I have always loved wild places, and we certainly have many right within a day’s drive of my home in Western Washington State. In Eastern Washington, the landscape shows the effects of glaciation in the last Ice Age, over 10,000 years ago. Much of the land was a huge lake called Lake Missoula, covering much of what is now Washington, Idaho, and Montana. When the glaciers receded, a massive flood scoured the land, and created what is now known as Dry Falls. At the Potholes State Park, you can see what was once a huge waterfall.
Of course, we have our well-known Cascade Mountains which, even though they have been mostly “conquered” by us humans, can still look wild. Especially in the North Cascades, where Washington Pass is the highest pass in the state, the sharp peaks show the relative youth of these mountains.
In 2009, we went to a summer music camp, in Mammoth Lakes, California, which is in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Right out your door, you could step about 50 yards away, and be in a Wild Place.
In 2013, we drove to Las Vegas and back, and on the way back we visited Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. Even though they are parks, much of the landscape remains wild. And very beautiful, too.
It’s quite remarkable how the two mountains in Zion are entirely different kinds of rock.
On our cruise to Alaska in 2016, we got up close and personal with Hubbard Glacier. But I really noticed all the other, side glaciers feeding into the main glacier-they looked like big slides to me.
One of our favorite Wild Places is Glacier National Park in Montana. On our trip back from Hillsdale College in 2010, we passed through, and were treated to an appearance of something wild.
In spite of all the signs saying not to get out of your car, numerous tourists were parked by the side of the creek, taking pictures!
Also at Glacier Park, is one of the wilder landscapes, St. Mary Lake. That day, the wind was blowing briskly.
Is the Grand Canyon a Wild Place? Actually, I think it still is, regardless of all the development along the rims, the actual Canyon is still a pretty wild place. What do you think?
Calling-all-RushBabes 