Month: April 2026

I am getting ready to go on an international hiking trip. Along with the usual routines of packing, I am getting supplies together in case evacuation is necessary due to wildfire. With the warm and dry conditions this winter, fire season never ended. Thanks to climate change, fire is now a year around threat. My main concern for evacuation if I am not here is that Gitch is saved. Therefore, I am preparing Gitch’s “go bag” with food, dishes, litter, and a couple toys in case my cat sitter must flee town with him.

This scenario reminds me of Roseanne Roseannadanna’s most famous quote “It’s always something. If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” This fire business, however, is new to me since I moved to Colorado. As I reflect, however, I recognize I have always lived in places where threats exist.

As a child in Iowa, I was both fascinated and terrified of tornadoes. Luckily, I did not have any direct experience with tornadoes but that did not mean that my family was not fearful. I remember numerous times of going to the damp unfinished basement and huddling in the SW corner in case a tornado might come. If a storm came in the daytime, dad and I would sit on the front porch and look to the west to check whether a tornado might be coming.

Although tornadoes can be surprising, technology has changed greatly and wireless emergency alerts, an emergency alert system, NOAA weather radios, and outdoor sirens can all signal the need to go to a basement or shelter in an inside room. The other good thing for Iowans is a tornado season still exists, although that season is also lengthening.

Moving to North Carolina, I learned about another phenomenon for preparation-hurricanes. Coasts are most vulnerable, but hurricanes can wreak havoc further inland. The forecasting methods are quite sophisticated with plenty of warning. Nevertheless, storm tracks change quickly.

I lived through Hurricane Fran in 1996. I was prepared with my outside furniture battened down and my car parked in the street away from possible toppling trees. It was scary. Tornadoes often precede hurricanes inland. The most memorable aspect of that night was the relentless winds that never stopped. At least in the Midwest, the storm was over relatively quickly –not so with the hurricanes.

Today I am not concerned with tornados or hurricanes, but fires. I will prepare as best I can. I can deal with anything if I make sure Gitch is as safe as possible.

In my initial blog writing six years ago, I talked about what my friend, Dan, said, “We live to tell stories.” At that time, I had ideas for stories to share based on my almost 70 years of life. I wrote for myself and to share with an audience. Recollecting and organizing my thoughts is both challenging and gratifying to my soul.

At a recent writing workshop, I heard the statement, “All writing is about relationships.” I thought about that idea for awhile as that connection had not been obvious to me. I reflected on my decades of academic writing of research articles and textbooks. Were they about relationships?

The more I deliberated, however, the more I realized that research is always about relationships among variables including correlations and sometimes cause and effect. I also concluded that writing textbooks is about establishing a relationship with students/readers regarding understanding of concepts and foundations.

Ursula K LeGuin also offered a perspective that guides my writing expressions, “Storytelling is a tool for knowing who we are and what we want, too. If we never find our experience described in poetry or stories, we assume that our experience is insignificant.”

My writing desires relate to the simplicity as well as complexity of growing up on a farm, the love I have with animals whether domestic or wild, and observations about the natural world in which I live. Writing for me provides a means for exploring what is important and why, as well as what might be common experiences that others can relate. My hope is that my work “evokes an echo in someone else’s life” as described in another blog I read recently.

Writing is my creative outlet. Visual arts are not my interest or forte, although I appreciate those who can create beautiful physical images. Authoring is a therapeutic release that sometimes makes me smile and other times conjures pain. It provides a focus for processing emotions for others to consider or in the case of my journaling will never become exposed.

Some people think to write while I have always been one of those people who write to think. That approach explains why I often go through a half dozen drafts of a manuscript or essay before I am ready to share. I have gone to writing classes that use prompts to stimulate writing. I am happy to participate but always reluctant to immediately share because I know that my writing/thinking is only partially complete in a first draft.

I also write as a legacy for myself. By putting my stories on paper, I leave a historical record for myself. I do not want to forget the experiences that have been so essential to who I am. I am grateful that writing and sharing stories creates order in my life and brings joy to my heart.

