Natures Soul

Natures Soul

The soul of a man is a master piece, full of knowledge, experience, and desire, but it is not the only thing with a soul. The soul that I speak of is more than that of the heart of man or the soul that might be mentioned from behind a pulpit early on a Sunday morning. I am talking about what makes a man return to painting after years of other obligations, or what makes the wind tease the grass as it blows through the valley day after day and year after year, or what makes the moon listen to the cry of the wolf throughout the dark night.
Year after year I am pulled back to Yellowstone from a intangible force like that, that points a compass north. Every year as the snow fades away and the migration whistles over head I am pulled away first in my thoughts and then in my dreams until the day comes that my soul is awakened from it’s slumber and my wings spread and carry me away into my dream.  But alas, the dream soon fades away as gravity pulls me back to earth and I again wait for my wings to spread and carry me away.
Three months a go I came to Yellowstone as the seasons changed and my wings spread, this was nothing new it had happened before but this time it would be different. I do not know exactly what was different but it helped make the difference. The soul of a man may seem simple to understand, but it is something my wife will never understand. Like the Bighorns on a cliff, there are plenty of meadows to graze and valleys to live in so why do they choose to spend their time atop the mountains and on the edge of cliffs. For the same reason I want to, why limit your gaze to the grandeur in front of you and watch the birds soar from below when you can stand upon the majesty of the mountains, fly with birds, and see into the future. As I wandered the park on that trip I knew that Yellowstone is where I wanted to be. It has now been almost two months from the time that I moved my family into an apartment in the shadow of Electric Peak in the small community of Gardiner Montana. From the time that I first got here I have been entertained by ants, memorized by bears, and frightened by tourists and can now see that this land has it’s own soul.
Almost ten years ago when I was first put into a trance by Yellowstone National Park I came to seek after wolves and bears. I did not know or care about the splendor that surrounded me, the thermal features looked cool but smelt bad, Bison and Elk were a thing of the past, and if you have seen one Lodge Pole Pine you have seen every tree in Yellowstone. I came back year after year looking for the same thing sometimes I got lucky and sometimes I wasted my time. As I came each time I noticed that the people that I talked to were struck by Yellowstone the same way that I was, some had different passions or their soul desired other things but Yellowstone is what brought them here. How could Yellowstone have such a pull on so many people?

The Soul

I have changed and I think it is Yellowstone that has changed me, there is so much more to Yellowstone than that of wolves and bears. Over the last few weeks I have really started to recognize this, as I sat waiting to see a wolf pup emerge from it’s den I listened as the gossip of the frogs pulled me into their conversation and I started to realize that the wolves and bears were just part of Yellowstone’s soul that there was so much more, and if I listened and watched I could be filled with knowledge, experience, and a greater desire to be part of Yellowstone and what it has to offer. From the time that I listened to the gossip of the frogs my ears have been freed and my eyes open to the world around me. Understanding that Yellowstone like everything else in this world whether it is an individual, a family, a business or another national park has  a soul, a driving power or influence that molds it, has helped me and will help me go beyond sitting in the valley looking up at the peaks.