“In wildness is the preservation of the world.” – Henry David Thoreau

September 3, 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson and inspired a 5-day conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico to celebrate the vision of that piece of legislation and propel a new generation of environmental advocates into the next chapter of wilderness preservation.  I found out about the conference while browsing the internet and realized that it complemented the 50th birthday of my partner Steve quite nicely.  We had been talking about what changes we could make in our lifestyle and livelihood in our 50s to more actively embody the ethics of deep ecology, a subject of our recent reading and an extension of our lifetime sympathies.  We decided to attend the conference as independent citizens interested in using our energy to improve the human relationship with the planet Earth.  

Pretty lofty position, right?

We headed out from Milwaukee, Wisconsin toward Albuquerque with our high ideals and a car packed with sleeping bags and blankets, camping gear and maps.  Our journey took us through 8 states in 16 days.  Along the way we re-discovered the awe-inspiring beauty of the land, water and sky that comprises our planet and asked ourselves the hard questions about the attitudes and practices of the humans living on it.  Having returned from our odyssey, we are charged with unpacking our experiences, allowing them to inform and inspire our present and future choices, and communicating the vision to others. 

My plan for this page is to link my related blog posts, essays, and photographs so that the thread of this adventure is unbroken.  Steve has also started a blog which you can see at www.forthelastwolverine.com.  Please follow along, if you will, and allow yourself to GET WILD!

From “Christianity and the Survival of Creation” by Wendell Berry:
“Idolatry always reduces to the worship of something ‘made with hands,’ something confined within the terms of human work and human comprehension. Thus, Solomon and Saint Paul both insisted on the largeness and the at-largeness of God, setting Him free, so to speak, from ideas about Him. He is not to be fenced in, under human control, like some domestic creature; He is the wildest being in existence. The presence of His spirit in us is our wildness, our oneness with the wilderness of Creation. That is why subduing the things of nature to human purposes is so dangerous and why it so often results in evil, in separation and desecration. It is why the poets of our tradition so often have given nature the role not only of mother or grandmother but of the highest earthly teacher and judge, a figure of mystery and great power.”

1. Celebrating 50 Years of Wilderness Protection

2. Wilderness Week Continues!

3. Refraction: a Photo Challenge

4. Cover Art: a Photo Challenge

5.  What’s Important?

6. Wilderness and the Myth of Nothing

7. Elect Eco Leaders!

8. Photography 101: Solitude

9. Morning Thoughts: Finding True Place in Wilderness

10. Prepare Ye: The Way and The Wilderness

11. Weekly Photo Challenge: Wilderness Inspiration

12. Weekly Photo Challenge: The Intricate Nature of Wilderness