There’s a date I won’t soon forget. Tuesday, October 1, 2013. On that day, first thing in the morning, my wife and I entered a restaurant / gift shop in Jacob Lake, Arizona (just a stone’s throw from the north rim of the Grand Canyon). The young lady working there simply said, “I’m sorry…” We knew then that our reservation for a small cabin at Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim, was toast. It was over four years since our last big trip. This year we drove a considerable distance to explore the iconic Grand Canyon, and enjoy the rustic accommodations we had heard so much about. Now it wasn’t to be.
Our plans to visit Mesa Verde, Arches, and Yellowstone National Parks en route home were also terminated. An alternate route would have to be planned, along with an alternate improved attitude to prevent those incompetent, impertinent, and impenitent, political pranksters from raining on our parade.
We heard of numerous weddings at Crater Lake and Grand Canyon Lodge turned away. Somebody told us that 36 tour busses had been turned back from Zion National Park that day alone. Long term National Park employees and rangers were devastated, because their vocation is providing excellent customer service, and they were being prevented from sharing these amazing parks, and for no apparent reason.
People at Jacob Lake were very helpful. We and countless others were given directions for alternate access to the canyon by taking a 40 mile gravel road through the Kaibab National Forest. There was a small parking area and a three mile trail on which we met folks from throughout the U.S., but also from Australia, France, Japan, England, and Germany. For many of these foreign tourists, in particular, this was the trip of a lifetime. Many expressed frustration and asked what’s wrong with America? But at least we were able to experience some of the awesome grandeur of the Grand Canyon.
There was speculation that this shutdown exposed a major flaw in the U.S. constitution. Even though the Affordable Care Act had been passed thru the Senate and the House, signed by the President, and upheld by the Supreme Court, there was apparently an avenue for a small group of zealots to hold the nation, including our National Parks, hostage until they got their way. In several places we heard the cliche that the “tail was wagging the dog.”
Interestingly, nobody we met or overheard blamed President Obama. All thought he should stand his ground, and not cave to extortion. If our small sample of park visitors is any indicator, the next election could demonstrate some pretty significant blow-back.
Many Americans grew up with National Parks. My father was born in Washington, and we went on family trips west about every other year to visit relatives. These adventures were low budget. This meant camping along the way in National Parks and having meals out of a Coleman Cooler. Dad instilled in us the concept of “leave the campsite better than you found it.” It was the 1950‘s and back then we could attend Ranger led sing-alongs and campfire programs at the Badlands in South Dakota, I learned about controlled fire from a Ranger at Sequoia, we got family pictures with “The Indian” at Mount Rushmore, and people would feed cookies to bears along Yellowstone roads (thankfully people can no longer feed wildlife). But there was something else that happened in our National Park visits. It was subtle but had a profound impact.
In these special places, American ideals were on display. There was a sense of common purpose and shared benefit. Our National Parks embody democracy.
When we entered a National Park it was special. We were visitors on “public land,” and were encouraged to respect and protect it through something called “conservation.” Stewardship of this beautiful sacred land is a responsibility, a contract between generations.
Our National Parks provide a glimpse of what this great country looked like before Columbus; before landscapes were “tamed,” forests clear-cut, rivers dammed, and minerals dug up. In these protected pristine parks, people can step back into the real world, and experience nature prior to all our improvements.
These sanctuaries helped form my image of America. Land is a lot more than just resources. Here we find recreation, education, and something far greater that I still can’t quite put my finger on. Words such as sacred or spiritual come close. The scenery was awe inspiring, the serenity contagious, the quiet palpable, but the sense of place was magical. To me, this is how America is supposed to be.
Even the gift shops reflected fundamental American secular values. There were science books that taught about how these landforms came to be, and introduced us to some of the very special plants and animals. My older brother and I both gravitated to the sciences. He became a paleontologist, and I majored in biology. Our experiences in the National Parks likely had something to do with this.
Today just try to imagine Arizona with a sizable reservoir where the Grand Canyon used to be. Or how about Colorado without that stunning pristine alpine sanctuary of Rocky Mountain National Park? Think about California with no cathedrals of ancient giant redwoods or sequoias… all sacrificed on the altar of mammon. This would have been our reality were it not for key people in the right places at the right time… such as William Steel, Enos Mills, John Muir, and many more.
How ironic that in the midst of all the political ranker and posturing over the Affordable Care Act, that led to shutting down the government, it was the very symbol of our democracy, National Parks, that were closed. It became clear that our democratic process is in need of protection from the vagaries of political zealotry. Privatization, fire, and invasive species aren’t the only threats to our National Park experience. What can you do? Vote!