Wonders of Nature - Redux

[scoutingagain]

Saltheart,

 

I didn't want to hijack your thread. Many years ago I had the opportunity to witness the northern lights in Maine. They are spectacular and awe inspiring. I'll keep an eye out tonight.

 

But you got me remembering and thinking. As scouts and scouter we spend a lot of time outdoors and probably have more opportunity to witness such moments more frequently than others. What was the most memorable or awe inspiring Natural event, or scene you have had a chance to see or experience?

 

For me it was in Maine again. A friend and I were hiking in Camden Hills State Park on the coast of Maine just after some thunder storms had come through and blown out to sea late in the afternoon. From the tops of the mountains in Camden Hills you can look out over the hundreds of islands and the ocean of the Gulf of Maine. On this particular day, at this time, three concentric rainbows appeared stretching from horizen to horizen. Not wispy barely visible rainbows, all three were of nearly equal intensity and really brite. And it wasn't just the rainbows. The combination of the sunlight filtering through the broken storm clouds, reflecting off the water, mist in the air and the rainbows were indescribable. The event lasted maybe 10 - 15 minutes.

 

You could hear others on the mountain shouting in exitement. We all knew we were seeing something really rare and spectacular. After a few minutes there was complete silence. We all just looked at the sky. Some people were crying.

 

The wind came up and the clouds moved on. The rainbows faded. But I have never forgotten those few moments.

 

Anybody else?

 

SA

 

 

[bsat4jb]

I have two. One, my troop(oops! the troop of which I am a member) went hiking to Providence State Park in Georgia. As we were hiking out the second day, we stopped at several places to look at the canyon(known as the little grand canyon-caused by erosion from bad farming methods). It was almost entirely Georgia red clay, so it had some of the brightest oranges and reds that you will ever see in nature, with some white mixed in, I think it was quartz. It is an amazing view. Second, the family which I was born into has a farm in the country in south Georgia with several ponds. Whenever I'm up early enough, I like to watch the sunrise through the mist over the pond. It will filter down through the trees and reflect on the water. It is very beautiful. Oh, wait, I have three. Also on 'the farm', one of the prettiest sites I will ever see, is a cuvvy of quail flushing. Very awesome.

 

Good idea for a thread, SA

 

JB

[dsteele]

This is actually not a Scouting story, but it is the first thing I thought of when I read the thread.

 

My best buddy in college took myself and two friends home for Easter weekend to surprise his mother.

 

It was indeed a surprise since Phillip Mack F. was attending college with me in central Illinois and his daddy's cotton ranch (a small one, only one section) is in the area "a ways" outside of Lubbock, Texas.

 

His mamma cried when she saw him and us and we had a great weekend, but that has nothing to do with the story, so nevermind that.

 

The four of us guys then went to something at the high school (driving across that flat Texas plain at speeds in excess of 100 mph 'cause there ain't nothin' to hit.) and went into the gym. The weather had been hot and clear when we went in, but about halfway through the program, you could hear the wind outside howling and the sounds of hail hitting the metal roof.

 

The program ended early and when we walked outside, we could see the awe-inspiring, but very scary sight of three funnel clouds bearing down on us, although quite a distance away. One tornado was off to my left, one in the center, one to the right. The air felt charged with ozone and everything was getting dark. What light there was had a honey-yellow tint.

 

If you think we drove fast to get to the gym, you don't know how fast we drove to get back to the ranch. Phillip Mack's father was waiting for us and started tossing keys to the various vehicles (there's lots of them on a ranch) and ordered us to drive them to the cotton gin about a mile away.

 

As we drove (very fast) to the cotton gin to shelter the vehicles, I saw the fenced, flat-bed semi-trailer size trailers blowing around like they weighed nothing.

 

Then we hid out in the storm celler with the rest of the family and watched the news on black and white TV and wondered if there was still going to be a house above us when we came out.

 

When they gave the all-clear, Phiillip Mack's father said, "Well, guys, let's go up and see what's left."

 

We all laughed when our college buddy from Illinois (the only one in the room for whom this was his first tornado) said, "I'll stay down here to protect the women.

 

There was a lot of hail on the ground, but nothing had been harmed. The tornados missed us, but I don't know where they went because we were lucky enough to make it into the bunker.

 

The Northern Lights are much better to look at.

