Day 11: July 15th
Morning is clear and the mosquitoes are happy. Our group is up at 7:30am to get ready for Dirk’s arrival. Mark sees five caribou: three females and two young. Getting out of my tent I see 23 more coming over the sand dunes and heading towards the lake. The 23 turn into at least a thousand. Hallelujah! At last we’ve seen one of the large animals the region is famous for.
Richard and Mark are amazed that two thirds of the herd are males, with tall antlers. Some have three and four points at the very top of their racks. Back and forth from the tundra to wading into the water they come to eat and escape the mosquitoes. When the adults leave there are always some yearlings not paying attention who cry and run to catch up with the herd.
Dirk is two and half hours late, but no one is upset, because we were able to observe one of the great wonders of nature. My last day in the wilderness and I finally get to see caribou. The awe I feel and the desire to protect this area is strong.
Dirk flies off with the first three members of our group. He’s returning in four hours to get Richard, Toni and I. We’ll be dropped off in Wiseman, an old gold mining camp in the Brooks Range- population 14. We will be staying at a B& B owned by Clutch and Lorna. Clutch is the curator of the Wiseman Mining Museum.
As I write this I can hear caribou snorting and splashing in the lake. I climb out of my tent and into the mosquitoes for another look at this impressive herd. I am very thankful for this day. Caribou sound like a white water rapid as the charge through the lake.
To see the beauty of a natural area,
To smell the sweet clean scent of flowers,
To feel the cool clean air in my lungs,
To hear the splash of water and the song of a bird,
With soft sand beneath my feet is to be alive, complete, and comfortable in a truly real environment.
Our souls live on earth.
In areas of beauty and especially wilderness it soars.
The wilderness is a breath of pleasure for the soul.
We need to preserve places like the North Slope of Alaska to keep our hearts and souls feeling safe. Not only for future generations of humans but for all the wildlife, vegetation, clean air and water. To destroy this setting for the purpose of oil speculation and on the eve of the adoption of better renewable energy sources is morally wrong and unwise. When I look at this vast landscape, I think a better name would be the Alaska Natural Preserve. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve have to be protected from exploitation. I speak for the caribou and forget-me-nots now and in the future.
Morning is clear and the mosquitoes are happy. Our group is up at 7:30am to get ready for Dirk’s arrival. Mark sees five caribou: three females and two young. Getting out of my tent I see 23 more coming over the sand dunes and heading towards the lake. The 23 turn into at least a thousand. Hallelujah! At last we’ve seen one of the large animals the region is famous for.
Richard and Mark are amazed that two thirds of the herd are males, with tall antlers. Some have three and four points at the very top of their racks. Back and forth from the tundra to wading into the water they come to eat and escape the mosquitoes. When the adults leave there are always some yearlings not paying attention who cry and run to catch up with the herd.
Dirk is two and half hours late, but no one is upset, because we were able to observe one of the great wonders of nature. My last day in the wilderness and I finally get to see caribou. The awe I feel and the desire to protect this area is strong.
Dirk flies off with the first three members of our group. He’s returning in four hours to get Richard, Toni and I. We’ll be dropped off in Wiseman, an old gold mining camp in the Brooks Range- population 14. We will be staying at a B& B owned by Clutch and Lorna. Clutch is the curator of the Wiseman Mining Museum.
As I write this I can hear caribou snorting and splashing in the lake. I climb out of my tent and into the mosquitoes for another look at this impressive herd. I am very thankful for this day. Caribou sound like a white water rapid as the charge through the lake.
To see the beauty of a natural area,
To smell the sweet clean scent of flowers,
To feel the cool clean air in my lungs,
To hear the splash of water and the song of a bird,
With soft sand beneath my feet is to be alive, complete, and comfortable in a truly real environment.
Our souls live on earth.
In areas of beauty and especially wilderness it soars.
The wilderness is a breath of pleasure for the soul.
We need to preserve places like the North Slope of Alaska to keep our hearts and souls feeling safe. Not only for future generations of humans but for all the wildlife, vegetation, clean air and water. To destroy this setting for the purpose of oil speculation and on the eve of the adoption of better renewable energy sources is morally wrong and unwise. When I look at this vast landscape, I think a better name would be the Alaska Natural Preserve. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve have to be protected from exploitation. I speak for the caribou and forget-me-nots now and in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment