Treasured Moments

April Frake

 “Give me the splendid silent sun, with his beams full-dazzling…Give me nights perfectly quiet, as on high plateaus west of the Mississippi, and I looking up at the stars…”

~Walt Whitman "Give me the Splendid, Silent Sun"

This is Arizona for me: a collection of sweet moments bound together with a common thread of love and admiration for the masterpieces of our dynamic planet. While the lessons I learned, facts I recall, and visuals I sketched in my field guide all paint a picture of the educational value of the trip—there were moments, the sweetest and my most treasured moments, where all the science behind the landscapes was pushed aside and I simply existed, marveling, at the landscape.

And how do I articulate those moments properly? How do I do them justice- The feeling of total peace felt sitting atop the Grand Canyon listening to the whispers of the Earth,  the awe-inspiring radiance of a sunset viewing over a distant mountain ridge, the sensation of the sun on my skin, or the overwhelming desire to dance in celebration of the beauty of creation?  

For me, science is a calling: A calling to explore; to be passionately curious. And in this curiosity, this yearning to better understand the physics and geography of my surroundings, I am always brought back to the same place: a place of wonder. It is this wonder that propels me, pushes me, drives me to continue discovering, - to continue questioning and amassing knowledge of the physical world in order that my experiences in and as a part of nature are broadened.

So this is Arizona for me: a playground of wonder and a beckoning to continue seeking, journeying, and exploring.