View from the Visitor Center in Utah's Capitol Reef National Park
Recently in my Spanish class one of the group mentioned that she wasn't looking forward to Spring Break as their family was joining some friends in Utah to be "in nature." Since Utah and its canyon country are some of my favorite places to be, I excitedly exclaimed, "Wow! I'm so envious." To which she responded, "I don't want to go. I absolutely hate nature." I like to think I'm open-minded about most things--except Bush, of course--but I had never even considered the possibility that someone could hate all of Nature. Maybe one could dislike certain inconvenient species or unpleasant weather but to declare blanket hatred of all things outdoors is almost inconceivable to me. I have friends who are selective in the nature they enjoy: tropical sandy beaches instead of rocky sea cliffs or sculptured botanic gardens rather than the unpredictable growth patterns of high altitude wild flowers. Yet they don't discount the possibility that they could enjoy some form of natural beauty in a wilderness setting.
Nature is my stress manager, mind-cleanser and perspective re-adjuster. I can't imagine how I would keep equilibrium in my life, were it not for periodic pilgrimages into the mountains, to the ocean, to the desert or to some other destination where I can "get away, feel small in the greater scheme of things and become calm. Do I have tunnel vision? Are there really self-proclaimed nature haters in quantifiable numbers? Are you a nature hater or do you know one?
Waterpockets in hardened sandstone in Capitol Reef NP
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