Nature Reflection #5

 

Nature Reflection #5

I have made the drive from Minneapolis to Fort Worth many times over the years. Of all of the drives in America, it might be up there for the most boring. Southern Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, and North Texas make for a landscape of continuous flat, open farmland for 14 hours. However, there is a singular bright spot in that drive: the Flint Hills of Kansas. Rising out of the endless fields of corn, wheat, and soy, the Flint Hills are a massive expanse of beautiful rolling prairie. As far as the eye can see, the grass rolls on over hills, shimmering in the sun. I normally do the drive in one day, so I usually hit the hills around midday going either direction. This time, however, I split it into two days and was able to see the sun rise over the hills. Unfortunately, I had to focus on the road so I could not get a great photo, but you get the idea from it. Seeing a red ball appear in distance and slowly quiet the stars as it hit endless prairie with orange-golden light took my breath away. Sunrises are always better than sunsets but a lazy teenager like me rarely sees them. History has always been by biggest passion and favorite subject. My imagination as a kid lended itself well as I would completely immerse myself in time periods I was learning, picturing exactly what it must have been like to live through it. The older you get, the more imagination fades. What I love about the Flint Hills is that it is a total glimpse into the past. As settlers moved their way across the country or the Osage hunted buffalo, they would have seen the exact same rolling landscape I saw driving down I-35 in my car. I drive through there and in a way, it feels like I am driving through history as I see their wagon trains plodding along the hills. Whether you like physics, math, the arts, or English, nature can inspire you. It is an all-encompassing force from which all human passions are derived. Nature becomes a lot more meaningful once you make those first connections.