Medical science is much more advanced now than it was just fifty years ago. As a result, people are living longer now and global population has been increasing at a quick pace. When population increases, more of the land has to be converted into commercial and residential areas to support growing population. Thus, it is not a surprise that not many places are left on earth where one can experience the nature. This is why visiting Yellowstone National Park (Yellowstone) was one of the best experiences in my life because I had almost forgotten how interacting with nature feels like. I had never felt such a close connection with nature before as I did at Yellowstone.
As I entered the Yellowstone, I could not help but notice how clean the air smelled. There was no sign of burning fossil fuel anywhere. I always used to think we are living in best times but when I smelled the air, I felt envious of older generations for whom this kind of air was everyday luxury. But at the same time, the atmosphere was not silent. One could hear the sound of waterfall. But unlike noise pollution in the city which only makes one stressed out, this noise was surprisingly calming. It had not been even an hour since I entered the park and I had already discovered the joy of close interaction with the nature.

After a walk of about half an hour, I entered an area with my friends that was vast grassland. I could not control my temptation to feel the texture of grass and the earth. The grass felt thicker than the one we see in city and the earth was soft. It was as if mother nature had built a carpet for different animal species living in the park. It took us just a little while before we spotted elk and bison. They had sensed our presence yet they remained calm as if nothing had happened. A thought quickly came to my mind that we always talk about diversity but the real diversity is in natural habitats like these and not cities. In places like Yellowstone, all kinds of different species feel at home and are the king of their places. They all enjoy freedom to live as they please unlike the cities where human beings rule how animals live which is often in cages and others kinds of closed places. The elk would even make sound from time to time as if they were welcoming us. I didn’t really understand what they were trying to say but it felt as if they were telling us that this place is so nice and we humans should stop damaging the environment. To be honest, I could not agree with the elks more.

One of the things I noticed in the park was the ability to enjoy different kind of climate. It was as if the park also had climate diversity. While grassland felt cool, places near the geyser felt warm. I knew no other place where one could enjoy different climate in the same place. Geysers take time to erupt so I had to wait for about half an hour before water erupted from the ground. When it erupted, the sound was as if heavy rain suddenly appeared from the sky. When the water would fall on the ground, the sound was as if the rocky terrain had just clapped for wonderful geyser show. But the rocky terrain would not be alone as some people watching the geyser would also clap to show their respect for nature’s artistic talent. The place around the area was rocky. My major is not geology but I could imagine Yellowstone must be one of the dream places for geologists due to so many different geographical features within relatively close distance of each other.

Any trip to a natural habitat like Yellowstone is not completed without food that helps you connect with the nature. Examples include fruits and vegetables. I really wished I would find a tree with fruit so that I could taste how a clean environment affects a fruit. The park is huge and there must have been some eatable fruits somewhere but I didn’t find them. Luckily, I had some apples and bananas with me. They were not from the park but as I was eating apple, I imagined that I had just plucked it from a tree. And the apple did taste better than usual which may be due to the power of thoughts. If only the apple was from the park, how much tastier it would have been.

I admit I cannot imagine a life without luxuries of modern life such as internet but visit to Yellowstone did help me realize that people centuries ago didn’t have that bad a life. In fact, I would have loved to be in those times. Life would be pretty good with a hut somewhere in the park, surrounded by green grass, trees, and water stream. One would wake up in the morning not to alarm clock but the sound of elk and birds. There may be no bottled water but who needs bottled water when one would have unlimited supply of clean and fresh water straight from the mountain. Life would be simple but less stressful because connecting with nature is a luxury unlike anything else.