The United States had arguably one of the best ideas in history when it began establishing national parks, beginning with Yellowstone in 1872. Since then the U.S. has added more than 400 parks, monuments, recreation areas, historic sites, and more, with millions of visitors every year. To gear up for their upcoming centennial, the National Park Service has joined efforts with the National Park Foundation to bring more people than ever to America’s national parks. However, this initiative isn't just another reminder that the parks are out there. Instead, it is a call to Find Your Park—a personal request to connect with the land we all share. Some might cynically call it nothing more than a fundraising campaign, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that, with their current budget, no one working in the Park Service is doing it to get rich. While it is true that the service is in desperate need of funds, they are also short-staffed and forever struggling to keep up with the maintenance demands of the parks. High time for such a campaign, I think.

So, why should we care? The answer is in the title, Find Your Park. When I was younger and paid much less attention, I thought of national and state parks as government property that U.S. citizens were charged admission to go see—like a theme park. Only in more recent years have I begun to understand how such parks can be referred to as "public land"—land that is owned by every citizen of this country. Land to which every citizen has a claim, and for which every citizen has a responsibility to protect and preserve. And a land from which every visitor can gain one very unique thing.

Just yesterday morning, while waiting in line at a local breakfast eatery, I had an eye-opening conversation with two young women visiting from Switzerland. They were making what they described as an "accidental" pit stop on their sightseeing road trip from Big Bear in California to Yellowstone. It was not in their original plans to stop for any extended period of time in Utah, but they felt compelled to pause when they saw the magnificence of the geography. Having seen images of the Swiss Alps and eaten Swiss chocolate on more than one occasion, I have to admit I was mildly surprised by their enthusiasm for the unique beauty of the desert, the delicious food, and happy, friendly people they had encountered while in Utah. It was a relatively short exchange, but I found myself thinking about their words long after we parted ways.

Which brings me back to that one "thing," that unique sense that seems to come only from spending time among such natural, beautiful landscapes as those preserved in national parks. Something drew those two adventurers to this place, the same thing that draws millions to the national parks every year. Filmmaker Greg MacGillivray sums it up perfectly in the sneak peek of his IMAX film about U.S. National Parks when he says, "It's almost spiritual in a way, because you're paying tribute to something that is bigger than all of us." Spirit, Mother Nature, God, or the Universe—call it what you will, I have heard such reverence in the voices of many a wilderness visitor, as much as any churchgoer. Don't know what I mean? Watch this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If that video doesn't fill you with wanderlust, you're not human. Also, sign me up for front row seats when that film is released. In the mean time, I think it's time to find my own park—the place that makes my heart beat faster and my mind slow down, that renews and restores me. In honor of National Park Week, we challenge you to do the same. Celebrate the land that belongs to us all, and tell us what you discover along the way.

 

Photo by Rick from Boulder, USA (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.