Death Valley, CA

In the October National Geographic, Timothy Egan writes about the dearth of millennials visiting our national parks. He tells of Los Angeles students brought to Death Valley who wouldn’t leave their van because they were unnerved by the emptiness. I understand their fear and acknowledge my own on my first trip to Death Valley. I wanted, though, to overcome that fear, so I stubbornly waited it out. In its place, I discovered awe and expansiveness. Is our addiction to technology another feeble attempt to exert control over the uncontrollable? We are more than that, and our world is far, far more than that. Our national parks aren’t just post card scenery. They can transform us.