I’ve just spent two days in Rocky Mountain National Park – an add-on of a few precious vacation days tacked onto a family gathering for a wedding. The mountains, streams, wildlife and vistas are some of the most striking I’ve ever seen. Even the best pictures cannot adequately capture the grandeur.
A special treat was spending the night with friends in the area. It was wonderful to catch up and even better to get their sage advice on hiking, trails and navigating the park. This came as a result of their many hikes, but even more so from the fact that Rick has been with the National Park Service for many years.
What totally shocked me was this statistic: Of all the visitors to the park, only 1% get out of their cars. 99% stay in the comfort of their cars and experience the park only through the windshield.
As I pondered this, I wondered if this statistic held true in other areas of our lives – work, play, or relationships. How many of us sacrifice comfort for a peak experience? Ease for effort? Seeming safety for perceived risk? Doing more – quickly, rather than savoring less – more fully?
I suspect that there are no official “stats” on this – but anecdotal evidence tells me that a great number of people live their life on “autopilot” – cruising along quite comfortably but failing to truly experience those things that only come with a step out of their comfort zone.
I don’t know about you – but I’m going to strive to be one of the 1% – even if that means getting my feet muddy, my muscles tired, and sacrificing covering a lot of miles quickly for a few short miles where I can savor the sights, smells and solitude. Not just on vacation – but in the work I do, the relationships that I nurture, the environment I create and the life that I live.
6 Responses
You inspired me today! Spending the day in Philadelphia by myself while my daughter is in college orientation. I am going to explore! Next I want to see those Rockies!
What a great picture of you Kris! It sounds like you had a great trip and was inspired by the experience. (How could you not be) I completely agree with your observation and am not surprised that people or more “observers” than “participants”. However, I was totally surprised by the 1% statistic. That is incredible. It is so easy to get caught up in the “day-to-day” stuff that it is easy to lose sight of what is really important and to enjoy the journey and not just focus on the destination. I know I certainly need to increase this percentage in my own life. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.
Spot on! Right after college 2 buddies and I drove to Estes Park and spent a solid week exploring the surrounding area. Eating breakfast outdoors amidst all of nature’s splendor was a daily treat, and we took in as much as we possibly could. (The same applies to Coor’s beer which at the time wasn’t available on our side of the Mississippi.)
As a fellow one percenter in the park, I did likewise while paying attention to the cougar warning signs. I also got ‘elked-out’, so many elk!
Tom
Love it! And you look great. People sometimes look at me strangely for being in the 1%. I don’t care, and sometimes think they’re just jealous. I tell them “live big”! Why not?
Awesome, and so very interesting! Hopefully together we can begin to increase that 1% to 2% and 3% and 4%!
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