Last weekend, my wife and two kids — ages 4 and 6 — enjoyed a spectacular couple nights camping in the redwoods along the Smith River. Coupled with temperatures reaching the upper 60s, beach time and surfng along the nearby Pacific, it was a revitalizing experience. I love nothing better than immersing myself in nature’s beauty and power, and there was plenty of immersing to be done amongst the old growth redwoods of
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James Greene says:
You should’ve had a OCH sticker on your trailer! I saw you! Greetings from Humboldt county CA! My mom lives in Gold Beach Oregon. We go up to see her and pop all the time. I love your trailer! We saw you on the way back home. We live in Ferndale. Victorian Ferndale to be exact. If your around, stop by and say howdy! You can’t miss our house. It is the only one with a 14ft sailboat with driftwood piled on top of it! (Heresy I know!)
Dustin Urban says:
Hey James – very cool, small world! Haven’t been down to Humboldt County in years (new to the area), but would like to – will look for said driftwood sailboat. Glad you liked the camper – it’s a 1958 Shasta!
Peter Wilson says:
Preservation of these remnant woodlands, forests, bush and grasslands, tundras and plains – so important.
Thankfully, as you say Dustin, we are blessed by foresight from those before us in fighting for their worth. The same debates, challenges and battles are fought the world over, similarly in Australia. Magnificent forests of jarrah, huon pine, mountain ash to name a few, are constantly threatened here. I and many others experience similar feelings of spiritual renewal, of relaxation and reverence when walking through our last forest wonders.
Thanks for your writing. Knowing that these Sequoias are there and revered, somehow gives me solace without needing to experience them myself..
Simply magnificent.
Dustin Urban says:
Thank you, Peter. It is heartening that there are others, on the opposite side of the globe no less, who share my sentiments. We are returning to these redwoods this weekend, and I look forward to another enriching time. My best to you,
Dustin
Steve Stone says:
It was quite a thrill to be in Tasmania’s Southwest Wilderness National Park yesterday. The flight back into “civilization” sure gave me new insights as more and more logging and development dotted, and then eventually covered, the landscape as we returned.
Andy Reynolds says:
Well stated. Even the less spectacular places on our planet where functional intact ecosystems still thrive, like a pocket of shortgrass prairie in Montana or the barren looking Alaskan tundra, or Sonoran desert, all have the power of spiritual renewal and the ability to teach us about ourselves and the world we live in and are sustained by, if we are open to the lessons that are there, and IF we can protect them from destruction. The jury is out on the last point…
And I really appreciate the viewpoint Dustin brings to OCH.
Dustin Urban says:
Thanks, Andy, and such a good point. I was writing with a uniquely-preserved, spectacular ecosystem in mind, but the power and magic of nature is universal. I do find that there is a special feeling to ecosystems which have been allowed to thrive for generations, even if they were at one time disturbed or even ‘destroyed.’
I think it should be said, though, that there is immense value to us humans in any place where nature is allowed a space to thrive. The backyard garden, Central Park, the creek down the street or the canopy of street trees outside my window… especially in our times where so many live in more urban environments, integrating nature into the fabric of our towns and cities is immensely valuable and creates an opportunity for the kind of important connections I speak about.
Still I find a very special kind of renewal in experiences that really get me ‘out there’, immersed in wild places apart from the bustle of modern life, appreciating the diversity of the earth’s myriad ecosystems (not the least of which the Sonoran Desert!).
All the best and thanks for reading.
David Tew says:
Thanks for that!!
Maynard Bray says:
What wonderful thoughts so eloquently expressed! I’m proud that you’ve hooked up with us at OffCenterHarbor and thankful that OCH has provided a means of spreading your message—one that we all should heed. Thanks, Dustin.
Dustin Urban says:
Thanks so much for the kind words, Maynard! I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my perspective.