canyonlands national park

Emma Lonnberg https://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm Dearest National Park Service, You are so complex yet so loved by millions. 92 million to be exact. On one hand youprovide people with a connection to nature that often transcends the definition of nature itself. You so beautifully and effortlessly take our breath away from simply being yourself. You do not […]

gulf islands national seashore

Emma Lonnberg https://www.nps.gov/guis/index.htm Blood.Or is it oil?Is there a difference?The oil that chokes the dolphins is the same as the blood dripping down the hands of men.Men who gave the go ahead on a flawed plan.Men who valued money over safety.Their hands are soaked with the blood of the eleven men who died.The blood begins […]

Gettysburg National military park

Emma Lonnberg https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm $1.59.That’s the cost of exhuming and reburying a union soldier in 1870.That’s the cost of a mother to bring her son closer to home.That’s the heartbreak 3,320 confederate soldier’s mothers had to bear after the battle.That’s the cost of war.But is it?The price was paid for everyone to be free, but that […]

Alcatraz Political Prisoners

Political imprisonment is the strategic seizure of persons for their stances against those in power. This is a strategy utilized by many governments to control the story and remain in power. Alcatraz was a prison used to house these prisoners, by our own government. Ai Weiwei, an ex-political prisoner and current political artist, uses his […]

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Nearly everyone has a complicated relationship with their parents. Sons and their Fathers are no exception. My Dad and I have unwittingly followed similar paths thus far in my life. My Dad, born and raised in Louisville, KY, elected to start his college life at University of Montana. After about a year, and he realized […]

Gettysburg Playlist

This narrative is accompanied by a 16-song playlist embodying some of the aspects of war, victory, and the responsibilities of the storyteller. The general flow of this playlist has listeners start before the secession of the confederacy . Songs like “Crime Pays,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” and “Seven Nation Army,” set the playing field for conflict. The […]

Finding Mindfulness in Water: A Playlist

Ava Pawlowski One thing that struck me in Terry Tempest Williams’ (2017) essay about Acadia National Park in her book “The Hour of Land” was her deep connection to Acadia, particularly the coastline and the ocean. Our in-class discussion about mindfulness and its personal significance led me to discover that I, too, find mindfulness and […]

Balancing Act

Ava Pawlowski An element that particularly stood out to me in Terry Tempest Williams’s (2017) essay on Theodore Roosevelt National Park was the park’s superintendent, Valerie Naylor, struggling with the oil drilling happening on the park’s fringes. Having grown up in the vicinity and developed a profound connection to the park, she faced the daunting […]

Family Bonds in Nature’s Embrace

Ava Pawlowski Terry Tempest Williams’ (2017) essay about Grand Teton National Park perfectly captures the essence of familial bonds amidst the awe-inspiring beauty of nature. Williams describes how the mountain range stood as a silent witness to several generations of her family’s shared triumphs, challenges, and the simple joy of being together in nature. As […]

Our Refuge in Nature

Photo by Brooke Martoccia, 2022. Brown County State Park, Strahl Lake. Brooke Martoccia In Terry Tempest Williams’ (2017) second chapter of her book The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks, she speaks of her knowledge and experience with Grand Teton National Park. “I was not born here, but my consciousness toward […]