A Cathedral of Trees Line the Road South Into Crater Lake National Park.

“ …. [We arrive at the turnoff to Crater Lake] and go up a neat road into the National Park — clean, tidy and preserved. It really shouldn’t be any other way, but this doesn’t win any prizes for Quality either. It turns it into a museum.” (Cont. Next)

Several miles North of Intersection of Rt-138 and North Entrance Road, Crater Lake National Park, OR. Why is the ZMM Narrator so critical & negative about this National Park and other similar places? It seemed to me so wrong at the outset. It took me a great deal of time plus thoughtful consideration of the Narrator’s total life experiences to begin to accept what he says. I had to consider the Narrator’s sum total experiences in the High Country where he was in direct contact with the awesome processes of Nature, head-on. Such areas are totally Nature and uncontaminated by the impact of humans. Any park national or otherwise, becomes a pale substitute for the open expanses that were once there. But as the Narrator says, “It really shouldn’t be any other way …. “.
…Moreover, it really can’t be any other way! Given a flood of people who want to experience a bit of the grandeur, there must be some way to control the inevitable destruction of so many tromping feet, not to mention the trash that inconsiderate people leave behind.
…Once you begin to see what the Narrator is talking about, then you as a Pilgrim, can begin to seek out those more pristine areas and mindfully work to protect them. As the Narrator says, one person at a time.
…If concerned people (you and I) all do this, then even the un-natural face of these parks can be changed by the very choices we all actually make. The unnatural (cultural) imports can be gradually removed and the parks can be change by the people who come, rather than the reverse! *************************
(Photo = 114-1411 ...... ZMM Page = 307 ...... WayPt = 378w 6128ft)