Wednesday, January 24th 2007
The End Of The Road
;)
The last exploration of Road Trip 07 was the Golden Gate Bridge and the Muir Woods today. The Golden Gate Bridge is easy to take for granted until you see it again up close. It’s big, beautiful and functional. What more could you ask for? It’s the west coast’s answer to the Statue of Liberty and the gateway to a most magical city.
;)
Even though you could easily spend a day hiking through the many trails of the Marin Headlands, Scott and I made our way north. Named after John Muir, one of the earliest and certainly the most famous of the preservationists, Muir Woods is a sanctuary of forest that was spared the gold rush logging of the late 1800’s due to its inaccessibility. Incidentally, John Muir worked as a sheepherder in the Sierras where he explored the wonders of Yosemite. I have to wonder what other wonders he may have discovered up on that mountain…
;)
The word “magnificent” comes to mind when you walk through this lush wilderness. It’s hard to believe that from one seed these giant sequoia grow to such unparalleled heights; especially when you consider that it takes 10,000 of those seeds to make a single pound! Some of these trees are as old as the Christian calendar. Just thinking about a living thing standing proud for all that time just blows me away.
;)
This trip has been more than just a tour through the National Park system and a leisurely move from my summer residence. It has been an educational and eye-opening journey that illustrated for me how we are a mere punctuation mark in the novel of time; that “our time” barely qualifies as a chapter in the insignificant segment of Earth’s history that our race has occupied. The wonders that Scott and I have witnessed and shared have been millions of years in the making and yet have been negatively impacted by mankind in a geological blink. I could get preachy on your asses, but instead I will simply say that Donna Summer’s disco classic “Macarthur Park” does a great job of describing our future if you think of our planet as a beautiful cake. And it is a most beautiful and unique cake, if you ask me.
I have fallen in love with this land of ours and my understanding of it and the respect that comes from that knowledge has changed me somehow. All of us need to gain some perspective, and I don’t mean just environmentally. Even if we aren’t activists or lobbyists or champions of change in our communities, we really need to step back and look at the bigger picture. I know it’s a cliché and of course the current administration wants you to keep on worrying about how to makes ends meet and nothing else, but even acknowledging that we are fucking ourselves and our future is a step in the right direction.
As for me, I will take it upon myself to commit time and resources to making changes in the way we interact with the planet. It isn’t difficult. There are groups out there busting their asses to create positive change and all I have to do is help. We used to smoke in bars and it seemed impossible to change that. And now? Well, that’s what patios are for.
Thanks Scott.
And this is why homosexuality is good for the environment. If we believe the preachers, the human race will soon be extinct because of us, and the planet can lick its wounds and hopefully flourish again.
Seriously, I agree with you 100% It’s sickening to think of the damage we have done in less than a century, and how it’s been spiralling more and more out of control in the name of small-term “profit” – or instant waste. To quote just one minor example, a daily peeve of mine is all the paper – and trees – wasted on totally useless documents and brochures from PR agencies. You’d think so-called image professionals would have the decency to recycle. Instead it’s all about polluting the world with useless crap designed to encourage useless needs that will justify (and worsen) the initial pollution.
I’ll stop the rant before it gets too old fart sounding, but let’s just say the current legal definition of “crimes against humanity” is way too narrow right now. For more, read this.
On a lighter note, those pics are great. I especially like “The Magical Forest Of The Hottie Hobbit” or “I’m Too Sexy For Snow White” or whatever you call it. Of course, the hottest men always look great in green
The paper waste is quite staggering.
Whats even more is the amount of food and water we waste. There are talks of charging for water in South Africa, could you imagine? And to think how many people today let the water run while they were brushing thier teeth. Small steps add to a great distance.
Green is so my color….love the “hottie hobbit” your too much
“
Johnny, I never would have guessed flannel could be sexy! However, it’s probably a good thing you refrained from wearing that particular article of clothing while exploring the redwood forest because the trees might have mistaken you for a lumberjack.
On a more serious note, there are a number of conservation methods that can be easily adopted. Indeed, those pertaining to water conservation should be high on the priority list. Besides turning the water off while brushing one’s teeth investing in a tankless urinal saves massive amounts of water by eliminating the need to flush after peeing.
On a lighter note, the average toilet uses 5-7 gallons of water during a single flush and the population of the United States is approximately 300 million. As a result, 1.5-2.1 billion gallons of water could be saved each day if every American would take his or her morning pee while showering.
Johnny and I never flush unless, well, we really need to and I usually pee in the shower in the middle of the night to avoid turning on any lights. OK, maybe an overshare… But hey – I brush my teeth in bed. Now there’s a story!
Jerrod, you brush your teeth while in bed? Is this maneuver a consequence of peeing in the sink?
On another note, the fact that you and Johnny are familiar with each other’s flushing habits is a testament to the strength of your friendship.
“I never would have guessed flannel could be sexy!”
Robert, you’ve just won the cutest comment contest.
LIT – No, I pee in the shower. Using the sink sometimes leads to unwanted countertop puddles and I have an electric toothbrush charging there. Johnny and I have spent many a sleepover together and the strangest things tend to crop up in our conversations. It’s really great to get that time with him free from the distractions we encounter out in the wild. Even after all this time he still manages to surprise me with little comments about himself and his views on the world. I guess that’s what makes a good friend, we’re always learning new things about each other.
If I had known the cutest comment contest’s first prize was a pic of Johnny in the bathroom, I would have tried harder.
Well that is quite the unexpected picture to find here.
I wonder what else you have sitting there on your computer, my dear friend.
Things you’ve long since forgotten about…