The north coast of California is the edge of the great migration, the final shore upon which the waves of westward seekers washed up. But it is a formidable country: rugged, incessantly damp, covered by thick forests of redwood, Douglas fur, and western hemlock. So after the logging slowed, most went their way to sunnier climes where the living was easier.
According to the occasional roadside attraction, Bigfoot lives here, his visage along with other denizens of the mythic stand in mute testimony to the back recesses of time and our psyche. We need there to be wild places,where man is but a seldom visitor at most, where the mind can still believe that mystery lives.
Photo: Wild coast morning, ©2010 Timothy A. Sandstrom
Your words -- the idea that as humans we need to spend time in nature and the wild -- reminds of me of Stegner's "Wilderness Letter," which after 50 years is still considered one of the most influential pieces of writing of the environmental movement. The tribute to him "The Geography of Hope," makes me appreciate his conservation efforts even more.
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