By definition, our national parks in all their particularity and peculiarity show us as much about ourselves as the landscapes they honor and protect. They can be seen as holograms of an America born of shadow and light; dimensional; full of contradictions and complexities. Our dreams, our generosities, our cruelties and crimes are absorbed into these parks like water. ~ Terry Tempest Williams, The Hour of Land

I am reading and savoring The Hour of Land, constantly resisting the urge to quote line after well-phrased, carefully-considered, deeply-felt line here, lest Campfire Tales turn into an echo of this highly-recommended excellent book.