 

DS

[ozemu]

not many northern lights here..tornadoes either. My best nature memory from Scoutsing is watching dawn from the top of a mountain two mates and I had walked up during the night. In fact we watched sunset from one mountain and dawn from another. I was 16 and although the sun was not particularly special I was in good company and had proved something to myself during the night.

 

 

[purcelce]

I have a few but the most recent one....

 

This past summer at Philmont. It was our last night on the trail.

Everybody was in their tents...I had to go find a rock...I looked up and sawmillions of stars....I shouted "Wow!!!" Next thing you know the entire crew was out there in their skivvies looking up at the starts...We were able to find a whole bunch of constelations. Last time I saw a sky like that was when I took Astronomy MB back in '78/'79 at Summer Camp.

 

 

[OutdoorThinker]

This is not the most exciting beauty of nature moment, but it will be forever burned in my memory. During my council's second Venture Crew Rendezvous (a gathering of all the crews from the council)at the summer camp where I worked this summer, we had the great fortune of having a beautifully clear night and a bright full moon. The moon reflected off of the lake and really lit up camp. A couple of people at a time began wandering down by the lake's edge just to see the moon on the lake. Before we knew it everyone attending the event was on the edges of the lake silently looking at the moon...then someone started to sing "One Tin Soldier"...there we were the majority of our council's crew youth and adults singing "One Tin Soldier" looking at the bright moon reflecting on the lake. My summer camp is undoubtedly my favorite place in the whole wide world (I've decided I want to be married in the chapel), but that particularly memory is the camp at it's peak in beauty.

[LauraT7]

There is one place that i witnessed many 'wonders'- all the memories run together of our family's many trips to the Nicolet National forest, and Sylvania .

 

We started going up there in the late 60's, when Sylvania first opened. it was truly 'virgin' forest then - the woods so thick that 10' away from the waters edge you could not hear a shout from someone in the woods. Trees downed by storms were left to decay and were so protected from wind and weather deep in the woods, that if you walked up and touched one, it would crumble to dust. Animals were not used to - nor were they really afraid of humans - I could entice chipmunks to practically take food from my hand if I were very still. The lakes were crystal clear and sand bottomed - natural beaches all around - but the forest started a foot from the waters edge - straight, tall and impenetrable. The forest service had to clear specific 'tent pad' areas for tents - and you had to be a serious camper/ canoeist to get in - no camping was allowed on the entrance lake - you HAD to portage at least once to get to the first available campsite, and there were only 3 or 4 campsites on each lake of the 5-6 lake chain. we would go up there to camp for a week and never see another living soul.

 

On one week-long campout with my family, it rained - no POURED, the entire week. EVERYTHING got soaked, (remember, most tents were canvas back then) We had with us, on her first real campout - my brother's fiance. (After that trip, I'm surprised she married him!) One afternoon we were sick of sitting in the tent and decided that we couldn't get any wetter out on the lake, so we went for a paddle to go see this old house - mansion, really - that was further down the lake and was scheduled to be torn down the next year. As we were paddling the length of the lake, the rain let up for a bit and the sun peeked out. We were about 15 feet from shore, and passing a small clearing/ firebreak in the trees when we saw a group of 6 or 7 wolves playing and crossing the clearing. 2 were young pups, and obviously playing like puppies do. they saw us, stopped and stared, and we looked right back. then they blended into the trees and were gone - leaving us wondering and in awe.

 

I was 16 in 1976 - the year of the Bicentennial - and typical of a 16 yr old, I was mad at my parents for making me miss all the celebrations and fireworks for a trip to the backwoods the first week in July. On the evening of July 4, 1976, i was pouting and poking the campfire, and listening to the loons calling mournfully (I still and will ALWAYS love the call of Loons)- when voices floated to us across the lake singing 'America the Beautiful' - when they finished, my family and i answered with 'my county 'tis of thee', we were answered by a third set of voices further down the lake. We continued with patriotic songs for an hour or more - singing and being seranaded by our invisible friends across the water. It was a magical thing.

 

in all the years since, I am sure that I participated in a much more meaningful celebration of our country's bicentennial, than all the parties and fireworks I might have missed.

 

There were many, many wondrous moments up in Sylvania tho in later years, it became more populated and commercialized - in the late 70's there were hiking trails all through it and around the lakes, people would hike right through our campsite. the woods were thinned by people building campfires, and the wildlife learned to fear men.

 

in one way, i would like to go back up there - to show my son the wonder of the place - but in another way, i prefer to to keep the memory of the place, pure and untouched.

[dsteele]

Great post!

 

DS