give cyclists a day, even a morning to ride the parks without traffic. I'd pay for that. I think a lot of people would.

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Its a Gnarwhal!

Its the Unicorn of the ocean of the ski slopes. And another way to share your excitement. Going Gnarwhal? Yeah. Doing the Gnarwhal? Sure. Whatever it is. Smile. Get rad.

Its a Gnarwhal by wellmannered
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The Aftermath

Laying down on a couch after a day of skiing. Cheeks red from the wind. Legs sore from the carving. And the telltale sign of a good day, a euphoric feeling of content.

It starts when restrictive boots come off and feet slide into soft wool clogs. It extends from your cold lips regaining their normal red hue. From your fingers temperature rising. Then it crescendos in your head, a sense of pure and utter elation. Calm. Then sleep.

More often then not I probably have a big stupid squinty eyed grin on my face.

I'm ok with that.

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Glorious Lights

Our world may be burning massive amounts of energy my the minute, or even the second lighting up our homes. However, there is something magical about gazing at a twinkling cityscape at night. I can't recall ever seeing Chicago at night from an airplane. The sky was so clear and we flew so low that the city streets narrowed to a point on the horizon.

The gaping void of darkness created by Lake Michigan to the east offered a stark contrast. Peering into its endless abyss straining to pick something out. Finding nothing, except perhaps, a peek at your deepest thoughts and soul.

You are a passenger riding on a plane instead of racing away from your past and anxiously toward your future in a car. Mass transit should be our reminder to breath.
Message was composed on my mobile device.

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