I meant to write a post last week to honor some of the women who have explored and championed national parks. But life happens and gets busy, as it always does. So this will be a belated and short post.
First I want to honor Willa Cather. In college, my favorite book from American Lit class was O Pioneers!, which to this day is my favorite prairie romance novel. I should tell you that the class was taught by a man, and he had no qualms in making us read it. It’s not like the modern cheesy prairie romance novels at all, but it may well make you cry. It also helped me feel closer to my Nebraska roots. So imagine my surprise when I was hiking Arizona’s Walnut Canyon National Monument, and found an interpretive sign with a quote from her about it! She loved exploring America’s national parks, and let them inspire her writing. You can read more about her from the National Park Service’s website here: https://www.nps.gov/people/willa-cather.htm
And then in doing an internet search, I found this cool lady. https://www.expeditions.com/why-us/women-explorers/annie-fiske/ I’m not going to write much about her for now, because I’m hoping to write an article soon about the topic of wonder, which she is evidently an official advocate for (I didn’t know that was a thing! But I like it!). It makes sense, though, because national parks are one of the things that bring out the wonder in me. But again, more on that in the future.
Personally, I’m inspired by the women (and men, but I focus on women’s journey’s in this blog) in my life that love to explore national parks. I have several good friends that have joined me in visiting them. And I’m always inspired by my neighbor gal, a young woman from Minnesota who backpacks in national forests and parks as much as she can. What women do you know who have inspired you by exploring national parks? Where have your national park journeys taken you? Please leave comments!
The Compass Rose Queen 