POLITICS AND NATURE

The desert in the springtime is a truly awesome and inspiring sight to behold. The land can be green and brilliant wildflowers dot the landscape. These photos were taken on a trip outside of Phoenix at Lake Pleasant, an area filled with boaters and recreationists, while we camped in an area designated for Off Highway Vehicle use.

At night, the lights of Phoenix can be seen brightening the sky and yet there are areas here that are relatively wild. There is another story regarding the tremendous number of OHVs in the area where we were camped but that is for another time. For now, I simply would like to relate the magical nature of the land around the lake. Most of the photos in this post were taken after about an hour’s hike from where we were camped.

As soon as we were close enough to the water, Marley sniffed it out. The wonder a big lake (or any water for that matter) causes in the mind a black dog in the desert can only be marveled at. He was in dog heaven. I must admit, despite being from the area of Lake Michigan and having swam in some of the coldest waters I’ve ever touched (whether in Michigan or one of quite a few mountain streams) I was wary of jumping in. It was actually quite chilly in Pleasant in March. I did eventually jump in and it felt great.

It is really a wonderland in the midst of some of the driest and hottest country around. It is no wonder there are so many people who came near. I was amazed, however, at how easy it was to get away from people less than ½ hour from Phoenix. All it takes is a bit of determination and some wandering afoot to arrive at solitary places.

Granted, boats filled with folks were jetting across the lake and there was even people camped just across the first cove we discovered. There was even one individual who had hiked in to where we came to water first. Whoever this person was, they were not around but it may be assumed he/she would have been surprised to see Marley and I as I was to see the tent set up. This is the difficulty with public lands, how to manage them properly for both nature and people.

Nature is self willed and has a right to exist within its own right. This appears to me to be an intuitive truth but it has been making the circles for quite some time in the literature relating to wilderness protection (another future article). Many of us apparently feel nature is simply something to be used until it is no longer of a benefit to humans. Americans need to learn a great deal from our Native American brothers and sisters in this arena.

The cactus, for one, is mighty and mysterious. It holds a power which we fail to recognize at our own spiritual, emotional, and material peril. I can’t quite explain it like I wish I could. Reading John Muir recently has shown me how important it is to relate the feelings and emotions generated through the wild in order to expand our dialogue over protected areas. Standing alone in the midst of the desert the cacti come alive. It is like standing among old growth trees. There is nothing man made with the ability to inspire those feelings about life and God and all of the greatest motivations guiding humankind.