The email addressed to the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) Information Office where I volunteer said, “Two weeks ago we lost our house in the Marshall Fire. My two sons are so upset that their junior ranger badges were in the fire. They were so proud of them. Is there any way that you could send us replacements for the badges? We will gladly pay for any mailing costs. Thanks so much, (name).” I immediately responded, “We are so sorry for your loss and would be happy to send new badges. We hope you will be able to return to the park soon. Best wishes.”

On other occasions, we have received phone calls to the Information Office from distraught visitors describing lost “passport (to your national parks) books.” This spiral bound full color travel guide is 6’’ x 4’’ and includes 112 pages where people can collect time dated stamps and purchase colored stickers from the parks they visit. Every one of our visitor centers has a “passport” center that is popular with park attendees. People have collected these stamps for years and are proud of their well-travelled books. We are always happy to try to reunite visitors with the books or to help them get new stamps for the dates they visited.

These two examples illustrate the value that citizens place on national parks. Our parks have never been funded to the extent needed compared to the importance most people place on them. Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan stated in 2016: “The parks are the Declaration of Independence applied to the landscape. They are the belief in equality made manifest, stating for the first time in human history that a nation’s most magnificent places should no longer be the exclusive preserves of royalty or the rich; they should belong to everyone and for all time.”

Parks provide economic engines for communities like Estes Park and protect our nation’s history, wildlife, and cultural heritage. We can learn about our country’s past, present, and future in the national parks.

More than 320 million people visited America’s national parks in 2025. Over four million visits were to RMNP. This popularity cannot be divorced from deep concerns over ongoing staffing and budgetary cuts and attempts to erase history and culture across America’s park system.

The popularity of national parks is not surprising. What is astonishing is the federal government administration’s relentless attacks on these places. In the past year, a quarter of park service staff have been fired or forced to resign. Park protection and outreach work has been eliminated in the name of keeping parks open. Thank goodness we continue to mandate a timed-entry system during the busiest times of the year at RMNP. It is controversial, and yet, is what keeps the landscape and wildlife from being overrun by people.

I am adamant about ensuring the history, science, and culture of our national parks are protected. I want young people to love the park through the Junior Ranger program. I want the opportunity for all folks to visit parks. Parks make life better.

My mother was always on a diet when I was growing up. I inherited her obsession over the years as I struggled with issues of weight control. As I have aged and no longer worry about managing my weight, I have recognized the enduring messages over the years about body image and dieting.

Mom talked about faddish diet strategies and yet, always came back to the basic idea that counting calories was the answer to weight management. She did not have major weight issues as I recall but perceived that she did. Her obsession got passed to me.

I was a chubby baby but of “normal” weight as a child mostly due to being active. I gained the typical college freshman ten pounds despite being a letter winner in field hockey (fall) and volleyball (spring). My weight increased after college when I was less physically active. I was a stalky gal. Going to graduate school in my mid-20’s was a turning point not only in the education I received but the start of a 40-year running routine.

I also established a new relationship with food at that time. Growing up on a farm, I experienced the need for a big breakfast to prepare for a day of labor. Lunch also needed to be substantial. Dinner was more like a light supper. Yet, when I moved to the “city,” dinner also became a big meal of the day.

My relationship with food began to change when I took a behavior modification class. I learned to eat when I was hungry and that I did not require three large meals a day. I wasn’t that hungry in the morning so eating something high protein when I felt the hunger was better than having a farmer sized breakfast. I also emphasized healthy eating. I gradually lost weight over the years until today I am at a consistent weight.

In the back of my mind, however, I do not fully accept that my body image is OK. When I hear about the new GLP-1 weight loss drugs, for a fleeting moment, I think I should try that. Then I recognize I am reacting to an outdated image of myself. Old perceptions die hard. Today I put my priorities on healthy eating and living, and try to let go of the past.